… but the stock crankset (FSA/RPM 30/39/52T) on my Bacchetta has seemed geared a bit high for me. I rarely get up on the 52t chainring, & even then only on the low range on the cassette or when screaming down a long downhill faster than I really should be going at my age. My top gear would put me over 40mph at a 120rpm cadence, which I just don’t need (& likely couldn’t manage anyhow!). I’m usually riding mid-range on the 39t chainring.
So I swapped it out for a new crankset - picked up a wonderfully inexpensive Sugino XD300 110/74mm 46-36-26T crankset with 165 mm cranks. Went for the cheaper XD300 with steel chainrings, rather than the all-alloy XD600.
Just what the doctor ordered. I’m now all over the middle chainring on most of my riding, up on the 46t on the long flats & downhills, and that granny gear that I didn’t really think I needed - with a gain ratio of only 1.5 - is one of those things that you really don’t think you need until you realize that you want it.
Am still using the stock pedals. Entertaining the notion of clipless (Speedplay frogs?), but with most of my riding being Portland Oregon commuting, am feeling a little spleeny about riding clipped in. I hear folks talk about your feet not staying on the pedals due to gravity, with a high bottom-bracket, but this is just not an issue for me. On a budget, the crankset feels like it was the best gain for the buck at this point.
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