Originally Posted by
mstateglfr
they aren't absurdly low. To determine this, the setups are compared to whats common on bikes and 34/28 is a very common easiest gear ratio.
I agree that 32/32 is quite low, even though some road bikes come with 1-1 ratio now for bailout gearing, it's basically the lowest I can think of for stock road bike gearing. As mentioned, I haven't used it often. But it's an 11sp cassette so its effectively like a 10sp 11-28 cassette with an extra 32t cog attached. Point being- I still have tight enough jumps and get bailout gearing for the worst of times.
70% of adults in the US are overweight or obese. What works for you many not work for many others.
I am 6'5 and 230#. I am athletic and also overweight. Even if I werent overweight, I would still be 210# and what works for a 160# adult may not work for someone thsts carrying the weight of a 7 year old too.
I have no idea why you keep ranting about Lance's style of riding. I dont use easier gearing to be like Lance. I would guess thst if you polled 100 random people riding a bike, very few would know Lance spun up hills. And fewer would care.
Stop caring about my legs or the legs of others. Once again, there is no right or wrong way to climb a hill. Slug it out with tough gearing or spin with easy gearing. Either way works.
to repeat- you seem to expect everyone to think the way you think and prefer what you prefer. Its a hobby- options allow for varied preferences.
If everyone had to ride your gearing, fewer people would ride. Simple as that.
First of all when I am critiquing gear ratios it is in relation to high end road bikes and the folks that ride them for training, racing or sport riding, not touring or commuting. So for these types of bikes the trend toward "spinning" up long or steep climbs was first popularized by Armstrong whether you know it or not. At 230lbs you are a very large man for a cyclist, well into the Clydesdale category so there is no doubt you would need lower gearing than an average sized rider regardless of fitness level. So again it goes back to my earlier point, I believe the trend towards lower gearing (i.e. compact cranks being standard) goes to the fact that the high end road bike buying public is aging significantly which means riders who are heavier, have less muscle mass and perhaps more likely to have knee problems.