Re:
There is much to be said for retromod builds, I have several, in fact most of my bikes road or mtb fall into that category simply to make them practical.
If your are lean and strong (Mike) you can live with 53/43 and 11-25, but my legs need to be able to spin and compact chainsets allow me that luxury.
When I ride in the Highlands, it's on my Rourke with 50/34 and 11-28.