Originally Posted by
ridemgis
I've been biking for 20 years and never had much reason for the outer ring unless I want to hit 50 mph downhill. More often than not I'm in a low to very low gear spinning a 100 rpm. I can rack up an entire day and many miles that way. And I've never been a strong climber - I'm quite content to drop to 5mph on a long hill.
So it seems like my options are to swap in a mountain triple with a 22-32-42 or do what I can with the current hardware by only changing the rings. And I'm thinking, perhaps mistakenly, that a new crankset would probably require a new front derailleur and bottom bracket. ?
A new crankset doesn't require a new bottom bracket unless you change the spindle. Your Andel crankset looks like a pretty typical square spindle, so you can swap in a lot of other cranksets. If you want to go with a Shimano crankset, it's probably going to be Hollowtech II, in which case you'll need to spend $25-35 on an outboard bottom bracket. That new BB will still work with your 68mm English-thread BB shell. No big deal. No compatibility issue here if you get the same spindle as the current BB, too.
I think your logic with switching your triple sounds about right. I, too, didn't need the 50T on my outer chainring and instead opted for a 46T, and I don't miss the extra power at the top end when loaded touring.
As long as your triple crankset is ramped for 22-32-42, it works with your triple front derailleur (I'm 99% sure, someone can correct me or confirm). My Sora front derailleur adjusted fine between a 34-46 and a 34-50. It shifted both. So, no worries on compatibility.
And finally, go for this. Really, it sounds like you'll just end up with a bike that is closer to your ideal. Keep the old crankset as a backup. Buying three rings will cost almost as much as buying a new crankset, so just get a new crankset.
As a final warning, talk to your LBS about this switch. Just to make sure there's no funky differences between what you're getting and your current chain, cassette, BB, and FD.