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That's a big reason why I went with the standard 53/39 chainring setup instead of the 50/34 compact. I know I'm not strong enough to push a 50 on the flats with a reasonable gear in the back, and with a 34 the gearing would be too short. With a 39 I stay in the small ring for probably 70-80% of my riding and I'll generally run through gears 1-7 on it. I'll only get into the 53 for downhill sections and usually use 6-10.
Look at your actual chainline to see what sort of gearing you can tolerate with your current setup. 50/50 is pretty extreme IMO, the drivetrain can probably tolerate an extra 2 gears without any adverse wear.
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