Alot of this is going to have to do with where you ride. I used to live in the east coast near the ocean and riding on the east coast in mostly flat terrain a 50/34 would have driven me nuts. I was in the big ring 90% of the time and the 52 kept me in a good cadence right in the middle of the pack on the rear 9 or 10spd cogset.
I now live in the mountains on the west coast, 10 years older and on my daily rides I use every single gear to get up some decent sized climbs and I'm in a 50/11 to bomb down the descents on the other side.
I currently ride a nice lighter weighted (7.5kg) road bike mostly in the summer and a heavier 9kg gravel bike through the winter.
Both bikes are currently setup with a 50/34 in the front. The gravel bike is my "training" bike. I run an 11-30 on the back (11-28 on the road bike). The low gearing on an 11-30 is 30-27-24-21 This allows me to push a one tooth smaller gear on my climbs until I have to "bail out" to my 30 tooth. (The 28 is 28-25-23-21)
After consistently riding for the last 2 years I am going to up my inside ring on my gravel bike to a 36 this winter. This will help me push a little harder (about 2 gear inches) on the hills using the same gearing.
If I get another (I mean when I get another) bike I would love to go with something setup with a 52/36 for the flatter rides when I go into town and do the group rides with the guys.
I guess what I am saying is that if you ride hard on mostly flat roads go with a 52/36. If you cycle through all your gears and have some good climbs keep the 50/34.
-Sean
Last edited by Wilmingtech; 08-28-19 at 09:54 PM.