I'm working on my 60's Gitane and thought about changing to a cotterless crank and then realized the old Nervar cottered crank may give me the best of both worlds at 52-36 - some top end on the descents and plenty of low for the hills. I'm a moderately strong climber (still in my 40's) and will be using a 14-28 rear cluster. I doubt 36-28 will get used much other than to help out in the 25 mph headwinds we sometimes have.

Other than this the lowest I have on any of my bikes is 39-26 and it works good for all but the 9% and steeper climbs - for those I'm usually out of the saddle. Fortunately, there are not many around here that are that steep.

My dad is 70 yrs old this year and is just converting to a 50-36 and leaving the 13-26 rear setup. He feels that will give him plenty of gearing for climbing.

I would suggest a 28t rear and a compact crankset such as the Sugino 48-34 from Velo-Orange. This would not require a change in your rd or fd. I personally like triples, but that would require that you change the fd and possibly the rd as well as the crank.

I got carried away and bid on and won a Campgnolo Racing Triple Crankset in this Ebay auction. For $18.50 and $10.99 shipping I thought I would take a chance.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWNX:IT

This Ebay seller seems to have really great prices on lower end Campy gear.

I still have not decided what I will do next with the Davidson. I may try to use this crank. I may just switch out for a 28 rear and a 38 or 39 front. I may search for a nice lightweight steel frame to use with the Campy crankset. Decisions,Decisions.

Welcome to the jungle.