[QUOTE=PDKL45;22845769If you're after a trekking crankset, though, Shimano trekking is going the way of the dodo. I'd get in ASAP to pick up a 26-36-48 NOS Alivio triple crankset, because it's being replaced by CUES. But also check CUES out, because there's a new adventure double that's something like 44-26, that, coupled with the right wide range cassette, should give you a really wide spread of gears. Aftermarket CUES available retail is a while off yet, though, I guess.[/QUOTE]
There are lots of really good triples around on the used market so that’s a good place to start if you really want something with lower gears that’s a road triple. That said, the wide range doubles are cranks for drivetrains designed by idiots. They really don’t offer that low of a gear and they don’t offer a good shift pattern.
Using Gear Calculator, it’s easy to see the hassle of upshifts and downshifts using the wide double concept. If you are traveling along in the middle of the range in a 24 tooth gear and come to a hill where you need to shift down, the jump is large. Increasing rpm from 90 to around 200 won’t keep up with the difference so you either spin like a mad duck or you let the bike slow or upshift 3 gears. Meanwhile you are losing momentum that will carry you up the hill just a little bit further. If you upshift and kind of want to keep the same cadence, you have to downshift 2 or 3 gears. All of this while trying to pilot your loaded touring bike up (or down) a hill.
With a triple, a single shift puts you into about the right gear without all the fiddling. Notice also that the triple with a 22 tooth gear gives about the same low gear with narrower range rear cassette. If the 11-42 is to be used with the triple, the low gear is even lower which many will find to be a plus.
