Honestly, I tried the compact because Thrifty Bill posted about them being so inexpensive and I needed a 9 speed crankset with a square taper. It's different.

I use the compact on my Tempo with a 12/25 cassette on rides where I know the terrain won't require anything lower than the 34/25 combo. On my 52/42/32 triple- equipped Cannondale ST, I can conquer most of the hills around here with the 42/27, and that's pretty close to the 34/21 on the Tempo. So if I need to, I can dive deeper into the gearing on the compact. But if I'm heading into unknown territory, I take the triple.

Biggest change for me was avoiding the 34/23 and 34/25 on local hills where I didn't really 'need' it- it was tempting but just slowed me down.

i'll have to try a tiagra front or a campy triple on my tourer some day. I dont have experience with either.

I have a TA 43/30 on my wife's bike:
http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/bumby/build6.jpg

But, I highly doubt it will come anywhere near the price of the VO copy. A few years ago when T.A. made another run of them didn't they sell for a few hundred dollars each? And, if anyone has a good relationship with a local bike shop, QBP has Velo Orange products in stock now including the Grand Cru crankset.

Interesting reading all of this. My dad is 70 and this year just switched to a 50-36 compact on his Vitus. He is still adjusting to the gearing and says it's working all right for him and gives him enough bailout on some of the hills he rides. However, he's always been a masher so I'm not sure how much more cadence he's getting out of it.

My three primary bikes are set up primarily with 52-42 on the front and either 12-21, 13-24 or 13-26 up front. I have to go 15 miles in either direction to get in hill climbing. However, we often have wind in the 20 mph + catergory during the year. The 42-24/26 combo usually gets me through those days. I don't even bother attempting with the 12-21 bike with the heavier wind.

I had never experienced triples until my mountain bikes. I converted my Trek to a touring rig with 48-36-26 gearing and a 14-28. It feels like a good combination for that.

My recent acquisition, Trek 510, came with a 50-42-28 Sugino triple. I had a Mavic GP4 wheelset with a 13-21 freewheel on it so I decided to keep the triple. The 28-21 gearing will get me down in the 30 gear inch range and allow me to tackle any of the hills here or the 30 mph wind days.

Other than eBay, you might try Highpath Enginering: http://www.highpath.co.uk/

I'm aware of both of those sources. I was asking the guy who appears to be in Europe. The only sources I've found for smaller 122 BCD rings have been in Europe. I paid $15 for a 40t ring recently, but I'd love to have a 38t. I don't believe they were even in the catalog, but some are known to exist.

Correction: The above applies to the 37t ring. The 38t ring was in the catalog.

Is my English that bad? Hopefully it's because I said I toured in various European countries.
I bought mine from Kopp's Cycles in New Jersey back in the 70's from a gentleman who looked much like your avatar. I want to keep mine, so there I'm no help. However, a shop in France does have 38t 122BCP Stronglight rings, though they are not the 93 design. They all show as not being in stock but available at the distributor, so I ordered some other sizes just to have some backups. I can let you know if they fit correctly when they come in. I'm a little concerned that they won't have the correct bolt size, since I don't see a recessed hole like the 93 rings have.
http://www.xxcycle.com/122-mm-2-position,,en.php

my shop owner went to interbike and spoke with the TA reps. they couldnt say anything exact, but prices will be in the 250-300 range. that sounds reasonable to me for a new crankset. and, as the flickr posting says, distro will be through EAI...many bike shops have EAI accounts.

although, I'd just get the sugino compact+ personally...or the sugino alpina....or the WI VBC crankset...if I were in the market for a replacement for my TA cyclotouriste cranks.

I dont mind spending a little extra on parts that I like / companies that I respect.

If you are still looking for any old French rings I will look if you send me the specs directly. Like Killer said your avatar does look a little like my dad.

Avoiding a triple with a compact has nothing to do with manlyness - I misplaced my manlyness long ago. A triple just has way too many gears. I'm fine on a 50T/13-14-15-16-17-18-28. The only other gear I need is 34/28 in case I have to climb a wall on the way to a rest stop/bar. Any more than that and I am just too confused. Might as well walk.