I'm starting to think that one should be fine with the compact. I've been transforming myself into a spinner (from a masher) and, lately, I've been hanging in the little ring almost exclusively. Today, I was in my 39-21 for a townline sprint, cranked it up to 188rpm, and I was flying (I didn't take it, but, had I shifted into the 19 at some point rather than spinning that 21 as much as I could, yeah, I probably would have taken it). The 53-11 seemed so far away from being needed. OP, take this with a grain of salt as I am new to turning the crank at a high cadence. (Now, when I mashed, I used that 53-11 often enough and wanted even more -- thought about going to a 54, 55 or 56).