New Cassette?

[endoman]

12-27 105 cassette on the road bike with a compact at the front. Gets me around the peaks ok,
Thinking of getting a 11-28 for the big hills in etape, would I notice the difference or simply better loosing weight and riding more?

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

Do you mean "up" or "down"?

From what I read, you need to be pretty "pro" to get much out of an eleven tooth cog.

At the other end, why not go "belt & braces": an extra tooth, dumping some fat and hill practice is bound to pay off. I'd rather use the big cog less than I thought than crash & burn on a summit.

Either way, you shouldn't forget that "it doesn't get easier, you just go faster".

 

[Alun]

12-27 105 cassette on the road bike with a compact at the front. Gets me around the peaks ok,
Thinking of getting a 11-28 for the big hills in etape, would I notice the difference or simply better loosing weight and riding more?

I don't think you would notice the difference, especially from 27 to 28. Work out the %age change !

 

[mcshroom]

Have a look at the gear inch difference using the calculator - link

I can get use out of an 11t - but then again I only have 42t on the front

 

[endoman]

Climbs are longer but certainly no steeper, typical climbs here for me are up to 3 or 4 miles, it's 10 in the etape,
I would get little if any use from the 11, I hardly use the 12 at the moment.
I think I'm best sticking with what I have and shedding more flab

 

[endoman]

Today I bought a 15 Kilo bag of dog food, that's how much I've lost so far, and how much more I want to loose before The Etape. It was bloody heavy! Cycling without that will make the world of difference to hills I reckon, far more than any kit.

 

[old bell]

I changed from a 27-12 to a 27-11 and the difference is significant and quite noticeable. It equates to an extra gear which I use regularly on all down gradients. I can just go that much faster without having to pedal furiously.
I guess moving from a 27 to 28 would be less significant as it is only about a 4% change or half a gears difference.