There's a lot of thinking in this thread, not all of it supported by reality....
Personally, I've never understood the arguments against triples. Maybe it's because I'm a Clydesdale and live in the Sierra Nevada, but the granny gear weighs less than a couple of swallows in your water bottle, and when you don' t need it, you don't have to use it. When you do, it's really nice to have. I think part of the problem is that the standard "granny" has become a 30t, which is silly. When you need a low gear, why not make it a LOW gear, a 24 or 26? Weighs less, works better...but people might see it and think you're a sissy.
Of course you'll hear the argument that it complicates shifting, but how hard is that REALLY? Brifters have created a generation of incompetents.