Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 4,624
Bikes: iele Latina, Miele Suprema, Miele Uno LS, Miele Miele Beta, MMTB, Bianchi Model Unknown, Fiori Venezia, Fiori Napoli, VeloSport Adamas AX
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I have a Campagnolo Veloce 9-speed racing triple 30-42-52 on one of my bikes. I have an FSA crankset in my parts bin that also has 30-42-52 chainrings on it. To the best of my knowledge neither of those cranksets will take a chainring smaller than 30 teeth.
On my road touring bike I have an old-school Deore triple crankset from abck in the 1980s. That crankset has 24-38-48 chainrings. If I use a long cage Deore rear derailleur from the same era and a 32 or 34 teeth low cog on the rear, I'm set for almost all of my road touring needs/wants. That gives me a low gear of 20.3 or 19.1 gear inches with a standard 27" wheel.
Of course, an individual's gearing choice will depend on their level of fitness, planned distance per day, strength of headwinds, and weight of gear and how bulky it is.
Cheers