Originally Posted by
Barrettscv
...and a 10-42 could be paired to a 46/33 double crankset and a long arm Eagle rear derailleur for a incredible range.
Personally, if I were to take a super-wide-range cassette like that to 2x, I'd probably opt for half-step chainrings. Something like 44/41 or 48/45. Properly selected, it would give you 24 truly distinct gear ratios by splitting the gearing jumps in the cassette with the chainrings so you can make your big jumps in the back and then fine tune cadence on sustained efforts if need be.