I've ridden standard before, and I like how it has all the options on a very fast descent, but I don't notice much difference on my 50/34. as stated before, I also spend time a little bit on the smaller cogs but on climbs i love the smaller 34T, especially on those really long, lengthy hills. On climbs though, I never really ran out on a 53/39 mainly because we just have rolling farmland here and not too many are steep enough to run me out of gears.