Originally Posted by
Hermes
The 53/39 is a great setup for elite 1/2 racers. They need the 53/11 for the slight downhills and have enough power to climb in a 39/23. 50/34 is perfect for the rest of us especially if the local terrain is hilly. However, this is somewhat personal preference and to an extent the coaches' preference. My Russian coaches wanted all except the elite p/1/2s in compact doubles. They wanted more spin.
Standards are supposed to be for the cool kids, while compacts are for noobs
Your perspective is interesting - thanks. I like my compact, and agree that it provides the flexibility to simply change out cassettes to suit the ride. My daily rider has an 11/28, and in this hilly area, I use all of those gears - though I definitely miss the finer adjustments I'd get from a closer ration cassette.