Originally Posted by
OregonHepcat
I bought a Troll a few months ago and I am setting it up for touring. I really want some lower gears so I can tackle long grades with the bike loaded with 60-70 pds.It came from the bike shop with a 3x9 drive train. The cassette is 36-11 with a Shimano Deore derailleur and the triple crank is 48-38-26.What I want is to be able to run a 40t or 42t rear cog (the bigger the better). Is there any combination of derailleur/cassette that will work. I'm willing to switch to a 10 or 11 speed cassette with the appropriate derailleur/shifters if the rear wheel hub will accommodate that.In all my searches through the myriad of possible components and their specs, I'm beginning to think that a large limiting factor is the triple crank. I'm not at all interesting in going fast on descents. So maybe I should switch to 2 chain rings?
Advice from those of you who have found a way to low gear heaven will be much appreciated.
I agree with others re: changing the crank set to a MTB 42-32-24 or similar. I just substituted a Deore 42-32-24 on my Specialized AWOL (a 30+ lb. 'adventure' bike) for the 50-39-30 road triple that was OEM - big improvement in cruising and climbing gears for my preferred cadence. I have an 11-36 on the back.
Re: the mechanical aspect of this - all I had to do was to lower the FD and install a Hollowtech bottom bracket - used one spacer on the drive side and 2 on the NDS for the best chain line.