sloar 

Just finished with a complete overhaul on my Surly. Pretty much knew everything. Went with v brakes and totally forgot about the lever pull difference and ordered the wrong levers. That taken care of I installed my new cranks, Deore M6000 triple 40-30-22. Not really sure what I think of them yet. I imagine it’s going to take some time to get use to the gearing. Anyone else using them and how do you like them? Thanks

venturi95

I'm running a 24-38-48 triple, but not a Deore. I have no problem jumping on a triple equipped bike of any genera. The granny ring is so luxurious and delicious when you're toting anything over about 12 pounds up big climbs (if you're as old as I am). If you are unlaiden, just stay in the two big rings, pretty easy to do. I'm sure you will get used to it.

indyfabz

Did 10,000 miles with a 44-something-22 BITD. Never regretted it. Running at 46-36-24 now. Probably gonna get a MTB triple this winter to keep in reserve in case they become scarce.

MarcusT

Mounted Deore 22-32-44 on my LHT and am quite happy.

RCMoeur 

Using MTB cranks... as doorstops? Hammers? Lawn darts? Paperweights? Meat tenderizers? Restroom key holders? (wait, that's for road cranks only)

Now that I think of it, I'm using cranks intended for mountain bikes on nearly every bike I own, except for the racer. And even that one has some klunker lineage...

Which chainrings? All depends. On my "main" cruiser, I'm running a classic 46-36-24, on the commuter a 40-24, on the recumbent a 41-38-24 half-step, on the folder a single 48, and on the other speedy a single 36 in a 1x9 setup. And I'm even using MTB cranks on my MTB, in a 32-22 double setup.

cyclomath

On my touring bicycle I have a triple 44-32-22 (SLX with aftermarket chainrings). With a 36T cassette, I can climb pretty much any mountain even though my bike often weighs upward of 50kg/100lb. For me, that chainring combination is perfect. Actually, it is almost perfect, with the "almost" part coming from the fact that, once in a blue moon when I am not tired and I am riding down a long, low-% descent, I might wish I had a 48T chainring instead of the 44.

So, if you are traveling light, you might spin out that 40T chainring sooner than you would like, especially if your cassette's smallest cog is bigger than 11T.

djb

whats your gearing range with that setup, gear inches wise? I can't tell if its 26 or 700 and what size tires.

to answer your question, yes I use a mtb triple, but my preference is the slightly larger chainring generation of 44/32/22 but then again, my bike is 26 and if yours is 700 then you'll have the same or higher gearing than my setup.

great touring setup but the only downside is that they are undergeared a bit for unloaded or lightly loaded riding. When not touring I put a much smaller tighter cassette on, which at least makes it more enjoyable to ride faster than the wider 11-34 9 speed.

Paul_P

To me 3x9 mtb drivetrain is ideal for loaded touring.
With my 26" wheels, 11-34 cassette and 22-32-44 crankset I've got 16.8 to 104 gear inches.
With all the bad press for Hollowtech cranks, I went with an Alivio FC-T4010 Octalink crank.
With the bike loaded, I'm mostly on the middle chainring.

Oldbill

The crank length could be an issue. On the old MTB bikes I convert to touring I usually change the cranks from 175 to 170. The last conversion I did was for a person 6'1" so I left the 175s on it. He complained his legs seemed to be coming up too high and it was not comfortable. I put on some 170s and he was much happier. He was used to a road bike so that was probably the reason it felt "weird" to him.

csport

Built my Disc Trucker with a MT210 44/32/22 crankset and a 13-15-17-19-21-24-28-32-36 cassette.
Very happy with it after the first 600 miles tour.

50PlusCycling

I like MTB cranks. My adventure bike originally came with a GRX 1x12 driveline with a 40 chain ring, and 10~51 cassette. I found this was not very adequate for steep climbs on a loaded-down bike, so I swapped in a XTR 9200 crank with a 34t cassette. It now climbs anything with ease, and handles the flats with as much speed as I need. For flatter terrain I might switch to a 36t or 38t chainring.

robow

I ran a 44-32-22 Deore crankset for numerous years on my touring bikes, and presently a 46-36-24. Life is good

sapporoguy

44/34/20 on Sugino crank, 12-36 cassette, for fully loaded touring on our tandem. We never have to get off and walk uphill, and we just start coasting a bit earlier downhill. Previously 50/39/24 on an FSA road crank.

t2p

also a fan of MTB cranks - old school and the newer versions

back in the 90’s when gearing availability / choices were limited compared to today - a number of guys in my group were using micro / compact drive MTB cranks with just the middle and big rings on their road bikes