Originally Posted by
Retro Grouch
Back in the day when men were men 10-speed meant 2 on the front and 5 on the back we had to make use of every combination so we did a lot of that kind of stuff. Some guys would, indeed figure out the optimum gear progression and tape it to their handlebars.
As the number of rear cogs has gradually progressed, we have many, many more ratios to choose from. So many that most riders don't use them all. I think of a 3 X 10 drive train as having 3 gear ranges: 1 for steep uphills, one for use most of the time and 1 reserved for downhills and tail wind days. The rear derailleur serves as a trim within those 3 ranges.
I have neither experience nor interest with electronic shifting, but I can see where that may actually bring back the old days. Electronic shifting can "remember" all of the potential ratios to pick the next one in sequence and shift both derailleurs to optimize the chain line.
Just a month ago I switched from commuting on 2 x 6 to 3 x 7. Just like you said, cruise in middle ring, climb in the small ring, descend in big ring (or tailwind cruise). No sequential shifting required, and redundancies are irrelevant. Adjust for wind and fine tune cadence (trim) with RD. If the wide range 9 spd 11-34 cassette leaves one with steps that are bigger than desired, tighten them up with a 12-27 or similar. If I was running a 30/39/50 triple, a 10 spd 12-30 would give nice tight steps between all the gears in all 3 ranges only sacrificing the very top and bottom end, and not by much.
Edit: if it's really really windy, just don't use the big ring at all. It took some practiced restraint on my part to get out of the habit. "It's there, so I'm gonna use it".