I agree with all of this. And, as far as what you gain with the extra speeds, it's likely two very low gears, a 34t and 36t, rather than closer spacing between gears (which could definitely be useful on flat roads). So if you rarely/never climb, you'll rarely/never use those two extra gears. Plus the triple chainring might be more versatile, and it gives you gearing range very close to what you'd get with the double. Everything else is a wash other than hydraulic vs. mech disc, but that's definitely not worth $200, I'd think. Love my hydraulics but mech disc is a nice compromise between wet weather performance and simplicity of operation/maintenance.