Originally Posted by
Steve B.
This
When I looked at assorted gravel bikes, some had 34/50 105 cranks, which sucks for hills. Others had 1X 11 spd. Some had 11 spd and a 30/46. I got the 30/46 bike with 11-34 and have 15 different gears. A 1X has 11. I like more gears and was fortunate early in my cycling years to actually learn how to shift a front derailer.
The bike I used to cross the USA came with 50/34 and 12/28 at the back. I replaced the 50t ring with a 46t and put on a long cage derailleur and a 12/36 cassette. the 46t ring gives me some nice cruising gears and enough top end and 34x36 is around 25" which is enough for me with a light load. So when I see something like the Diverge with a 48/32 x 12/34 it looks pretty good out of the box, I might replace the 48t ring with a 46t and maybe the 34 cassette cog with 36.