Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN

10-50 for a cassette, that gives you a 500 percent range. For touring, I like a wider range. My light and medium touring bikes have a range of 558 percent, my heavy touring bike is 526 percent. But if you are really sold on having a 1X system, then you have a great range with that cassette.

There are a sizeable number of people that prefer a lot of weight on the front, so the front low riders make some sense.

Photo below, I met someone from Japan going around the world, I met him in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Such an unusual setup, I had to take a photo. I think this is the most extreme example of heavy load up front for touring that I have ever seen.
Yup, he had enormous front panniers, giant handlebar bag, and a big Ortlieb duffle on back, but no rear panniers. And friction downtube shifters.
Second photo, his rear rack:
I think that is a front rack that he mounted on back
He had already made his way from Japan to west coast of North America, and ridden from there to the west end of Lake Ontario with that bike, so it clearly was working well for him.