On 22-01-18 23:29, Joerg wrote:
On 2018-01-22 03:50, 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.


That wouldn't work well for me because I use the MTB right from my
garage. So the miles close to home are all on pavement and I'd liked to
be able to step on it. With 34 as max up front I'd be redlining with my
legs all the time except on the trails. Even on singletrack there are
stretches where one can pull above 20mph. Smokey isn't out there :-)


For me not so critical: In Switzerland you can take your bike on the
train
(https://www.sbb.ch/en/station-servic...e-by-bike.html
)or post service bus (https://www.postauto.ch/en ) to get to the start
of your off-road tour. In 15 minutes I am at the Zurich main train
station, from where trains go in every direction without long waits. A
great contribution to my quality of life... :-)

Ned