Originally Posted by
seypat
What's old is new again. What happened to the compact? Sure seems to be some big rings on the front for the average Joe. How're they going to get up the hills on a 54/40 11-28? I've been saying it for some time. Once the FD becomes electronic, you'll see the return of the triple. I'm guessing when the trickle down goes to the other groups you'll see a 54/40/28 or 30 crank become available. Might even see it on these two.
Where are you getting this from? Cycling Tips is indicating that the 50/34 Compact is still here and, for the first time, you can do 1:1 within DA/Ultegra; since there's only one RD cage size (and assuming that there aren't some sub-compact cranks not listed) this seems to mean that the both the DA and Ultegra RDs will handle a 34t out of the box -
https://cyclingtips.com/2021/08/new-...thing-to-know/
Up front are some revamped chainring pairings — 50/34T, 52/36T, and 54/40T — and as expected, the outer chainrings are hollow aluminum pieces for vastly improved bending rigidity (and shift performance) relative to more traditional flat-plate construction. Notably missing from that list is the traditional 53/39T, which Shimano says just wasn’t big enough for how much faster top racers are moving these days. But at the other end, the new cassette options mean that — for the first time ever — you can now get a factory 1:1 climbing gear with Dura-Ace and Ultegra without having to resort to aftermarket components. Yes, yes, and more yes.
(my bolding)