Hey everyone,

I'm trying to build up a bike that will serve as a touring bike (overnight and 2 day trips mostly as well as longer tours in the future) as well as a fun bike for longer road rides. As it breaks down, I'm getting a great deal from my LBS on a Surly LHT frame and a Miche RC2 Wheelset which is freeing up some money for other components. As it stands the build is going to be about 1500 tax incl and will be built as follows:

Frame: Surly LHT 60cm
Headset: Cane Creek S3
Stem: Thomson Elite x2
Handlebars: Ritchey Comp
Brakes: Tektro CR720 (canti)
Brake Levers: Campy Veloce
Seatpost: Thomson Elite
Cranks: Campy Veloce
BB: Campy Record Cups
Cassette: Miche 12-27
Chain: Campy Veloce
Front Derailleur: Campy Veloce
Rear Derailleur: Campy Veloce
Front Hub: Miche RC2 Racing
Back Hub: Same as front
Rims: DRC ST17 (basically a Mavic CXP22 clone that's double eyeleted)
Tires: Challenge Criterium 700x23 (these are just too good a deal to pass up and will probably be switched to another bike)
Spokes: Wheelsmith SS14 or DT Champion

So my questions are these:

Is campy a fools errand for finding a good gearing that will make me happy both loaded and unloaded?

Are triple cranks really that important for touring?

Am I going to need a beefier wheelset for when I'm fully loaded?

General thoughts on the build?