Originally Posted by
tomato coupe
Yeah, technically speaking, the gear ratios are all different. But the difference between the 48/15 and the 35/11, for instance, is only 0.6%. For all practical purposes, those gear ratios are the same. To argue otherwise is silly.
The 48/15 is smack in the middle of the cassette, perfect for heavy use, whereas the 35/11 is next to last on the cassette on the small ring, which is perhaps handy if I were to have one of those fits like the 1x guys have where they can’t figure out how to use the front derailleur, but more likely, it’s useful in short, sharp rollers or when a climb briefly flattens out before pitching upwards again. I don’t think I use 35/11 much myself, but scrapping all the benefits of the 11 other gears to get rid of a the so-called “duplicate” 35/11 makes zero sense for how I ride.