I used to run the type of setup Chewa describes -- using a long spindle, long stackbolts, and spacers, one can build a single-BCD triple out of any crankset. For years, I had a Sugino Mighty Compe set up as 49-46-43, with a 13-16-19-23-26 freewheel, which gave me a 14-speed (avoiding large-large cross-chaining) third-step variation on the old half-step system. A 3-pin TA Professional crank, with its 116mm BCD, could support a 48-45-35 half-step-plus grannie on 3 long stack bolts!