andy, XD driver I know, lol, it's a bit flux capacitor / hydrospanner
think the wee sprocket will get a bit of use in a 1x11 set up, done a bit of analysis comparing the gear ratios of my 3x10 to those in the sram and shimano 1x11 set ups.
On the sram set up I'd loose the ratio provided by equiv' of the 46 x 11 and the 24 x 36
On the shimano set up I'd loose the ratio provided 46 x 11&13 and the 24 x 36.
Getting older and decrepit, like yourself
, I can happily loose the top gears, tho loosing the granny x granny does make me think, I do use this gear on hill tracks, I even use it on trackless moorland rides... but I'll self justify that with a lighter bike, without a front mech, cable, shifter and a length of chain... it'll be alright
at the end of the day mfg'ers come up with this stuff so we buy it, and we all do love to buy bike stuff (as well as ride em, dream of building them, building em, planning to build em, source parts to build them and so on). tho perhaps the reduction in gearing is rider lead, and having 10 or 11 across the back does make a difference to the possibilities... regardless, this is jimmy choos shoes for men, or a cheaper version of that, what ever that is