Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 11,112
Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.
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Three years ago I built up a new touring bike, square taper triple and an eight speed 11-32 cassette.
My rando bike has a triple and eight speed 11-32 cassette, I find that gearing is often easier for me to use than my road bike with a 10 speed cassette and compact double crank. The triple with eight speed has a lower low, a higher high, and and it works very smoothly.
Last winter before the phrase social distancing was invented I picked up two more spare XT eight speed M739 rear derailleurs at a swap meet. And last summer I bought a NOS triple square taper crank to put on the shelf as a spare.
I have to pull the crank arms off my S&S bike to pack it, the XLC square taper crank arm puller is quite small and light, it works wtih a 15mm pedal wrench. And that pedal wrench is built into my S&S coupler wrench.