Thanks for all the input.
I imagine that the ease we experience is 20% easier gearing and 80% hopeful expectation.
Here's some pics of that which I am referrring to.
upload an image
These
Ultegra FC-6603 chainrings are forged, look great, shift great. The inner chainring is still a TA. I've got to find some black inner chainring bolts, because the silver ones are out of place (also, they are not flush). It'd also be nice to have a muted inner chainring that matches the other rings. Silver sticks out, and no one wants granny on display.
Finally was able to get rid of the Shimano FD, and use the Campagnolo Athena 11-speed triple FD, which looks a lot better, and shifts better too. The
FSA tandem FD clamp pushes the FD out an additional 5 mm, and makes up for the difference in chainline between Athena (43.7 mm) and my Lightning (48 mm).
The Shimano Ultegra 11-32 11-speed cassette. The Athena RD shifts it just the same as the Campy. It is nice having all that range on the cassette, and partly thanks to the 11-speed, jumps that aren't that big. The Athena triple RD has the long cage that takes up the slack.