Originally Posted by shipwreck

Is this what your lbs guy is basing his recomendations on? If so, cool, but if you asked him for a touring rig for loaded touring and they still think a double is the way to go find a different bike shop.
Sorry, but some shops do not understand why anyone would ride anything other than sram red and want more than 20 spokes.
A triple will sometimes throw the chain, but for them to say that it will be to hard to keep adjusted is a little silly. A mountain bike will get tons more abuse than a tourer, and they seldom need much adjustment on the front derailer.