riding into June and the beginning of summer

[north woods gal]

Emily, yes, it is reassuring to tackle hills knowing you have a lot of bottom gears available. I don't consider myself to be the strongest rider, but I don't avoid hills, either. It's all in the gearing and matching it up with what you can handle as far as strength. I can get by with doubles in this country, rather than having to go with triple road bikes. Even on my double road bikes, though, there are differences as to their gearing.

My Domane is a 700x25 wheeled bike with standard 50/34 compact on the front and 12/30 on the back. On a good day, it is just low enough for me on our worst hills, but if I'm tired or have to deal with a strong headwind, it's a bit iffy.

My Salsa Warbird is a 700x35 bike with more of a cyclocross double. It has a 46/34 front and in the back, I changed the cassette to a 12-32. I still bottom out on our worst hills, but it's a little better. The 700x35 tires, though, make it a much more versatile bike. It's a very good gravel bike when the gravel isn't too deep or soft.

My Salsa Fargo is my go to bike for exploring. It's still a drop bar bike that runs well on pavement, but it's actually a 29er in wheel size with its big 2.2" tires. It has the lowest gearing of the three with a 42/28 up front and an 11-36 on the back. I suspect it will handle any road in our state, though if I was headed to the rockies I might try something even lower geared.