I'm 50 years old. I am a recreational rider, approx 1100 - 1500 per year. I can ride solo at about 16 - 17 mph on 35 - 60 mile rides on pretty flat terrain. I have a 2007 Lemond Carbon Zurich with a 53- 39 crank and a 10 sp 11 -23 cassette. I suck at hills. I'm 160 lbs. I think I should be better. Then recently I have come to understand gearing better.

I wonder is a 11 - 23 too much for me? Is it a racing config? I almost never use the 11 and sometimes I would like one or two lower gears when I'm slogging up a "hill". No mountains. Thought about a compact, but would going to a Shimano 12 - 25, or even 12 - 28 be a good idea?

Love BF, even Pcad with his bug up is arse.

yes, 11-23 could be tough for hills, you could try a 12-27

Is this a shimano cassette? I'll trade you my 12-27 (Shimano 105, 2009)! Depending how much shipping back and forth would cost that is We can each pay 1 way, win win.

Like you (I'm 41), I started up this go round (after a 10 year hiatus) with a 12/23 cassette and a standard (39/53) crank. Hills sucked! Still, I managed to struggle up them. Then I got a 13/26 cassette. Wow! What a difference. I was able to get up them faster, with a higher cadence, and they weren't quite as painful.

Now I have a compact crank with a 12/27 cassette. It's much better. My speed is up over the other configuration, cadence is higher, HR is a bit lower, and the suffering isn't as great - that is unless I choose to really suffer and pick up the pace. My knees are much happier too.

Got a new bike recently, and went with the same drivetrain config. Compact crank and a 12/27 cassette. It's perfect for me.

im half your age, but i love my 12-23 cassette for group/recreational riding. the cassette (with a standard double) got me up a 19% grade this summer so i dont feel the need for anything more.

A 53/39 and 11-23 doesn't really give you much of a low gear.

A 53/39 with a 12-28 will give you lower gearing than a 50/34 with your 11-23.

Check to see how low of a gear you need and play around with Sheldon Brown's gear calculator.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/

I'm using the 12-25, but loved the previous one I've had - 12-27. That made hills a little bit easier to conquer.

I think cassette choices are entirely personal and depends on the rider needs and strengths. Currently have compact crank with 12-27 (came with the bike) but for me, this is completely unnecessary. I really liked the compact crank, but the jump between 19 - 21 - 24 - 27 is so drastic that I cannot seem to get comfortable with my cadence. I am currently in a shopping mode for 12-23 or 12-25, since I rarely use 27. But if you have compact crank, assuming that you are not going to be climbing an epic mountain, 12 - 23 might be an OK choice.

I used to have 12-27 on my compact crank and didn't like the jump between gears either. I have a 53/39 crank which combined with the 12-25 works nicely.

it just drives me absolutely insane! The worst is 21 -24. Three teeth doesn't seem so much but boy I get annoyed. I end up spinning at least 20 rpms higher for no freaking reason to match the speed I was traveling. Grrrrrrrr. I haven't graduated from Compact yet, so no standard for me.

I took my vintage light weight Guerciotti with a 13-21 out a few weeks ago. It was horrid, especially on a 7 mile climb 11-23 for hills sure... maybe... but for long sustained climbs forget about it. I like the 12-27 it's very versatile. I don't need one tooth changes and you can go faster in a tuck then you can spinning an 11.

That 21-24 jump is a 14% change, about double the 6-7% changes in the 13-14-15-16 range.

I have a Campagnolo 13-26 10 speed cogset. It's 13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23-26. The biggest jumps are 10% at 19-21 and 13% at 23-26.

I don't really miss the 12 cog. I'll spin out at about 33-34 mph on the 50-13, and just coast if I'm going downhill any faster.

Lately, I've been using a 13-29. The 34-29 is great on hills over 7-8% grade. I can sit and spin up them, where I had to stand up.

I use a 12-23 with no problems. Alot depends upon your personal style and preferences. I'm not a spinner and like to climb at a 60 rpm cadence. I also like to get hills done quickly and go fast with some standing. Unless the hills are very steep, I don't have a need for anything more than a 23.

I also wonder why so many people bother with an 11 at the other end. A 100 rpm cadence in a 12 is 38 mph. 120 is 45 mph. How many people exceed that?

Only you can answer this question, because it depends on your terrain, your fitness and your preferred cadence.

So go out to the toughtest climb you routinely do. Ride up it in the 23. If you can maintain a cadence above 60-70 rpm or so, then you probably don't need a lower gear. (although you may still want it if you prefer climbing at a higher cadence.) If you can't you need a lower gear.

All that said, my bet is you'll climb faster, more comfortably, and with less wear and tear on your knees with a 27 or 28.

Depends on your ability and the hill. I generally switch between an 11-23 and 12-27. The 11-23 really is only for flat and fast events, but sometimes I get lazy and don't switch it off for normal rides. Most of the stuff I ride is rolling hills or extended 4-5% grade type of stuff, nothing that pitches up to 10% for long periods of time. The 39/23 works well enough for that, though I end up mashing a bit more than I'd ideally like to do.

But again, depends on your fitness and the terrain.

11-23 crushes my spirit in windy flat south florida

I'm 50. I ride over 6,000 miles per year. I live at the edge of the Cumberland Plateau.

In the hills (not climbing the plateau), I CAN use an 11-23, but it doesn't gain me anything. I end up double shifting on a lot of gear changes. My 11-27 is more versatile and it allows me to tackle any climb I'm likely to come up against (including the plateau). The wider gear spacing is a non-issue -- anyone can adjust their cadence by 10 rpm without any problem, and 10 rpm is more than enough to cover the alleged "gaps".

I guess my dream set up is 13 - 24 (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24). According to the Dr. S. Brown's site, 50 - 13 gives me 30.9 mph at 100 rpm. That's plenty for me. Do you guys happen to know whether you can customize cassette pairings for shimano?

Not sure that would work roby. Mine is a Shimano DA. Plus, not sure I would want to be without my bike while waiting for the mail to arrive.

Yes and no. The larger 3 cogs are on a carrier as a single unit, so you can't, at least easily, change those individually. Also the shifting could be a bit off, depending on how the teeth and ramping map up.

Building that cassette would be difficult. 20 and 22t cogs are not made for Shimano and 13t outer cogs are rare.
Cycle Dynamics used to make custom 10sp cassettes out of titanium but they stopped answering the phone years ago.

Try a 12-25. The 18,19,20 set in your proposed cassette would be too close ratio anyhow, so its not like you'd be missing much.

I don't like the big gear ratio jump you get with a widely spaced cassette (like 11-27 for instance). For your setup, you might just consider swapping to a compact crank (50-34) which will lower your whole cluster's gear range a little bit.

Personally, I'd never use larger than a 11-25 or 12-25 for the cassette.

Just a thought... you might need a new rear mech if you go to 12-28.

I'd change the cassette before I'd change the cranks.

That said, I went from a 12-25 to an 11-28 on my cross bike. I loved having more range ... but there was too much space between most gears. It would be time to shift, and then there'd be a big jump in my speed and heart rate.

i used to ride 39/53 x 12-21, and hills sucked. i switched over to a 12-24, and hills are much more enjoyable. i can get up short (<1 mile) stretches of 20% grade without too much trouble when my legs are fresh (but 15% grade sections 40 miles into a ride hurt pretty bad).