Originally Posted by
joejack951
I believe it's Hillrider who has posted numerous times about switching out the 30T ring on a triple to a 28 or 26. According to him, or whoever it was, shifting from the little ring to the middle ring is a little more touchy but still perfectly acceptable. And IIRC, a chain watcher is a necessity for this setup due to the long drop the chain must make from the middle to the little ring.
You've got it exactly right. A 26T works fine with minor degredation of the granny-middle upshift. And the chainwatcher is a highly recommended addition to any triple but this one in particular. It's is very cheap way to get significantly lower gearing.