Road Cycling - Triple to double chainring..would this work?

I've got sora triple cranks and sora sti shifters on my commuter/training bike...would it be possible to take off the granny gear and middle chain ring, replace the middle chainring with a more race oriented ring, maybe like 39 teeth, then just fiddle with the limit screws so the front derailleur won't reach where the granny gear would be? I dont see why not...its seems like the when shifting from a smaller ring to the bigger rings, its just a friction type shift action that is taking place, hence it seems like this theory might work...what do you guys think

It should work. This is exactly what I just did with my GFs bike, only I did it with Tiagra components (but it should work with Sora as well). There are a few problems you will run into-

1) With a triple FD, it isnt tight enough to always keep the chain on the small ring, when shifting down (especially if you are cross chaining). I replaced the triple FD with a double FD, and it fixed this problem. (a 105 was on sale at Performance for $20)

2) One of the big reasons for going to a double, is that it brings your feet in. To do this you need a new bottom bracket. I used a grinder to grind down the mounts for the inner chainring, so it would clear, and used a smaller (double) bottom bracket. This brought her feet in to where they would be if she had a double.

It definitely isnt the best way to do it, but you can make it work. I have access to a cheapish Ultegra double crank, and 105 shifters, so I will probably nab those up in a month or two, as it will be cleaner, but with a good amount of adjusting we have gotten her "hacked" double working just fine.

It should work, but why bother removing the granny? It only weighs a couple of ounces, and one of these days you may need it.
I live in bigger mountains than I can climb, and I changed the standard 53-39-30 to 46-36-26. Once I lowered the front derailleur a little, it shifted fine, and it's probably the best change I ever made on a bike.
Just out of curiosity, what's your middle ring now? I don't know anything about Sora, but I thought all Shimano triples used 39 in the middle already.

It should work, but why bother removing the granny? It only weighs a couple of ounces, and one of these days you may need it.
I live in bigger mountains than I can climb, and I changed the standard 53-39-30 to 46-36-26. Once I lowered the front derailleur a little, it shifted fine, and it's probably the best change I ever made on a bike.
Just out of curiosity, what's your middle ring now? I don't know anything about Sora, but I thought all Shimano triples used 39 in the middle already.

I was thinking the same thing. If this is your comuter/training bike, why go to all this trouble. Just add more teeth to the middle chain ring and never shift into the granny ring. You may one day wish you had the granny if you are recovering from knee problems, or move somewhere that hills are common and steep.

It should work, but why bother removing the granny? It only weighs a couple of ounces, and one of these days you may need it.
I live in bigger mountains than I can climb, and I changed the standard 53-39-30 to 46-36-26. Once I lowered the front derailleur a little, it shifted fine, and it's probably the best change I ever made on a bike.
Just out of curiosity, what's your middle ring now? I don't know anything about Sora, but I thought all Shimano triples used 39 in the middle already.

shimano triples use 30-42-52