Originally Posted by
FlashBazbo
It's pretty shocking that the author considers 50/34 - 11-34T to be too high gearing. (That's the same or lower than practically every other gravel bike on the market. I rode DK easily and successfully on higher gearing than that.).
the author could be crazy or a significant % of the market has poorly geared bikes.
Based on how often I read posts asking about how to get easier gearing, how many products are available to make drivetrain gearing easier, and the setups I see at gravel rides/races it appears that sub 1:1 ratio gearing is beneficial.
keep in mind that the larger a tire gets, the less meaningful a large cog is.
34/32 on a 25mm road tire is effectively the same gearing as 34/34 on a 40mm gravel tire.
its pretty much a 2 tooth difference between a 25mm road tire and a 40+mm gravel tire.
I'll keep my 34/36 bailout gearing for sure. As it is, I have to stand and balance my weight on steep gravel climbs even with that gearing to get up the hill and not spin out. No desire to have a smaller cassette.
the 46/30t adventure cranks that are being spec'd on some adventure/gravel bikes is great to see.
less weight in the crank, a smaller cassette can be used which means less weight and tighter shift jumps, and still plenty of top end speed since 46/11 is 28mph on flat gravel at 80rpm and not many can sustain that.