So Trekke, you're saying that I can just drop the granny ring (which couldn't hurt with weight) and it should (presuming Tiagra and Sora work the same) be ok with some limit adjustment? I'll fiddle with the limit adjusters and see if I can get it down to the top two CRs.

I know, the Sora is total crap. That cranks and CRs are heavy, but apparently pretty durable. I'm switching it all over to Ultegra as soon as I get the cash, which shouldn't be too much longer.