Your gears seem to be rather lower than is currently fashionable. I think that most bikes are over-geared, so I am interested in your approach.
How long are your cranks? How fast do you pedal?
As I said above if I have 34 front and 9 tooth rear that is 102 inches. That will take me pedalling up to 36 , 38 MPH , after that I usually just tuck if going down hill . This year I have tried to extend the time I can sustain at 30 MPH without my legs and lungs exploding . I am talking about only a few mins mind you and unless you have miles of long gradual down hills I see no point in high gearing .
If you can sustain 30 on the flat for ages then by all means go for big gears but I wont be racing you for money?
Right just been out for 35 miles and at 100 cadence I am doing about 29 MPH with that 34 x 9 , so you may be right with that bike I may , if I get fitter , up the gearing a bit .
When I ran a double in the past I had a 28 - 46 on the front this would give about 113 inches with an 11 32 cassette.
I have always used 170 cranks but another thing I like , thank you Mr Obree , which is no problem with the singe is a low Q factor, ie cranks and BB as narrow as possible.
