fwiw, i'm not in love with my compact double for the reason the op has realized; i have to constantly shift up front whereas before i mostly kept it in the middle ring with an occasional drop to the granny for the biggest uphill climbs and quick trip to the big ring for downhills. I only went with a compact because i got hooked up with some free shifters and they were a double so going with a triple on that bike would have cost me $100 for a left shifter.