altbike

Hello,

I have a 2015 Raleigh Clubman which has served me very well for commuting and exercise purposes. It has a Shimano Tiagra 4700 2x10 speed setup with 50/34 up front and I believe 12-30 in the rear. I have done a couple of small tours on it and have found the gear ratio to be too high for loaded travel on steep hills (I live in BC Canada and there are many hills / mountains to contend with).

I am currently kicking around various options for getting a lower gear ratio to make this bike more suitable for loaded touring. I definitely want to avoid buying all of these components and have them not be compatible with each other or perform as expected so I would really appreciate any insight or advice anyone can give me.

Here is my proposed setup thus far:
This setup is partially based on the specs for the 2020 Salsa Marrakesh. It is also similar to the Trek 520 (this one uses the Sora front derailleur instead of an MTB FD). I figure if it works on 'factory bikes' it should work for me right?

1. Shimano Sora STI Shifters (Road) (3x9) - I would really like to keep integrated shifters in my setup as I find them very convenient and will continue to use this bike for fitness / commuting purposes in addition to touring.
2. Shimano Deore Crankset (MTB) (3x9) (44x32x22)
3. Shimano Deore or Alivio Front Derailleur (compatible with crankset)
4. Jtek Shiftmate 7 (to allow compatibility between road shifters and MTB front derailleur)
Is this necessary? Salsa doesn't use one.
One idea I have toyed with is arranging the bottom bracket spacers to push the crankset to the left and thus more closely match the 45mm chainline of a road crankset.
5. Shimano Deore or Alivio Rear Derailleur (9 speed) (MTB)
From what I have read there should be no issues with using the Sora 9 speed shifter with a 9 speed MTB derailleur.
6. Shimano 9 Speed Cassette (11-34)

Please feel free to criticize or endorse my current plan and/or suggest completely new options.
My main concern is the compatibility between the Sora shifter and front derailleur. I know that going to bar end shifters (Microshift) would definitley simplify things and be pretty much guaranteed to work but as I say above, I really do like the integrated shifters and hope that I can continue to use them.

Thanks!

Alan