Originally Posted by
saddlesores
it seems with the technology level for deraillers and gearing, if you're gonna be in the mountains AND carry a heavy load, you're not gonna easily be able to get a range with reasonable steps that has a super-low AND a super high gear. you gots to make a choice.
it's not that you have to choose between pedaling uphill or cranking downhill. the actual choice is PUSHING uphill OR coasting down.
I disagree.
This is my gearing on my touring bike
The steps in the high and middle range are quite nice for cruising. The shift from the middle ring to the inner ring is a bit large but if I have to use the inner ring, I usually have other things to worry about.
The drivetrain technology I’m using is just 9 speed (I have some 10 speed mountain bikes with similar gearing) and the derailer might even be 8 speed...it’s an old gray XTR. The cassette is a Sunrace 11-36 9 speed. The only addition I made so that the old XTR would handle the 36 is to add a Wolf Link.
_IMG4968 by
Stuart Black, on Flickr
I don’t have to push uphills nor do I have coast downhills. I’m not moving very fast in the 15” gear (between 3 and 4 mph) but with a 115” high I can spin it up to about 40mph before I have to coast.