I have a 1978 bike which initially was built with a 52/34 and a 5 speed freewheel with 14-32 spacing.
I dropped the big gear to a 48/34 and ride with that arrangement. I'm no mountain goat and still really work hard with this arrangement. I used to ride with a 46/36/26 crank set up and found the tiny gears helpful. My thought is that I can get a bit stronger with my current arrangement. Some would find my gearing more than adequate. The 10 gears I run are all I really need except for those really tired moments when I do wish for something lower on a really steep climb.
JV