I don't think I've touched the granny ring on my sorrento in weeks. Even climbing huge hills. Of course, it doesn't LIKE the granny ring, and with the 34t MegaRange granny cog on the cluster... who the hell needs a granny ring?

My dad and I took a 10 mile trail ride, his bike (a Marin Bayview - laugh all you want, it's a great bike) and mine are almost a dead match for each other on gearing with the exception of my granny cog. Even on the steepest hill, I was spinning like mad on the second ring. He had to drop down, though.

All it took was a week of dieseling it on my old x-mart bike, though. My knees were toast, then I finally found the beauty of spinning.