Originally Posted by europa

Yep, lots of overlap, no need to do any calculations, it's obvious on the ride. However, with the gearing I have, I can sit on the large ring for fast work, the middle ring for slow or uphill work and, of course, the granny for the monser hills and there are lots of them in my area - if I ride more than 10kms, I will need that granny to get home (why are the big climbs always on the home leg?).
I like my configuration because I can go from one chain ring to the other without excessive messing about with the rear gears - widen that seperation and every change on the front will necessitate changes on the rear. Further, reducing the middle ring will just make it less useful on the roads I use - I can say that without fear as my commuter has a middle ring similar to a compact setup.
Nope, for me and my riding, compact cranksets are just a recipe for inefficient gearing, but you do need to remember that I have a rather wide range on the back and genuinely need that granny gear.