Touring - 3 ring on my Poprad..

All,
Ive had my '04 poprad for a few weeks now and love it.. need to do a bit more adjusting of riding position, but other than that its been great out of the box. Im 5'9, 155lbs its a 52cm and fits great. I use it on road mostly, but if I ever see a trail or dirt road I will 90% of the time go exploring.. The 2nd set of brake levers make the bike very versatile in tight situations, which I tend to encounter somehow quite often. So for my type of riding it has been great. - Except the road gearing.. . It has the stock setup so far (Bontrager 39,53 double up front and 12-25 shimano rear cassette) and inevitably I find myself creeping through tight trails and over things in the woods . . . (my mountain bike upbringing I guess) A double just can't bring me low enough. Also, I plan on doing a 3 week tour in a month or so, and for this need (want) the hillclimbing ability

So I want a triple. I notice that on the stock double crankset, it has the bosses for the third ring cast in, all I would have to do is drill and tap these for the third ring. I have access to a stocked machineshop so precision drilling tapping etc is no problem and would save me some $$$... And Im assuming I would need a wider BB..
I think I would like a 24,39,50 . . ?sound good?
Would my stock 105 front derailleur work with a triple or would I have to buy one for a triple?

Could I buy a few new rings for my stock (new) 9 speed 105 casette and give myself a custom set? (13-32 maybe) Any reason this isn't a good idea? Would my 105 rear derailleur work with a 32/34 granny ring?

Thanks for any advise with my setup/gearing and helping me turn my bike into MY Bike!!!

~Steve
road newbie, 16 yr mtn bike rider.

Okay I did a bit of searching...
I see that.. Inorder to go to a 32 or 34 big ring in the rear I will need an MTB rear derailleur..
I searched and found a thread about the topic of custom making casettes.. it sounds like Id be better off $$ and time wise to get one from Shimano or Sram or whaoever..
Also I see alot of MTB triples up on Ebay, and I think this may be the best route.. Maybe up the top ring to a 48 or so.. 26 36 48 with a 12-32 . . yeah that sounds fine..

well okay, howabout my 105 stocker shifters?? any problems or reconnemdations here? will my front shifter which is now shifting a double still work with a triple?? I was hoping to do this as painless as possible.. (arent we all!)

thanks guys and gals I know this is an old topic..but then again, arent they all??

thanks,
~Steve

well okay, howabout my 105 stocker shifters?? any problems or reconnemdations here? will my front shifter which is now shifting a double still work with a triple?? I was hoping to do this as painless as possible.. (arent we all!)
The 105 shifter can shift a triple crank. You will be best off to replace the front derailleur with a triple-specific derailleur, though. I have seen it done with a modified (read bent) double derailleur, but very hard to adjust to get clean shifting and really not worth the effort and pain.

The typical things to replace for a triple conversion are:
crankset
bottom bracket
front derailleur
rear derailleur
Even if you were to stick with the current road cassette, you'll need a long-cage rear derailleur.

You may also need a new chain to cope with changed maximum length requirements.

Okay I did a bit of searching...
I see that.. Inorder to go to a 32 or 34 big ring in the rear I will need an MTB rear derailleur..
I searched and found a thread about the topic of custom making casettes.. it sounds like Id be better off $$ and time wise to get one from Shimano or Sram or whaoever..
Also I see alot of MTB triples up on Ebay, and I think this may be the best route.. Maybe up the top ring to a 48 or so.. 26 36 48 with a 12-32 . . yeah that sounds fine..

well okay, howabout my 105 stocker shifters?? any problems or reconnemdations here? will my front shifter which is now shifting a double still work with a triple?? I was hoping to do this as painless as possible.. (arent we all!)

thanks guys and gals I know this is an old topic..but then again, arent they all??

thanks,
~Steve

My advice is, before you go making mods and void your warranty (and worse yet, screw up your bike), ask the guys at LeMond. That's the same frame as the Wayzata which comes with a triple, so it can be done. I also know that that frame will accept an 11-32 cassette. The folks at LeMond are really helpful. Here's the guy to contact:

Steve Swenson
Manager, Tech Support and Consumer Services
Trek, Lemond, Klein & Gary Fisher
steve_swenson@trekbike.com

.

Thanks for the info guys.... Ill give Mr Swanson a ring.. Although the more I look into this, the more that it seems like Im going to have to replace it all. . .


~Steve