imobilinpedalus

Hello folks,

Trying to get my bearings right and so i want to understand a little bit more about cassette sizes (T) What i have in mind right now is road bikes. What is a typical set up here? While i struggle to understand the difference between having 11 or 12 teeth for the smallest cog on the cassette, i notice that this factor on the largest cog varies considerably. Before i move on, are there set ups that require strictly 12T and others 11T on the smallest cog or is this not the case (in other words can any set up use either 11T or 12T regardless of the rest of the setup?)

(FYI, my cassettes are 10 speed just in case this means anything) Sorry but i have to draw the line somewhere not jump on tomorrows trending cassette speed (#11 or #12 or #13 or whatever, ugh)

So, let me assume the most used/most popular set up on a road bike cassette is 11-28 and then you tell me if this is in the ballpark or spot on or whatever. And before i forget, is there a difference here for men and women or are these criterias the same? If a road bike guy sees a bike that has a cassette with a 11-25T setup, will he think "great just what i need" or think this is the wrong cassette for my use and too few teeth on the biggest cog and will have to replace it? (I want you to imagine there are some moderate inclines not just flat earth to trek across for this rider) and YES, i do understand that more T on the biggest cog means an easier climb but "what is the sweetspot" i guess is what i am asking. Now i don`t want to complicate things and add the crankset to this equation so let`s just keep to the cassette for now. Let`s just say that the crankset has two rings. Will this rider consider the weight of the bicycle when considering what size cassette to apply? I mean is it much harder to trek uphill with a heavier bike? Or to put it filpside, is it much easier to trek uphill with a very light bicycle? And thus will this factor alone yield a different cassette? Another thing i am curious about is rear derailleurs. I understand there are three sizes (well roughly anyway) so i am a little confused what is the maximum "reach" for a small RD (i.e. max 26T?) and at what number do i have to look into a medium RD if the cassette have too many teeth on the biggest cog. Will i need a medium RD if i have a 11-28 cassette or long before that? (11-26,11-25,11-23 etc.)

I think i`ve rambled a lot already, hopefully i am making myself clear. I am trying to figure out exactly what 10 speed cassette to buy for a roadbike i am working on while keeping to the general consensus of cassette sizes. I am sure getting a 11-23 cassette would be only for flat terrain and getting a 11-32 cassette would be for mountaneous terrain, lol. But where is the sweetspot folks?

I think that`s it.
Thanks,