I believe that you would get much smoother shifting and a better usable range of gears with the combination I have listed below than to try to get that same range with a double.

I would go with a triple because it provides a wide range of gears with less "jump" between gears. Has the person at your LBS ever toured before?

Front derailleur adjustment is not an issue with bar-con shifters. It is not really an issue with STI shifters either. I prefer the STI shfters, but there are others who prefer the bar-con type. Either type will work hassle free with a triple. There are a lot experienced people on this forum, and I'm sure you will get a range of opinions.

I have put this identical setup on 4 bikes: 11-34 rear cassette, 44/32/22 mountain crankset, 103 mm bottom bracket on 68 mm BB shell (to keep road chainline, 45-47 mm, with mountain bike cranks), Shimano LX rear derailleur, Tiagra front derailleur (really forgiving and rugged), and Tiagra shifters/brake levers. Unfortunately, the Sugino DX 500 crank is no longer available, but there are some others that may work as well.

This combination has proven to be reliable for 1000's of touring miles.


I used exactly the same drive train and STI shifters when I built up my wife's custom made frame.