Originally Posted by Niloc

Yes, for my tastes 10-spd 11-28 is a huge spread as well. On long rides with rollers and flats as well as hills, it's nice to have tight gearing in the middle where you do a lot of your pedaling. Shifting up or down a tooth or two in the rear to dial in your speed to your preferred cadence is useful. Helpful for maintaining even speeds in pacelines. The pros generally ride tight cassettes for this reason, and unlike us mere mortals, can power up the long climbs on a 39-4/23-5 or whatever. Being a mere mortal living in a mountainous locale, I use a triple to keep the tight gearing and still get up the hills. There isn't much you can't do with a 52/42/30 x 13-26. Ok a triple weighs a bit more than a double, but c'mon fart before your ride or something. It doesn't look as manly go-fast as a double which I suspect is the main reason they are not more popular. My cassette is 9-spd. If I went to 10-spd, and I see no need, but if I did I'd either stick with the 13-26 or maybe get a 12-25 and have even a hair tighter gearing than I have now.