Originally Posted by
Iride01
Your big issue with just swapping the small ring for a smaller ring is that you'll probably be well out of your rear DR specs with any significantly smaller ring.
You'll have to sacrifice your top end by also going to a smaller big ring. But smaller on the top isn't really as bad as it may seem. How often are you truly putting out max power in the big ring and small rear? Might mean someone beats you to the bottom of the hill, but over the entire ride it probably won't make your times much different.
Knowing what kind of riding you do, your experience and fitness along with what your desires are might let someone help you figure out where to compromise.
Good questions, and put simply I don't care about top end. This bike is my daily commuter and loaded touring bike. I'm an old guy but fairly fit, and on a recent trip with long steep hills it was clear to me that I need lower gears. The two guys I was with had triples and while they were spinning away at 3 mph, I was cranking way too hard at double their speed!
I have an 11-36 10-speed cassette, and small ring up front is a 34. By my calculations, dropping the front ring to a 26 is a 6" gear inch drop. A 24 would be even better.