Lost a bit of strength / considering gear change

[meridian]

Thanks for all the advice so far. It's really helping me decide. I may start out with just the cassette change initially, but I'm leaning more and more toward a compact double and 11/23 or 12/25, even if it requires more of an outlay in cost and means repalcing additional components. Here's why.

I ride pretty flat areas, but go up against farily strong wind (18-20mph on a regular/nice day). As it stands now, I rarely find myself in the big front ring at all without experiencing knee pain unless I'm on a flat with absolutely no headwind or on a decline and hauling butt. Even then, I don't get close to using my highest gear ratios.

With the large ring on the compact being slightly smaller than the large ring I have currently, I think that will give me enough leverage to utilize my large chainring more often for the flat rides I'm doing. And the small chainring on a compact with a cassette change of 11/23 or 12/25 will give me that lower gear fall-back on the common windy days and the rare days I climb.

Overall, I think I would be more comfortable and perform better long term with a compact double because of my historic knee issues, and that would still give me the option of switching cassettes when I feel my strength returning.