Originally Posted by
genejockey
I stopped paying attention to new bike tech and what other people were riding about 12 years ago, after a 2-year binge in which I bought one new bike, build another, and rebuilt a third. I kept riding, some years more, some years less. So, reading this thread, where everyone's talking about running a 34 x 34 as a necessity is a revelation!
I feel like Rip Van Winkle, falling asleep in a world where my 12-27 cassette and 25mm tires were a source of shame, an admission that I was out of shape. And everyone pumped their tires up to the max on the sidewall.
Now, 25s are considered skinny, and everyone's running MUCH lower pressures, and an 11-30 cassette is now not only acceptable, it's considered not enough! I'm LOVING this new world! I just bought a new Canyon Endurace with a 52/36 and 11-34 in back, with disc brakes, running 28s and it's FANTASTIC! No more grinding up hills at 50-60 rpm!
I started riding not even ten years ago. At that point, most bikes came with standard cranks and 12-25 cassettes, which was too hard for me then. Now it's flipped to where high-end bikes come with gearing that's far lower than what I need, often compact cranks with 11-30something.