Double, Compact, or Triple?

[Veronica]

I have a bike with a triple, a bike with a really small compact double 46 - 33 with an 11 - 34 in the back and a bike with a standard compact 50 - 34 and an 11 - 25 in the back.

I think of myself as a pretty strong rider, not super fast, but strong. Yesterday we rode 46 miles with a big climb coming at mile 33 ish. The climb was 4.5 miles with an average grade of about 7.5% - sea level to 1600 feet. I cannot believe how much it hurt to climb those 4 and a half miles in my 34 - 25. No knee issues just some burning muscles and by the time I got to the summit I was seriously fried and it was NOT all downhill to the car. I'm thinking I need to see if I can put a 27 on it. It's also the first ride I've ever wanted bigger gears as I spun out in the 50 - 11 on a downhill. But do I really need to do more than 38 mph?

Yeah, if you're having knee issues... probably want to swap it out for something easier.

Veronica