I also use step and a half gearing, in my case 47-40-26 chainrings and a 13-30 9-speed cassette, and a 48-42-28 with 13-34 cassette on another bike. Both cassettes are custom from Harris: Cassettes 9-speed - Harris Cyclery bicycle shop - West Newton, Massachusetts

BTW, I don't have significant issues with the shift between middle and small chainrings.

My blog post on gearing choices, with some examples, here: https://valvejob.wordpress.com/2011/...gear-sequence/