Originally Posted by
GhostRider62
Years ago I used to tour and randonneur with half step gearing plus granny. That was sweet. Off the top of my head, the spacing was 4-5%.
....
There are so few people now that know what half step gearing is, I rarely mention it.
The bike I built up four years ago that I consider my light touring bike has a 3X8 half step plus granny drive train. A Sram eight speed 11/32 cassette, crankset is 46/42/24. The unpainted 24T granny chainring almost disappears on an unpainted titanium bike.
I avoid the two most cross chained gears on each chainring, thus of the possible 24 gears, I have 18 effective gears.
https://gear-calculator.com/?GR=DERS...N=MPH&DV=teeth
My other derailleur touring bike has the same exact gearing but with 26 inch wheels the gears are a hair lower.
Half step gearing was great when I toured in Florida, it was perfectly flat except for the bridges, a slight change of windage and I would make a small adjustment for my gearing. But when I toured Pacific Coast, the grade changed often enough that I was frequently shifting and rarely was trying to find the ideal gear, half step there was not an advantage.
But, my rando bike has a stock road triple (52/42/30) with the same eight speed 11/32 cassette, not half step gearing. But I can usually find the exact gear I want on that bike pretty quick.