Old injuries that severely limit the amount of power I can put down and which terrain I am able to ride.
So, it's:
- Bike: A 1990s vintage MTB of smaller size -- Trek 970.
- Riding Style/Position: Fairly upright riding position.
- Gearing: 2x11spd Shimano M8000, 165mm 2x crank, 34/24T chain rings, 11-42T cassette.
- Terrain: fairly flat, though with minor undulations, and a couple of tougher shorter climbs.
Gearing is: 34/24T rings, 11-42T cassette with 11-13-15-17-19-21-24-28-32-37-42T. The steps aren't my favorite on the lower half of the gears (21-42T), but it works okay. When power output tanks on a given incline, I simply gear way down and tolerate the much slower speeds.
That's yields gearing of Low = sub-15g.i. and High = ~80. Not ideal, since I don't need to go any faster it works for me.
https://www.gear-calculator.com/?GR=...N=MPH&DV=teeth
Back when I still had powerful legs, I recall test-riding a late-1980s Ritchey Ultra with (IIRC) a 7spd 11-28T cassette and 22/32/42T chain rings. If it was the Shimano CS-HG70 cassette, that would have been 11-13-15-18-21-24-28T. On the test ride, I was able to climb right up a ~30% hard-packed dirt grade for a hundred yards or so while sitting on the saddle. Just powered right up the incline. No can do, these days. That yielded gearing of Low = sub-21g.i. and High = ~100. Much more appropriate for speedier travel, with a low that was low enough for solid legs without injuries.
Much older, these days, but still on a bike. I'm okay with that. I suppose I'd prefer gearing nearer to 12.5 to 13g.i., which would ensure getting up the steepest inclines I contend with. Almost slow enough to topple over, but it works. But I didn't want to go a big fat 1x to get it. Next stop, next time I need to re-do the gearing to go even lower ... probably an electric.