Well, it would seem that an ounce of experience is worth a pound of theorizing.
Went to Woburn today.
Used the 32t once on a brief section of fire road. Everywhere else I used the 26t, which was fine.
There’s no way I’m going to spend many hours every day slogging up giant Alpine mountains saying to myself over and over again, “I wish I’d removed that front mech and shifter” as I slowly lug those completely unnecessary bits of plastic and metal up to the top of the next col.
Also having the dropper post lever on the right-hand side is making my brain hurt. My thumb knows it needs to press something, but it’s hit-and-miss which lever I get. Not just dropping the post, but also trying to shift with the dropper post lever.