On 1/22/2018 3:50 AM, Ned Mantei wrote:
On 20-01-18 20:52, Joerg wrote:
That was in a different context. I meant that a smaller chain ring up
front (especially if there is only one) seriously crimps the usefulness
of a bike for longhaul routes. On my MTB and pretty much all others the
granularity up front is too fine, 24-32-42 or so. Beats me why they
don't provide 24-36-50.

My 1987 Trek 520 came with half-step gearing, 28-45-50. At one point I
changed this to something like 26-36-50, close to what you want.

That said, now my knees are happy with my mountain bike having 24/34 in
front and 11/42 in back. I use the 24/42 combination a lot on hills.
Occasionally I would have used a 44 in front for higher gears, but I
don't miss it that much.

A Nuvinci 360 CVT rear hub combined with a Schlumpf front drive would be
able to provide sufficient gear range with no derailleurs.