Originally Posted by
Russ Roth
I had a hard time getting my rings down to a 28/44 for gravel, ended up finding an older 11sp sram XO carbon crank and had to pair it with a shimano GRX front der to get something that could shift the 16t difference with small rings and a small enough cage to clear the chainstay and still match the chainline. Works well with the 11/40 cassette I'm running, not certain what that brings the gear inches down to but I haven't actually needed the 28/40 riding through the catskills, I'm certain the Adirondacks will require it though.
Assuming you have 700/35 tires your set up of 28/44 with a 11-40 cassette will give you 19.07 gear inches. That is quite low compared to off the shelf..
For me ideal would be a 24/40 with a 11-40 cassette... but that will mean some serious playing around me thinks...... speed is no issue to me at all.. its all about seeing places, and getting up hills.