Originally Posted by SDS
You climb a lot and you are 52. That argues in favor of a triple (don't care if it is 53-39-28 or 52-38-28), 11-21T for flat rides, and whatever the heck you need to get up the hill, preferably spinning almost the whole way, something like 11-27 or 12-27. Only reason to stand up, is to put the young whippersnappers who don't know that red meat doesn't always beat gray matter, in their place.
I climb a lot (and I do mean
a lot) and I'm 47. I have a triple (53-42-30) on my touring/rain bike and a compact double (50/34) on my climbing/race bike. Both have 12-27 9-speed cassettes. They both have more than enough gearing for my needs. Personally, I don't see the need to run a tighter cassette. The jumps between gears are small enough.
The triple: I do 99% of my climbing in the middle (42) ring. I rarely use the 30 ring, only on the steepest grades over 15%, or on really long climbs like the ones in the Eastern Sierra. I have little use for the two lowest gears, so they're just along for the ride.
The double: Big ring (50) up to about 6% grades. Above that I drop to the small (34) ring. I still have little use for the bottom two gears, but it's nice to know they're there. I occasionally spin out in the top gear, so I'm thinking of building up an 11-27 cassette.
What sort of cadence do I use on the hills? About 70-75. My climbing rates:
endurance: 2500-3000 ft/hr
tempo: 3500-4000
max. effort: 4500-5300
My wife doesn't climb that fast, so I put a 50-34 double and an 11-34 cassette with an XTR derailleur on her bike. She likes those lower gears.