Quote Originally Posted by madisongrrl
I would guess there are probably very few (or maybe zero) TE women who would have 39/25 as the lowest gearing on their road bike.
There is at least one. I have 42/52 front and 13/24 rear. But I live in southern New England where there are hills but no mountains. I wouldn't try riding in California on these gears. However, I do like hills and tend to seek them out on my rides. I can do steep hills, but they are always less than 1/2 mile long. And BTW, my 24 rear cog is almost never used after my first month of spring riding. And my climbing cadence is generally near or above 70, cadence on the flats around 90. I use a 6 speed freewheel, and my 1970 Campy derailleur can't handle anything bigger than 24 (23 would be better for it and that's what I've usually had til the latest freewheel swap when I couldn't find one).