How many gears would you guys say is optimal?
2 or 3 up front?
7 or 8 in the rear?
Any benefit from more than 8 in the rear? Less than 7?
On my mountain bike (22/32/44, 11/34t) 3x9 the front chainrings just don't work that well for pavement. Even on gravel and most single track, I feel like I have way too much climbing gears than I will ever need.
A 11-34 cassette would work so much better for my needs and I'd find myself using the lowest 3 gears far more often with different chainrings up front.