Quote Originally Posted by motochick View Post
No one (but pros) should be climbing in a 39-25. OUCH
I beg to differ. I'm riding a classic steel with the original 52/42 chainrings and a 13/26 cassette. My lowest gear is 43.6 inches. I tried to change out the smaller chainring to a 39, but it didn't work (it rubbed)--and I have no intention of changing out the whole gearing system (or buying a new bike any time soon). I live in Chile, so nothing is flat, and we have a lot of very steep sections. Sure, it gets tough, but I haven't fallen over yet! As my husband likes to point out, if he did the Death Ride twice on 52 / 42 gearing, then I should be able to handle my regular climbs. It works for me (although the triple I rented in California last year sure was fun).