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I was thinking more about the 6 speed freewheel rather than 5 due to the middle.
The range probably make more sense on a lightweight road bike with a 42t chainring instead, 80" seemed rather too low for a fast descent.
edscoble-
The range probably make more sense on a lightweight road bike with a 42t chainring instead, 80" seemed rather too low for a fast descent.
Use whatever ring you like, the proportional jumps between gears stay the same.
Of course, 1×10 won't do for everything, it hits its practical limit at a total gear range of 3:1, beyond that you really do need more gears to avoid annoying gaps. Even road bikes without mountain gears have more a bit more than 3:1 with 53-39/11-26, but 3:1 gearing coupled with a 2:1 usable cadence range gives you a 6:1 speed range, from walking pace to 24mph. Either side of that, either walk or enjoy the freewheel for all non-racing purposes.
gbj_tester
Which larger jump? If you had a 14-28 5-speed* block, you'd be looking at jumping 24 to 28 as your last shift, which is a 14% drop. On a 12-36 10-speed cassette, the last shift is from 32 to 36, an 11% drop
The whole gear range, taking a TA Cyclotouriste 42/28 to a 14-28 block vs. a 36T single to a SRAM 12-36 cassette goes like this:
Old:
80" 66" 56".. 53".. 47"..44"..40"..37" 31" 27"
.. = double shift
New:
80" 74" 64" 57" 51" 44" 38" 34" 30" 27"
By avoiding the near duplications, the 1×10 provides more even gear spacing over the same range.
*It was the same on 6-speed, but the middle gears were nicer. 14-28 6-speed was a 14-24 5-speed with a 28 tacked on the end.