Originally Posted by Iride01

Mtn bikes seem to have a wider spacing on the hands. I think. Mtn bikes aren't my thing and never have been. But if that is true, then the wider hand positions might brace you and make you rigid in the arms and shoulder with your shoulders taking the brunt of the force. So yeah, on long ride you might have sore shoulders. I prefer narrower bars than what road bikes come with as standard. There is no guarantee that a road bike will solve that issue for you at the get go. But there is a good chance. (don't get a hybrid flat bar road bike, that's a conflict of purpose).


Yes 50/34 is the front chain rings for a 2x bike. it's what seems to be normal for endurance road bikes that are made for a less aggressive position. The endurance road bike that are more set up to give you an aggressive position or "race fit" many times have a 52/36 or 53/39 crank set.

11-30 and 11-32 are the range of teeth counts on the rear. There can be any number of cogs between. More cogs give you more choice of muscle output to match the speed you want to go. If you need really low lows and really high highs then maybe consider a 3x bike with 9 speeds on the rear. Otherwise, as I said earlier, a 50/34 with a 11-30 or 11-32 rear in a 10 speed rear or 11 speed rear will probably be good 'nuff.

But I have no idea what your abilities are. So try before you buy is best. And try to ride the same hills you plan to ride with that prospective purchase if you can. a 3% slope might be easy peasy. A long 5% slope might wear you out if you can't get low enough gears for you. A 10% slope will make many of us grunt a little. I had to walk my first encounter with a 10 percent slope. But the lowest I had then was a 39F/28R combo.

If you ride a lot on that bike or any bike, you will get better and the gears you need will change the better you get.