Thank you everyone for the advice. I found out the smallest I can go without replacing the crank is 53-39. I’ll give that a shot and if hills are still too much I’ll replace the crankset.
Dropping from a 42 to a 39 may help a bit but I suspect you’ll want to go to a Compact crank at some point. Options include:
- Go to a Compact Crank.
- Get a longer rear cage on your rear derailer and go with a 12/32 cogset on the back.
- Move to a triple up front (and maybe #2 as well).
Years ago when I went to a triple on my touring bike I ended up with something like a 34 on the low end up front and a 36 on the back. It was hard not to spin up virtually anything. And I still had a 54 or 55 top end chain ring with a 12 on the back. All on a 6 speed rear. Fun times.