-
I’ve toured extensively fullu laden on 34/32 including crossing the Pyrenees and various mountains in the Balkans. Could have been nice at times to have a slightly lower gear but I wouldn’t have need for a triple. Guess it comes down to fitness/preference. The fact that I’m a big heavy guy and managed fine would suggest anyone else should be ok.
I think suggesting a photo of a bike on the internet has the wrong gearing is nonsense, we don’t know the owner etc.
TM-
Guess it comes down to fitness/preference.
To be more explicit it comes down to power-to-weight ratio and cadence. I think you're right that nearly anyone can get up nearly any hill on a ~1:1 ratio, but riding up a hill for 30 minutes at 60 RPM and high power will stress your muscles (which will accumulate over time on a tour) and increase the likelihood of an injury. So I would rather crawl up it at 100W and 100 RPM personally. Weight is already a non-issue on touring bikes so there's not really much of a downside to having the extra chainring or cassette teeth IMO, after all you don't have to use them if you don't feel like it
But if it works for you that's fine, I would just say that it's not the most
practicalfunctional option that exists -
Managed fine being the keys word. We can managed with a 53/39 on 11-28, but why would we?
frankenbike
edscoble
It all depends on what kind of touring they're doing (elevation, amount of gear, etc) and how fit they are, so there is no way for us to tell (whether this is the 'right' gearing).
Like you said, you can only say what you'd prefer. If you're correct, 34x36 low gear seems fine for me personally for most situations.