It's great to get some input. Nice (or not so nice) to know I wasn't having a captain obvious moment. I learned geometry by pedaling an average of 90 miles per week on my road bike. Cycling gearing, crank and cadence theory applies to carb linkages too!
20 yrs ago, I had a carbon fiber road bike (still have a hand full of bikes in the garage) that weighed less than 16 lbs. I used to be what they called a 'weight weenie'. I didn't want a triple up front (there were many hills/mountians where I live) so I hacked together an XT long cage derailleur to use with an actual mountain bike xt 32x11 cassette and a compact 50x34 crank instead of the std 53x39. I was more of a velodrome track rider, but I needed billy goat gears to keep up with climbers. I was before my time. I think single line is the new standard for mtn bikes now.