I guess that knees vary a lot. I'm 58, and I've used a 52-13 since my early 20's. In my eary 40's, I switched to a triple crank, keeping the 52-13 gearing, and added a 24 or 22 tooth granny- even for carrying 4 loaded panniers, on 3-4 day camping trips. Is this so unusual? My friends camping with me, also over 50 years old, use the very same gearing. None of us have bad knees from doing this. In fact, whenever I build up any bike, including a fat tire/ mountain bike, the first thing I do is to install a triple crankset , 52-42-24 or 22, with a 13-26 or 28 freewheel. Otherwise, I outpedal the bike right away. I've never competitively raced, but I enjoy going fast, with or without a load on the bike. Cadence is a very individual thing, I think. The granny gives me a huge break on steep climbs, especially with 4 full panniers.
> To all the posters on this thread,
>
> Another approach to consider is simply to set up a freewheel with larger
> cogs across the board, resulting in more or less the same tooth difference
> as a more standard 14-26. I acquired a Mondia that had been set up this
> way and it works really great.
>
> Granted, you would need access to spare cogs, especially if you want to
> keep everything true to period.
>
> Nobody, in my opinion, needs a 52-13 combo if they also need a 42-28. I
> don't think anyone doing recreational riding needs anywhere near a 52-13.
>
> my two cents.
>
> Bob Schenker
> Oakland, CA