SRAM WiFLi - Cheating?

Yeah, running WiFLi here with an 11-32 at the back and 50/34 up front.

Good range to have if you are somewhere hilly. I got the usual "dinner plate" comments when I showed up with it for a three day trip in the highlands with my mates.

After a couple of days grinding up 20% hills they were a bit less dismissive

I think the issue with these cassettes is not the 28 or 32 at one end but the 11 at the other. If you struggle uphill in a 28 and need a 32 then you certainly don't need an 11 at the other end, a 12 maybe but a 13 more realistically. No one is going to tell me that they can spin 50x11 after heaving themselves uphill on 34x28/32.

I've been using an 11-32 cassette for some time. I don't use the largest gear unless it's a long climb and I need a bit of a break, or if the hill gets really steep. Nothing wrong with having that extra gear to bail you out!

I've got 34/28 on my best bike, and was surprised to find that on proper mountains, even if the gradient is relatively forgiving, I really did need the big sprocket. There's a big difference between being top 5-10% on Kent and Surrey hills, and being able to keep that effort piling out on real climbs.
And then there was the medium sized mountain with the 23% section after 400m of climbing. Honestly, it was all I could to to keep my pedals turning. It was awesome. Pain, but awesome.

Go for it - as you say, try and only use it when you need it and maybe one day you won't. I make it my goal to get further down the block for all of my regular climbs as the months progress. Nice to have a "bail-out" gear in reserve though. I went out with 39/23 max the other day just to try it - I don't think I'm really ready!

I fitted a 32 when I went to Mallorca last year as I really didn't know what to expect (and didn't want to get thrashed by my 18 year old son). I was glad of it at the end of long rides when going up really long climbs. I don't now use the cassette but it's there to put back on if I feel I'll need to (thinking about it for the Etape Pennines in July).

Pretty cheap to change the rear mech for Rival if you want to go short cage further down the line too.

Not cheating - at the end of the day if you don't need the 32t you wont use it, and you can swap it out if needs be.

I'm pretty sure Contador and Millar have used MTB derailleurs/cassettes in recent years for certain races.

use whatever suits you. the pros use compacts and wide ratio cassettes when it suits them.

i had a 34/32 when i did the fred whitton, and without it i wouldn't have got up hardknott

Absolutely not cheating - I have Rival 11-32 with 50-34 chainset on both my Boardman & Condor. At the wrong side of 50, there are now climbs in the Cotswolds I can get up, albeit slowly!, when with 11-25 I stood no chance. It is difficult to climb standing though on 34/32.

not cheating at all, think of it as having the range of a tripple without the 3rd ring

Why the hell would anyone need an 11t sprocket on anything other than a time-trial bike?