Bicycle Mechanics - Touring Cranks For Shimano 10 Speed?

I currently have a Shimano 105 10 speed compact double, with an 11-28 cassette and because of the hills, age, my lack of fitness and excess weight, I am considering a switch to a triple.

I already have a long cage RD, and so I in theory only need a triple FD and a triple crank.

Going to a Shimano 105 triple will only give me 4 less teeth on the front, so if I am going to go through the trouble of going to a triple, I think it is wise to consider a touring triple with a lower range...

Are there any good options for touring triple cranks that work well with a 10 speed drive trains?

Shimano road triple cranks have a 74mm bolt circle diameter, and that is the same BCD as older mountain bike cranksets. You should have no trouble finding a small inner ring as small as 24 teeth.

Shimano road triple cranks have a 74mm bolt circle diameter, and that is the same BCD as older mountain bike cranksets. You should have no trouble finding a small inner ring as small as 24 teeth.

Thanks... I would just need to make sure the derailleur had enough capacity for the rings I would select.

I've substituted 26T granny rings for the stock 30T on dozens of 7, 8 and 9-speed Shimano cranks and a 10-speed Campy crank over the years and they all work wonderfully. You will give up the ability to use the granny ring with the smallest one or two cogs but, so what? They shouldn't be used anyway and the same gears are available elsewhere.

You might also want to consider an IRD (Interloc Racing Designs / interlocracing.com) wide range cassette. I've been running a 26/39/52 Ultegra triple with an IRD 11-34 10 speed cassette and Shimano XTR rear derailleur on a light touring bike for the past two years (4,000) miles. Changed the 30T stock to a 26T Salsa. Works great. IRD's wide range cassettes progress in two tooth increments from 11 to 25 and then 28/32 or 30/34. You get an abundance of evenly spaced gears on all three chainrings

A 26 ring on a triple will get you about 24% lower (26/34-1).

IRD also has an 11-34 Shimano compatible 10sp cassette and that will get you about 18% lower (28/34-1). If that's low enough, this solution would be a lot cheaper as you wouldn't need a new crank, BB, and FD. If your RD is aleady MTB, all you need is the new cassette. If your RD is road, you'd probalby need a new MTB rear derailer as the road RD is rated to 28 big cog (but who knows, it might actually run on a 34T - my brother claims his Ultegra runs on an 11-34 9sp cassette). http://www.interlocracing.com/cassettes_steel.html