Colin_P
Guru
Have all these innovations turned us all into softies? sti's/electronic shifting compact chain sets with dinner plate size cassettes carbon/light alloy frames and now we have e bikes.For over 20 years my only bike was a steel frame raleigh with 52/42 chain set and a 12/25 block,i don't remember having to walk up any hill
I was the same when I was young, on the flat I'd be in top and flying along on the 52/12 and the 42/24 always seemed low enough for any hill.
The problem is we get old and some of us suffer health issues. That is why I recently ditched the 52/42 and 12/24 for an mtb triple up front and a 11/34 at the back. The small one on the triple is a 22! Hills are do-able but can be slower than getting off and walking, but that is not the point for me. All done on an early 80's steel framed racer with downyube shifters. It works perfectly.