Originally Posted by
bwebel
We could live with the gear range provided in a 10x50 rear cassette and a 48t or 50t front chainring, but could never live with the large gaps necessary for such a wide cassette. It would take probably a 16 cog rear cluster to make me happy with a 10x50 cassette.
Range really isn't a problem. With a 48 front chain ring, your top end is still as high as a 53/11, and you have below one to one gearing on the low end.
I agree that I don't think I'd like the gaps (preferring one tooth changes in higher ranges) but actually the gaps on the 10-50 aren't bad until you get to the bailout gears.
And compared to a 2x11 system with close to the same range (but slightly more limited, the jumps aren't that much bigger.
A 2x11 with 11-34 in the back and compact rings 50/34 gives you effectively 15 non redundant useful gears. The progreesion for those gears are mostly around 10-13 gear step( admittedly you could make those steps smaller in the mid range if yo made a double shift for every shift, but nobody shifts like that in the real world)
Compartiively the Eagle system gives 12 useful non redundant gears ( only 3 fewer) and steps typically between 13-17, not light years different.