Originally Posted by
Duragrouch
Exactly. When I went 2X gearing on my Speed D7, I biased it to the low end for sufficient climbing, my top gear is just enough to be able to pedal down a mild grade where coasting is not enough. Steeper down, I coast. So perhaps the lower 2/3 of mountain bike gearing range. That 50/34 crank just makes a huge difference uphill versus the original 52. Or 400% 1X gearing, either one.
I have a 44/24, gives me about 14.3 gear inch. I used it on a 5-hour climb up 1,400 m while loaded with 20 kg of baggage and water. I had to keep switching between the 34 and 28 cogs from the constantly changing road gradients. Instead of the standard 27 30 34, I took one out and stuck a 16 in between 15 and 17 because I didn't like that jump at the higher end. But wished I had it at the time.