Originally Posted by Moisture

No way I'm gonna be cruising the flats with a 50 or 52t.

34 is useful for climbing if paired with something less than 50t. I've had the same experience using 34/50 where 34 was too little and 50t was too much. However my newest road bike felt a lot more efficient with even a 53t cog on relatively slow cadences so this changed my perception of gearing.

Maybe in that case a triple would work best. Or simple 1x.

36/46 gives you fast shifts as mentioned and useful ratios for most riders under most conditions.