Larry Osborn commented that with small chainrings (e.g. 28, 30 teeth, etc...) front derailleurs can be a problem. I too have had this very difficulty and had to go with mountain bike front and rear derailleurs. Not necessarily the appearance I was hoping for.
However, on an older Italian frame I recently used a NR crank (with a triple Gran Sport axle) that had a 74 mm BCD conversion. I found a compatible chainring with 34 teeth on the bone pile at my local bike shop. The freewheel I set it up with was a five speed 14-28. With some fiddling I got the set up to shift reasonably well with Standard Nuovo Record front and rear derailleurs (I did not have to use a Campagnolo Rally Derailleur). So overall the look is still fairly "classic" and the gear was low enough for my bad knees.
I believe with a smaller front chainring or a larger cog in back the range of the Nuovo record derailleurs would be too compromised. But with the 74 mm BCD I still have that option when my knees get worse. I have also set up a bike with Alpine type gears but simply did not use any front derailleur and would shift with the "greasy finger tips" method when necessity required a "bailout" gear. Any others out there who have done a similar set up?
Chris Gonzalez
Cloudy in Carmel, CA