I havent seen any local road racer using a 50-36 at the moment.just the cyclo tourists who have dumped their triples. On a new centaur group I was forced to order the 53-39 as they had nothing else in stock and nor would they for many months. Some of us have been around riding since the 80s so change is hard. I used to race on a 52-42 13-22!!!! I couldn't afford to buy 8sp dura ace. We made do. I specced 52-42 on my cannondale in 1998 with a 12-23. That was great for most climbs. Our climbs here are about 6-7% grade average. Classic European climbs. Which renders a 34-25 useless unless you can spin out constantly on a 6-7% at 100rpm plus. ( some geek will correct me on that for sure). I have never fallen for 53-39 hype. As these chainsets come standard with most bkes or groupsets these day then you have little choice. Dont you know that Shimano and CAmpy went from "hype" or what i would say standard 42-52 to 53-39 in the early 90s when Hampsten and Anderson were testing STI ( they were both top pro level cyclists fr TVM, Motorola outfits). I was always against the huge jump from 53-39 especially when going from a long hard fast flat to a sudden climb. It meant changing down to small and then down a few sprockets. 52-42 meant less of a shock to the system. Not relevant f you ride like a tourist. ( but that aint a ad thing dude as a man should know his limitations). I actually am a fan of the 50-36 and wish to propogate its use and thought of this combo well befre your dream hero TDF pros... oh there are other races...come to Europe and see.) a 50-11 offers a gear larger than a 53-12 and the 36-23 also offers and out gear which undercuts the 39-25. I do a lot of standing climbing at 20kph on the 52 and being forced to have a 53 n purchase of most bikes ( ie: FSA SLK) is quite frustration. 50-36 on an 11-23 is the way forward for racing gears. But you need the cadence. I laugh so much when i see guys gear crunching on a 53-12 or any other gear. Do the grade my learning to spin.
Why did I have so many cassettes? WEll dummy maybe cos i have more than one bike?? Why not? Is that a crime? Why do i have different trousers? Not cos of fashion but cos of functionality, different bikes, styles of riding, coutries lived in and conditions and also technology available. I have never been against a 50-36 quite in favour but not quite for the 50-34. We have had to suffer using 53-39 so the industry could standardise. I would never push weights which Hulk Hogan chooses to train with so why have we been forced onto the 53 for so long??? I don't care what the sprinters use or any TDF rider. They are irrelevant. I don't possess a RP of 36-40 nor do I have a huge vo2 max. Think before you jump in.