Originally Posted by
Ataylor
Couple questions for you guys. First, what exactly are the benefits (if any) of having closely-spaced ratios?
There are fewer situations where one cog offers a bit less resistance than you like and the next a bit more.
The other thing is, I've heard people mention that you should stay away from gears that you don't need. I ride on flats like 98% of the time, so does it make "sense" for me to have a 50/34 crank with an 11/32 cassette? Or is there a "better" configuration?
I think cassettes with more than a two tooth jump before the 19 cog are unsuitable for road riding. With 10 cogs I ride 13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23-26 and with 11 it would be 12-25 switching to a 46T big ring.
In the 8 speed era I paired a 50-40-30 triple crank with a 13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21 cassette providing a 13-19 straight block for plains rides east of Boulder, CO and low like 42x28 mountains west.
Eddy Merckx dominated the pro peloton with a 52x13 and I didn't need a gear bigger than he used.