GVBR - Question re: Gearing (choosing a bike)

[Tsisqua]

Hello,

I have a question about choosing a bike with proper gearing for GVBR this year 2017.
I'm late 40's and not very fit, so on our training rides, I've been using the granny gear on my old Stumpjumper to get up the hills.
I'm looking at buying a hybrid and deciding between a Trek FX (3 Chain rings up front: 26/26/48) or a sweet-looking Merida Crossways Urban 300, which only has 2 chaing rings: 22/36.

If I'm getting this right, the Merida has a lower setting than the Trek, so that's ok, but I'm wondering if not having the large chain ring would be a bad idea for the longer days? I'll be riding with a group of younger students (12-13) and I find that we never go downhill as quick as I like (former mt. bike enthusiast!) so maybe I won't need the big chain ring? Or is it silly to think of buying a bike I can't push hard on the flats around town (e.g. commuting).

looking forward to hearing your opinions. I can't seem to find any reviews on the Merida Crossways 300 Urban that are in English.

cheers,
Maya

[Derny Driver]

I like the look of the Trek. 48/38/28 chainrings? I like that combination. You would do most of your riding in the 38 ... the rear cogs have a good range. You have the 28 as a bail out gear for steep hills and i think you will use a 48 on downhills. A good setup.

[RonK]

I found the outer ring of the triple on my tourer so rarely used it was virtually redundant. So I built my backroads tourer with a 2x10 22/36 chain set and an 11-36 cassette. I don't miss the big ring at all. You spend hours riding up hills, minutes riding down.