Originally Posted by
Duke of Kent
What if the others are spinning a 23t, or are in their 21t or even 19t?
You can take your easy gear and spin. I'll take my harder gear and spin it just as fast. Guess what happens?
You're f---ed.
+1
If you're spinning your 27 and it isn't STEEP (and a long steep climb at that....) the only thing you'll be doing effectively is watching everyone else pull away from you. Just a simple fact.... you need to be able to "spin" a large gear to keep up.
Obviously you have to get what works for you.... a lot of that takes time to figure out. That's why I suggest getting a few cassettes to play with and see what works well for you. Ultegra cassettes are stupid cheap form probikekit.... by 3 of them (12-23, 12-25, and 12-27) and start riding!