In my day it was 84.9" then later 93.6" (52 x 15) Rarely did I feel I needed more than that 93" gear. Even on descents.
Now, there was this guy Elmer, who rode a 54 x 13-17 five speed... up and down the Pacific Coast Highway everyday.

My De Rosa has a 50/13 as the highest gear.... that's 101.1 gear inches, if I'm reading the chart correctly. It would be nice to have an 11 or 12...... I could use it once in a while. Maybe I don't spin as fast as you guys in the gears I have? Dunno.....

This thread needs some Kurosawa. :D

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6079/...748a0207_b.jpg

My PX-10 had a 53/11 as the highest gear when I got it. Never touched it once!

Needless to say, the rear gears are much larger these days.

53/11 is pretty tall. I had a Ciocc that had a compact 50/34 up front with an 11 in the back. I used the 50/11 more often than I thought I would. That works out to about 119 gear inches.

I just got back from a nice after-work ride. Just 14 miles up a local canyon and back. Basically, it's 5-1/2 miles of shallow climbing followed by the turnaround and 5-1/2 miles of shallow descending. I took the Palo Alto this time, and it has a 53/13 as its tallest gear. Coming down the canyon and heading for home, I was spinning in the 53/13 and hovering at about 30mph. I don't have a chart handy and I don't have a cadence monitor, but I'm going to guess I was probably making 70-75 rpm's, anyway. It was nice and comfortable, and I had some headroom to stand and sprint on the short uphill bumps.

Maybe I'm just a big mass of slow-twich mashing muscles, but I seem to use pretty much all my gears - albeit some a lot more than others. :)

Is the Spirits or Spirit of Japan label because the cranks are made in some other Asian Nation?

Clever observation. Are any good bike parts made in Japan anymore?

Nitto.

Ah. Yes.

First ride report - 10 mile commute this morning. Crankset played nicely with the 8spd dura ace set up, as advertised. Front shifting was on a par with the original 53/39 dura ace cranks. I had never thought about "Q" factor before, the suginos apparently have a high "Q". It did feel slightly wider, but after a few miles I forgot about it. Route is gently rolling terrain, I spent more time in the 48t large ring than before. I am sure in the mountains I will appreciate the lower gearing. On moderate downhills, I didn't spin out in the highest gear, but I wasn't really pushing it either. I hope to head to the mountains soon to test it (and myself)!

Not everyone has to deal with the aero drag of that cookie-duster