Hi all,
I've found a really nice Bianchi Axis on clearance. It's got a triple up front and an XT rear derailleur. I have no interest in a triple, however.

If you were me, would you spend the effort to switch the bike to a double up front? It's my guess that it's got an XT rear because of the large gear range. So, am I just wasting money buying the bike w/ the triple and XT rear, or what?

Sorry if this post seems confusing--it's all confusing to me too!

What kind of front derailleur is currently on the bike? If it's an LX, as was spec'd most years (at least when Bianchi had a double crank on the Axis), then you're good to go. If it's a road triple mech (105, Tiagra, etc.), I'd replace it with an LX or, if this frame has the pulley for the derailleur cable, a 105. I've run triples on a couple of Axises, but converted one back to a double; I realized that 95% of the time, I had no conceivable need for a granny gear, what with that pie plate of a cassette.

This is what I did:
I bought a frameset and had an Ultegra 6603 (triple) gruppo from my old roadie. I took off the granny, replaced the 39 with a 42 and put a 42 chaingaurd. So now I run a 1x10 (12-27 in the back). For my area, I can do that but that's not always the case for everyone.

really, the only things you would need to do initially is take the granny off, and set the stop screws on the FD so you dont dump the chain into the frame...however, to do it 'right' you would need to replace the cranks and BB with the proper setup (shorter spindle and double-only cranks) but if the bike is a steal I say go for it!