{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang1033{\fonttbl{\f0\fswiss\fcharset0 Arial;}} {\*\generator Msftedit 5.41.15.1515;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\li2880\ri2880\f0\fs20 Ultra Low Gearing For Road Bikes\par Due to some challenging climbs in our area, the installation of a 11/32 or 11/34 mountain bike cassette along with a mountain bike rear derailleur on a 9-speed road bike is one of the better ideas to come along. Everyone I know who has had their bikes so converted is quite happy. A rear derailleur designed for a road bike won't handle anything bigger than a 28-tooth cog so it has to be replaced with a mountain bike derailleur (I recommend the Shimano XT). Those who have a spare wheelset can still switch back and forth because that derailleur works equally well with a standard road bike cassette.\par Quite sometime ago I had a LeMond Alpe D'Huez converted and chose a 12/34 cassette (I was running a 12/27). Think of it as a 12/25 with 28- and 32-tooth granny gears ready and waiting to level killer hills. I conquered Mitchell on that bike and my knees thanked me for it each time I began to fight gravity. Any good bike mechanic is capable of making the conversion. Shimano keeps promising the introduction of a 10-speed rear derailleur for mountain bikes and when that happens the conversion will be just as easy on 10-speed road bikes.\par }