Originally Posted by
jonathanf2
Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I went ahead and ordered a Shimano HG-50 11-36t 10 speed cassette. I may consider going 11-42t down the road, but that depends how I feel after riding 11-36t. Also from what I read, it might be necessary to upsize my small chainring to a 31/32t if I do go with the 11-42t to insure smoother shifting. I think for now I'll see how the 11-36t works out. I want to keep things as close to plug-n-play as possible before doing more upgrades.
Your RD will be beyond its spec'd capacity with that 11-42 cassette and any tooth spread on the chainring that exceeds 10T. Going with a larger small chainring will help offset that, any little bit will help. I don't recommend exceeding the RD capacity though. Good luck.