Originally Posted by
jonathanf2
I'm amazed you're climbing the area with road gearing. There are days climbing on my gravel bike with 40:50t low gearing where I struggle a bit! Honestly I'm fine with 1x for gravel, I find 2x gravel makes more sense if you're running 2 wheelsets and have a set of skinnier tires for the aero benefits, but like me you have a dedicated road bike. I haven't noticed much drop in speed after switching to 1x. For example taking Linda Vista Ave. going south on the descent near the Rose Bowl, my speeds area about the same between my 1x setup and when I had 2x gearing. I don't really miss it and chain retention and shifting feel better.
It's not exactly "road gearing". The low gear in my road bike is 39x29. The low gear on my gravel bike is 34x36, which is plenty low enough for me going up Brown and Cherry. Don't forget that I occasionally do those climbs on my 32x19 singlespeed, too.
If the gear ratio is the same, it makes zero difference if it's 1x or 2x. A ratio is a ratio.