I am a fan of a super wide range of gears. My current setup is 22-36-48 in front and 12-36 in the rear.

I count my lucky stars when, on a long steep climb, I find myself wanting to lower my gearing, and discover that I can. On the other hand, I don't think I ever ride in my highest gears. So if I had to choose, I would prefer to bias my lower gears at the expense of the higher.

On the other hand, I ride with friends who have opted for a narrower range of gears, and don't have super granny gears. (For example, the smallest chainring is 26 or 28). We all manage to get up the same hills together.

The bottom end of my previous two setups were 24:34 and 22:34 (instead of 22:36). I prefer the new setup.