My Ruby came with full Ultegra and a compact double. A few years back, before a big hilly ride, I switched out the rear cassette to a 10 speed 11-34 cassette from IRD. Added a long cage Deore XT derailleur and I love it. That big ring is kind of like insurance. I don't use it often but it's there when I need it. We have some hills in Eastern Washington too.

Speaking of happy knees, I also replaced the small front ring on my Surly LHT to a 24t ring. Let me tell you how happy my knees were after spending most of the day climbing a big ol' mountain pass pushing 80 pounds of gear and bike! Very, VERY happy! bikerHen