You are reading a single comment by @Scilly.Suffolk and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@Scilly.Suffolk
As has been said, it depends on how fit you are, what the terrain is like and what sort of riding you are doing.
The reason for the switch from 52/42 to 53/39 is that modern derailleurs have a greater capacity than they used to; the greater the difference between the chainrings, the wider the range of gears: a lower low gear and a higher high gear.
I ride 53/39 with 13/23 which suits my 44 year old legs around a surprisingly lumpy Suffolk over distances up to 200km. Comparing that to your set-up, you'll see that my lowest gear is practically the same as yours, although I have lost an appreciable amount of the top.
Having said that, I only find a use for top gear when I'm throwing it down a long, steep hill.
The main difference, is that the gaps between the five smallest sprockets is much less than yours. As Sheldon explains, having closer ratios at this end of the cassette is of more use than at the other end: at higher speeds you need a lot more power to go a little faster, so small jumps between gears are needed.
When you're going uphill, your cadence will drop-off quickly and if the gap between gears is too small, you may well need to shift down two gears at a time.
All this theorising is all well and good, but the short answer to your question is that you won't know until you try it: either end of the range will cover almost all conditions, but you might find the jump between gears is something you want to improve on.
EDIT
I was typing the above when you replied and had assumed you had an 8 speed cassette: as you have a 10, then the jump between gears won't be an issue, but 53/39 is the norm from 9 speed onwards.