In the last couple of years, Shimano has introduced 11-34 cassettes at Tiagra, 105 R7000, and Ultegra R8000 levels, so the old 105 5800 is now the only enthusiast-level groupset you're likely to find on a new bike that doesn't officially work with 11-34, and there's not much 5800 left on bikes in the shops. You can always upgrade the rear mech to R7000. The cage of a rear derailleur is designed for a certain range of gears. For example, Shimano’s outgoing Dura-Ace R9100-SS rear derailleur is designed for use up to an 11-30 cassette.

There are new rear derailleurs on the market that are identifiable as being compatible because they have a ‘520% range’ graphic printed on the derailleur cage. SRAM Eagle AXS rear derailleurs are compatible with the new 10-52 cassettes. It's not really worth considering changing your gearing until you understand what it is you want to achieve. A lower gear by changing the cassette or chainset/chainrings might come at the expense of bigger gaps between gears or a lot of repeated gears, or lots of cross-chaining to achieve the right ratios.PS MTB triple chainsets have the wrong chainline (typically 50mm) for a road bike (typically needing 43.5mm).

Say you have 50-tooth and 34-tooth chainrings: the difference between the large one and the small one (50 minus 34) is 16 teeth. And say your bike is fitted with an 11-28T cassette: the difference between the large one and the small one (28 minus 11) is 17 teeth. Add them together and you get a total difference (16 plus 17) of 33 teeth. I agree on the lever front in general, but it's less straightforward in cycling, as the longer the lever, or crankarm, the higher your knee comes up, which makes it harder at the top of the power phase to push down. Like a deep versus less-deep squat, sort of! For example, SRAM boasts a 520 per cent range with its 10-52t cassettes. How has SRAM arrived at this figure, and how do you work out your gear range percentage? SRAM also offers just two cassette sizes in its Eagle lineup – 10-50 and 10-52. The 10-52 is the widest-range cassette made by either manufacturer. Although there are currently two options, it’s likely the 10-50 will be phased out in time because it has been superseded by the 10-52. Other than that, 4 sets of brake pads, 3 tyres so far (Hutchinson Equinox from new which were scary then Michelin Lithion 2 25c which are much better) and bar tape. Still on the same chainrings, BB, front mech.

The capacity of a Shimano 105 front derailleur, for example, is 16T so it’ll cover all of the common double chainset combinations.