MichaelW and chewa,

The combination that I've got now goes a little lower than that of my old bike (30" vs. 33") and the high end is the same (100"). I think that this is quite suitable for the riding I do. In the limited riding that I've do with this combination I find that I like it alot.

My lowest gear isn't quite as low a chewa's, by about 10%. Likewise, my highest gear isn't quite as high, by about 8%. I'm not convinced that these are very significant differences.

Your considering your 24-speed as three sets of 4 is quite useful, although maybe a little conservative. I might think of it as 3 sets of 6. On a 9-speed cassette this is 3 sets of something between 6 and 8. I suspect that the number of truly usable combinations is very dependant upon the particular cassette, chain, rear derailleur, and maybe chainring combination. Please note that the cross-chained combinations are in the mid ranges, not the extremes relative to gear ratios.

I didn't start this thread with the intention of saying, or even implying, that my choice is what everyone, or even anyone, else should do. I simply wanted to show others how a relatively simple change to what the manufacturer selected may make a significant change in the rideability of a bike.

To each his own,
Mel