I don't see the need for 9 sp. vs. 7 sp. outside of racing. Part of that might be my height, which gives me more power leverage over a wider range of gears-- I don't mind pushing a gear that's a bit tall.
Only real loaded tour I've ever done was on a gaspipe 2x5 speed around Ireland. The important thing is just getting out there!
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The bicycle, the bicycle surely, should always be the vehicle of novelists and poets. Christopher Morley