Originally Posted by
bradtx
matthewpetty, There's a couple of ways to simplify this. First and easiest is to swap the cassettes and ride for evaluation. The second easiest is the crankset swap (my choice) and use the closer ratio cassette for weekends and the wider range cassette when loaded. You may find that you don't miss the original crankset too much.
That sounds like a winner to me, too. Maybe it`s just me, but messing with a front derailler always leaves me frustrated, so I try to avoid it whenever possible. Much easier (for me) to do ANYTHING with the rear. Will your current RD handle the mtb cassette? Even if it doesn`t, any derailler compatible with that one will certainly work with your 11-28, so you could just change it one time and swap wheels at will (with a chain long enough for the big cassette).