Originally Posted by
superdex
to answer directly, 3-4mph? Below that, you'll be walking. And it'll be a 22% grade. In other words, the 52/36 and 11-32 is plenty. You could go with a 50/34 up front if you want a little lower, or go with a "mullet" setup which is a mtb derailleur and cassette with road shifters. Considering you're able to put in 225-250 watts, if there aren't other limitations to ditching the e-bike, you'll be fine.
My ftp is under 250w, and I spent last week at Ride the Rockies: 418mi and 29k ft of climbing. Not a lot over 8%, but when it was, 60-70 rpm with 36-32 was very doable (for me, anyway). Only once did I wish I had the 34 up front, but that's because it was 100*F and it mile 98....
thank you, very helpful. i may be putting too much faith in the bike calculator, but it tells me that at 195lb plus 15lb of bike it takes 225w sustained to go up a 12% grade at 4 mph. not sure what cadence that would be, but i’m guessing too low for me to actually sustain 225w for long enough… definitely not in 100 degrees weather, at which point i’d have long since called an uberXL 😂😂