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I guess my pissweak legs and lazy respiration makes me overly sensitive to cadence...
But hey, ceramic bearings are a thing, so marginal gains here we come. It's just a matter of whether there's enough years left in capitalism.
Kimmo-
marginal gains
But it's not a gain. Just the aero drag from adding a FD is going to lose more than being 3rpm away from your "optimal" cadence, e.g. let's take one of the fast men who wants to be at 90rpm:
58/12 at 90rpm = 34.5mph
inclination changes from -1% to +1%
58/12 at 86rpm = 33mph
down-shift to avoid bogging
58/13 at 93rpm = 33mphYour half-step offers
56/12 at 89rpm = 33mphbut who is that sensitive to cadence? Pursuit riders maybe🙂
gbj_tester
If you're thinking UK, I'm not sure. First, on an ideal combination of course and conditions, one gear is enough. Certainly one ring has been enough for as long as I've been in the game. The jumps even as far as the 13-12 shift are well within the operating range of the rider, to the extent that inserting a mid-point into that 8% change is way more complexity than it's worth given the miniscule opportunity for improving biomechanical efficiency.