Originally Posted by
kombiguy
My bike currently has a 50-39-30 front ring set, ans an 11-36 sprocket set. Using those numbers, I get a gear inch low of 22.6
If I were to change to a 26 tooth low gear on the front, that would result in a gear inch of 18.1
Is that really a significant difference? Or perhaps my question might be rephrased as, how low a tooth count would I need on a front ring to make a significant difference?
Here’s what your gearing would look like with a 26 tooth cog. Assuming a 700 C wheel, you’d drop from a 23” low to a 20”. It might not seem like much but it is lower.
If you can go to a 24 tooth inner, you would get a 18” gear.
This gear calculator is very powerful in that it allows you to easily compare two systems. You can even change the cassette between systems if you like. I’d suggest playing around with the calculator with other cranks. For example a 48/38/22 would give a very good low and it’s not that much different from what you have now. I doubt you’d have to do much to make the derailer work. I’m running a 46/36/20 crank on one of my bikes with a road front derailer. I don’t have any shifting issues.