Having a super wide gear range is nice, but not without issues. Besides clunky front shifting, the smaller rear gears can’t be used with the small front chainring – the rear derailleur folds too far thanks to the excess chain length. Adjusting the rear derailleur positioning (B-Tension) seems to help, but that impacts rear shifting performance.

With the new freewheel in back, I also wasn’t spinning out on the lowest gear possible, even on downhills. Time to try a smaller big ring in front.