I'm pretty comfortable with my 53/39 and 12-21 cassette, hardly ever use the 19 or 21 on the back. Most of the roads have at most a 6% grade around here, and I can power up that sitting without too much strain; once it goes to 8% and beyond (there are a couple roads around that have 8-12% pitches), I'm out of the saddle more than I'm sitting. And yeah - and 12%, I'm wishing for a 23 or even a 25 on the back.
I know that climbing while in the saddle is more efficient (going back to when I had the SRM PowerMeter cranks), but it feels good to get up out of the saddle occasionally, if only to prevent other body parts (more delicate than hands) from going numb.
Giant TCR Advanced SL with Dura Ace (compact frame design, size "medium" so it's a measured 50cm while my "normal" size is a 56cm).
Liked it so much (unbelievably smooth ride for a super-stiff frame), that after a couple years, I put the heavier wheels on that one and named it my rain bike, and bought a new TCR Advanced SL in the Medium-Large frame size (52cm measured, I think), which lets me stretch out and is just slightly more comfortable to ride. With Dura Ace drivetrain and some nice Bontrager XXX-lite bars/stem, as well as the Dura Ace C24 wheels, it rides 2-3km/h faster for me.
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