I run 50-34 with a 10 speed cassette on my bianchi. The big cog in the rear is a 29 because that's the largest i could run with a mid length campy rear mech. I really like the setup and it's great for any type of hills I have in my area so long as I'm not all loaded up with a bunch of extra weight (not fat, but like touring digs).

It would make a nice rando bike.

Right now I'm setting up my Carlton with a TA cyclotourist with 48/34 rings and a 5 speed 13-34 freewheel in the rear. I'm building it geared a little lower because I'd basically like to for all intents and purposes to replace riding my touring bike when I want to be lazy and I want to be able to comfortably carry a load up hills with it all day long should I need to.

I might spin it out in the 48/13 but we'll see. I can't imagine that happening often enough that I'd care.

I really like compact setups especially in an indexed system because I personally hate getting an indexed triple to shift perfectly with no rubbing. Plus there is a weight savings, the simplicity of less parts, and having more efficient usable gearing. A triple has a lot of gearing options that I never use.