Originally Posted by
tyrion
If I have a tailwind or a downhill, I like putting it in the highest gear and getting a little more speed. You don't need to be an elite athlete to enjoy the higher gearing.
You're right, but 37 mph? Are you just saying that vaguely or have you actually observed this speed on your speedometer? What's the exact top gear on your bike?
Pro riders in the Tour de France travel at around 25-28 mph on flat ground, inside pelotons. Here's what it looks like in first person with Caleb Ewan (multiple Tour de France stage wins). At one point he's pushing out 800 watts.
37 mph is another 30% faster than this. Average guy on a touring bike is going to need a massive mountain descent to hit that speed. How many times a year are you hitting this speed? At that point maybe just take a break and coast.
Drop the large chainring to a 42t so you can use a 24t small chainring, which is something that you would actually use.