cyccommute I hadn't really thought of that, because being "one of those guys" I assume it's in the smaller end of the cassette or freewheel where the super tight 1T spacing is needed. That's what you need when you are hanging on by a thread in a paceline or race or whatever. So I guess that supports your point.

The counter argument would be that if you go by gear inches, of course you will need tighter spacing on the small cogs compared to the big cogs, because proportionally 1T of an 11T cog is the same as 3T of a 33T, for example. The counter-counter argument would be that a tourist pedaling loaded bikes up mountains needs tight spacing on the low end for the same reason racers need it at the high end, because that's where they are struggling the most.

I certainly remember when freewheels were standard our shop had a Suntour cog board (or two), a Shimano board, and a Regina board. We could make a freewheel any way you wanted. Cost like $5 more.

The industry, led by Shimano, has been pushing toward unit replacement and planned obsolescence for many years, because it is profitable. IMHO that is the major driver in all of this. Note that Suntour always offered good products for a fair price, but they are out of business.