I just try to avoid the overgearing syndrome. I am not sure that more than 8 speed hub is good for touring, and 7 speed I am fine with. I started with 5 speed but that was limited. This has to do with my needs. A lot of people are fine with the grater cost and lower durability of the 9 speed and on. More gears are good as such, I just don't want to run those chains, or wheels. The stronger chains and wheels you can build in those older systems make sense to me.

You can get the Sugino tripple with steel rings, so that would be an option. The weight of such a set-up would not bother me, but I don't know what if any proof there is of greater durability. I am not worried about Al breaking, the question is whether the overall pattern of chain and gear wear would be improved, and I don't know what would do that. 8 speed and lower chains are cheap enough that you could replace them before they stretch; what about grit lapping; what about the different wear rates of the the different chainrings. Does anyone know what approach would lead to better long term wear?