Originally Posted by peterw_diy

Yes, gearing can be tricky. What size gears do you expect to use most?

I'm about to replace my stock CC crank with the 48-36-26 Deore set, as I, too, need a granny for hills & kid trailers (it's not too hilly here, but my kid really dislikes the bike & trailer lunging forward with each downstroke when going uphill in a too-high gear). With the 48-36-26 crankset and 11-34 cassette, I expect to spend most of my time in the middle ring and the 5th and 6th cogs; with a 44-32-22 I'd spend most of my time in middle/6-7 or large/4-5, neither of which has a nice chainline. I like to gear my bikes so that I'll rarely need the smallest rear cogs since smaller cogs wear out faster.

Note that Shimano's techdocs Safety Information sheets say you should expect the chain to rub the FD cage or large chainring(!) if you use the middle chainring with either of the two smallest rear cogs.

-Peter