Originally Posted by
SoSmellyAir
Unlike you LA guys, I have a meager and narrow power band, so a 11-34 cassette would not work. With a 12-25 cassette, I can always be in the right gear (at least on my regular routes). As for being passed by fitter and lighter cyclists when going uphill, that is just physics; cannot fight it. I think the outside temperature has a bigger effect on my HR zone than my cassette or my route.
I actually started with a 11-32 but I often felt I need to be in between two adjacent gears, and the 16T to 14T jump was almost always too big to sustain. If the 11-28 works out, I think the biggest cassette for me (when using 50/34 chain rings) would be a 11-30.
I agree, the bigger end of the cassette feels like there should be something in between at times. Sounds like 12 speed Di2 is something worth looking at. I've read that you get that extra 16T depending on the cassette.