Originally Posted by
grumpus
The ancients had a thing called "2X" but the actual working of the "front derailleur" is lost in the mists of time.
I owned a 2x bike as recently as six years ago. Never again! In any case, one does not get greater ground clearance on 2x since the RD required for it, to get an equivalent gearing range, is also at least a medium-size RD. IOW, 2x doesn't do anything to improve RD ground clearance at an equivalent gearing range.