I'm probably doing it all wrong...
the old "half step and a granny" bikes were all 5 speeds- even the 1985 Trek 720. By the time 6 speeds come around, you get a lot more of the evenly spaced chainrings. I've mostly used the middle ring and then used the big ring as a "little bit" higher of a gear- and pretty much ignore the little ring until I'm climbing.
It looks like a lot of old tourers used a 50T big ring and usually a 28T granny. Nowadays, it seems a lot of people opt for smaller big rings- but I guess you can get a few fewer cogs in the back to even that out...
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*Recipient of the 2006 Time Magazine "Person Of The Year" Award*
Commence to jigglin’ huh?!?!
"But hey, always love to hear from opinionated amateurs." -says some guy to Mr. Marshall.