I ride 9 sp 11-28. With a 22 up front that's 21 gear inches, and nice close steps... 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 21, 24, 28.
Am I correct that it is a fairly common range on cyclocross bikes with a compact double as well (even as 11 sp)?

OTOH at the end of a long hard climbing day, I can get to the point where it doesn't matter how low my granny gear is, what I need is granny -1 (g-1)