Originally Posted by
GeoKrpan
I remember when the 12-36 first came out. Some people got all excited, like it was going to unleash their climbing prowess. The reality is that it's only one gear inch lower than a 12-34. Extra torque? I think that's shameless hype.
If you think the quoted text is marketing hype, you're reading it far differently than intended -- which is that the road hubs (in particular the ratchet mechanism) are about as strong as they need to be for smaller cogs, and 36T pushes them past their design.