The new ride

[kalniel]

Looking at one of these possibly before Christmas...

That looks the business! Really tear up the downhills!

[scaryjim]

... the front cogs on MBs are so small ...

If you've got a friendly local bike store you could ask them about them customising an MTB with a larger chainset?

I run 48/38/28 on my tourer and iirc the highest gearing in the middle ring is actually a shade higher than my usual cruising gear for my commute.

OTOH there are MTBs our there with larger chainsets: a very quick sweep through the cycle republic website found this: https://www.cyclerepublic.com/bikes/...bike-2016.html which has a 44/30/22 chainset.

In fact a lot of the lower end bikes they stock seem to have larger chainsets on 650b (27.5") wheels, which is probably a nice comprise between a rugged bike and something a bit more commute-friendly.

[Smudger]

Thanks for the replies, it's all just theory though, I ended up getting a Giant Roam 0 in the Autumn sales, I think it's a 700c(?), and is quite speedy enough for me, thank you very much...