I love these threads. I have 3 road bikes converted to triples. 2 are mtb drive trains and 1 has a road triple and a mtb cassette. I personally prefer the mtb setup even though they are 6 and 7 speed. The road triple is a 52/42/30 with a 12/30 9 speed. When riding the triple I never use the 52 ring and never run out of gear except on steep down hills which is fine with me since I am no racer. I mostly use the middle ring on the mtb triples but when I run out of top gear I do switch to the big ring which is a 48 on one and a 44 on the other bike. I do enjoy the really low gears on the steep hills around here and I do use the granny on most every ride locally. If I still lived in a flat area I would be riding a double with something like a 34/46 crank and a 13/24 5 speed, 13/28 6 speed, and a 12/30 9 speed. I used to ride a 34/42 .....14/24 5 speed on the flat lands. I had an honest 10 speeds and it worked out great for me as a recreational rider. One of the mtb fd is mounted to a bracked that is mounted behind the fixed cup of the bb. This is not a high end drive train but it has worked fine for me and would do the same conversion again. If you make the triple conversion for your wife I think she will "Thank" you for it I would suggest the mtb conversion. Good luck! PM me if you would like more detail.