Anybody out there still riding a triple?

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Triple chainrings are virtually mandatory for ancient cyclists in steep hilly areas, but they have some negatives.
1. Chain wear is much increased.
2. FD adjustment is super-critical. If you get it right, leave it alone.
3. Additional gear ratios may not be useable or effective.
4. Conversion from double to triple doesn't justify the cost.
Having said that, I use triples on my cargo bikes, and happily tolerate the negative issues.
1. No it isn't. Chains don't wear faster because there's more chainrings on the front. Chains wear faster partly because some people like to ride in 30x12 or 52x27.

2. Again, no it's not. I haven't had a single problem with shifting after spending 10 minutes reading and understanding the Shimano install instructions for the Front Mech.

3. Again, common sense. Little ring with big sprockets. Middle ring with medium to big sprockets. Large chainring with medium to small sprockets. Huge gear range - no weird chain alignment.

4. People convert from aluminum Campag Record cranks to carbon ones and seem to be able to justify adding nothing on relevance - I would have thought that if you needed the extra gearing that a triple can offer then it's a worthwhile addition.

I used to be able to crank 39x24 up insanely steep hills like Cumbria's Hardknott and Wrynose Passes - with grades reaching 33% and 25% respectively. Now I tend to have a few more pounds around the waist and not as much power so the granny gears come in useful in the long steep sections that I regularly climb.

Triple chainrings are virtually mandatory for ancient cyclists in steep hilly areas, but they have some negatives.
2. FD adjustment is super-critical. If you get it right, leave it alone.
Having said that, I use triples on my cargo bikes, and happily tolerate the negative issues. To add to the previous posters, I don't get this fuss about FD adjustment with triples. I have really not had any problems in this regard.

And regarding chain wear, as others have said, it should be less with a triple as you would avoid cross-chaining that is inevitable in a compact to get the same range of gears.

I guess the choice between compact double and triple would also depend on what kind of riding we're talking about. A tourist carrying a load would probably need the triple, but someone riding up hills without ever carrying anything else but himself and the bike might get by with a compact double.