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bitch please. you must not have any steep hills around you, or you don't weigh anything and are super strong/never get tired. there is a paved climb i like near me that is a mile at 14% avg (so the kom is ~5.4mph avg), and lots of gravel roads and singletrack that is nearly that steep avg (and much steeper in certain places) and much longer.
and in any case i was criticizing what shimano makes available. until recently the lowest you could get was 34/32 and now you can get 34/34. i've never run a 46/30 crank but probably would if i could get one as a part of a group.
i rode with the guy who got 3rd at us road nationals over the weekend on one such course and even he was running a mtb crankset.
i don't mind grinding a bit but you just can't do it when it is loose or on super steep wet pavement (this is seattle i'm talking about)
zmjones_-
bitch please. you must not have any steep hills around you, or you don't weigh anything and are super strong/never get tired.
Could not agree more. I don't know what everyone else is riding but I've ridden up stuff unladen where I had to get off and push with my 34/11-42 not being low enough. I have never, ever regretted having too low a gear. I don't know, maybe people have never tried riding through a perfect storm of heavy gear, 30mph headwind, rain/mud/snow, fatigue and steep slopes - which I thought was the whole point of gravel riding personally.
Or maybe I'm just weak. Still, I'm fitter than 90% of casuals, so if I can't get up a hill they certainly can't, and Shimano should be making something for them/me.
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bitch please. you must not have any steep hills around you, or you don't weigh anything and are super strong/never get tired.
Hear hear.
Off road/gravel gearing is vastily different, even my 30t inner ring with a 34t cassette was a struggle.
frankenbike
edscoble
When 30(front)/34(rear) isn't enough for you, maybe you should switch hobbies. Fishing perhaps?
BTW Shimano still has triples.. meaning you can have something like 26/34.