I run tiagra fd when using a mountain/trekking crank. I believe you are spot on about running ultegra with a mountain crank cycle safe. I was just pointing out that it can be done and that it can work well if done with the right combination of parts.

KD: Was your Tiagra FD purchased when Tiagra was 9 speed or is it a new one made when it was meant to be paired with Tiagra 10 speed shifters? "The right combination of parts" is the issue avoided when sticking to a pure MTB drivetrain.

It's 9 speed

And anybody with a lick of sense can see that the Shimano system is far superior to a 3 piece crankset. There are no crank bolts to work loose if not properly torqued. If something does come loose, it takes a 5 mm allen wrench to fix it. And the Shimano doesn't cost that much more than the Sugino.

Too much is made out of chainlines. I run 135mm hubs on my touring bike. Most touring bikes are going to use the same hub width which is the same width as a mountain bike. With the exception of one road bike every thing I own runs mountain bike cranks and I've never noticed any kind of problems with shifting or chain wear.

What won't you say about needing a lower than 24 tooth inner? I have no problem with using the smallest inner chainring I can get. I even run a 20 tooth inner on my touring bike. Got a problem with that?

A 44/11 really isn't that tall. It's only 108 gear inch. Even my tiny wife spins out a 44/11 pretty quickly. A 46/11 or 48/11 gives a much better range.

Well, at 90rpm, 32mm tires, and a 175mm crankarm a 44/11 gets you 28.9 mph, a 46/11 gets you 30.2 mph, and a 48/11 gets you 31.5 mph. All speeds reached only while descending. Any benefit of the taller combination would be fleeting at best.

In fact, I think the new 2x10 MTB setups (42/28 or 39/26) with a 12-36 10 speed cassette could be of interest to many tourers. It would be nice to get rid of that pesky triple front der.

I'd love to go to the new double someday.... Have a hard time convincing myself of that after just spending a wad of cash on a new Giant TCR SL . So for now........

You beat me to it. Was just going to say that if your wife can spin out @ 30 mph while loaded with 25 lbs or more of gear attached and she's not descending, and can do it for a sustained effort, she should turn pro.

It all depends on whether you must keep up with anybody.

If you come off a hill onto a flat, you can turn a big gear to keep your momentum going for a mile or two. Back when my only bike was a mountain bike, I had to pedal like mad to keep up with my friends with road bikes in those cases. If you don't need to keep up with anybody, that substantially reduces the need for big gears. And it's never a bad thing to have a 22x34 if you can swing it.

For the record, I have an XT 48-36-26 crankset on my touring bike.

The bolts that hold the arms on OBB cranks can come loose too, and some people have their arms also fall off. Nothing is foolproof. Far superior? Sorry, I disagree in every way.

A little perspective: for years and years and years people toured on old style square BB cranks, cottered cranks and what not; things coming loose is exceedingly rare and has always been. A little Loctite is cheap insurance, but I'd say that's mostly a non issue IMO.

If you can spare a couple of gears, they have 9 speed versions of the 12-36 cassette too, and I think one could manage that with a 38-48 front, or 36 if you can. I'm going to go this route with a drop-bar hybrid next year.... I should add that it's running that black deore FD with the mega-range just for this reason.

Isn't that too high at the bottom end? Of course I'm just an old dude, but still.

I wouldn't take this bike to the Rockies, but I think it's enough for me and my light gear in the rolling hills of the Great Lakes... and I was one of those plucky 20km a day commuters before I got laid off.