Originally Posted by
rbrides
The new TREK SL6 PRO has a drive train of 52/36 chain rings and rear cassette with max 30T gear. That is a 1.2 ratio. They market it as "This upgrade makes it a worthy choice for any ride, from sprints on your local roads to pro stage races to hill climbing competitions." That just seems like not as low a ratio by today's standards for climbing. Maybe 1.2 is well suited for younger, lighter weight riders but is seems underwhelming to me. I'm currently on a bike with a 48/32 chain rings and cassette with 34T for a .94 ratio.
What are typical gear ratios for climbing these days?
In a road context, "climbing bike" doesn't refer to the gear ratios, it's a marketing term to distinguish framesets that are less optimized toward aerodynamics than "aero bikes." This tends to result in them being lighter, and especially when aero road frames were a very immature technology, could perhaps lend them advantages in how they felt to ride.
As far as what's typical, who cares? Use whatever gears you have use for. Different riders in different terrain have vastly different needs.