Honestly, for me personally it wouldn't feel that worth it to me unless I could do at least a legitimately wide range cassette (11-40 at the minimum), preferably with a clutch. The cheapest thing that would make sense to me would be Microshift Advent for drop bars, 1x9. By the time you buy a road link you'd be better off using at least a 8-9 speed Shimano MTB derailleur.