Originally Posted by
pacificcyclist
If you are building a touring bike from scratch, you can look into the Sugino XD crankset. They come with good touring chainring setup starting with a 46T as a big chain ring. You can opt for a normal square taper; this you can splurge a bit with a Philwood or a Chris King, then you don't need to worry about overhauling the BB too often on a tour!
Or you could buy an external bottom bracket crank and splurge on a Chris King external bottom bracket. Replaceable cartridge bearings that need no more service than a square taper bottom bracket
and they are easier to work on.