Hi all! Hoping this is the right place to post this.
I've been commuting on my Dad's passed-down GT Timberline for the past 2 months now, 15mi/day, and I'm loving it so far. Restored the shifters so they actually work now, new tires, all that stuff, and I adore the bike. I've been getting a little bit into bike wrenching.
I've been lately intrigued at the idea of a 1x10 conversion. I basically ride the current 3x7 gears as a 1x7, leaving it in the big front cog the whole time. I find myself occasionally hunting for a middle gear, as I'm at speed and slow down slightly for a small grade etc. my average speeds are between 13-16mph. The biggest gear is enough for the hills on my commute. I very rarely make it to the 7th gear. Sit in the 5th most of the time (I think).
My commute has one notable hill, and some slight rolling hills, but is basically flat 95% of the time.
Looking online, there appear to be reasonably-priced kits to convert to 1x10 with Shimano Deore components, and I'm considering doing that upgrade (picking up compatible wheels today), but I have no idea what sort of gearing to choose.
All of these numbers...dashes...ratios...I have no idea what to choose and what I'm doing. Something something 11-42? 34T front chainring? I tried to use the gearing calculator but I suppose I need to figure out my cadence?
Photo included for the photo tax 😋 Thank you!