okay I'll rephrase that: With 10 speeds I might only need 2 rings. I can see the advantage of that.
no, still irrelevant, as you could have an 11-36 span on a nine speed cassette, with no need for a) narrower chain b) new shifter, though you might still need a longer cage mech
What I'll admit I did miss was that it's not just a matter of losing the outer ring, as the 2nd ring can be an intermediate size to allow more spread using less overlap between the rings, although looking at the SRAM it seems they've made both inner rings bigger, losing low range.
It'll be another lukewarm curry for the grumpy one at this rate!
no, now we're on the dubious benefits of the new hardware rather than editorial policy