Originally Posted by
kyakdiver
if that is the case.. it sure wouldn't hurt swapping out the 30 for a 26. the cassette isn't going to help much going to a 34 but the ring sure will.
I used a 26 on mine and did the TA without a problem. A bit lower would have been nice in the Appalachians, but it was quite adequate in the Cascades and Rockies. Ideally, I would spend $80 or so on a Sugino XD600 crank (that is what I did), but just putting a 26 on the current crank is probably OK. A 24 might even be nice depending on your preferences.