I have triples on my two bikes. I have not used Shimano with a triple so I can't comment on how well the front shifts and the trim ability of the higher end groups. With Campagnolo it works very well. I use a 53/42/32 up front with 11-26 on one bike and 12-26 on the other. I stay in the 42t ring a lot where as someone on a compact will be switching back and forth from the 50t to 34t. The 32t granny ring is quite close to a 36t but one cog down (32x21 = 36x23).