MinnMan

Are there lots of very steep grades there in NJ? I don't think I"d want an 11-34 on a road bike. Even with 11 or 12 speed, that leaves a lot of larger gaps between cogs, and when riding at a fast (not race) tempo, that makes it harder to find just the right gear without having to monkey back and forth between chain rings (caveat: DI2 largely solves this - doesn't look like yours has it, or am I missing something there?).

One of my bikes has 53/39 and my largest rear cog is a 27. That''s never been a problem here in the midwest - even in the hills of Wisconsin. It wasn't a problem in the Texas hill country. I admit the lack of a larger cog was kind of aggravating when I did Mt. Figueroa in CA, which has lots of long pitches at 10-12%. I ended up standing more than I would have liked.

My point is that a cassette with a large high/low cog ratio has some drawbacks, particularly if you don't do a lot of steep climbing.