Originally Posted by
jimc101
Looking at 8 speed cassettes available today, you are limited not by ratios, but weight/component level, SRAM's highest offering is the PG850, Shimano HG51/Alivio
To be fair, the HG51 was Deore before it became Alivio. Classic "trickle down" Shimano. It didn't become a worse cassette when they decided to put it at a lower level.