just swapped from triple to compact-best thing ever

paul.d

I started cycling on a hybrid triple48-38-28 and 12-32 8 speed cassette so when I got a road bike Trek 1400 opted for 52-42-30 chainring and 12-25 9 speed cassette and have ridden this for two years

did the calcs and figured 50-34 with 12-27 9 speed should be fine -and it is! actually better than fine-can't think why I didn't do it ages ago-or perhaps I've just got a bit stronger?

IMHO it's a far nicer ride with less shifting
what do people think?

amaferanga

I just did the same with my Giant SCR2.0 and also am very happy. I never used the 30-25 combination with my triple (even up Hardknott) so the lowest gear of 34-27 with the compact is fine.

There is a bit of a jump when shifting between chain rings, but its not a big deal now that I'm used to it.

On my audax bike I still have a triple and won't change it as the lowest gear of 30-27 definitely comes in handy when faced with a 20% gradient after 580km of lumpy cycling.

Don't think I shift any less though as I rarely used the biggest chainring on my triple anyway.

ajohn9

i agree, i had a triple on my old raleigh
then just bought a focus with a 105 gruppo with a compact
its fantastic!!

Jaeger

In defence of the triple, I recently changed the 8-speed block on my SCR 3 from 12-26 to 12-23, meaning I have much closer spaced gears for the flats, with the back-up of having a 30/23 low gear for the steeper hills.

nun

paul.d wrote:

I started cycling on a hybrid triple48-38-28 and 12-32 8 speed cassette so when I got a road bike Trek 1400 opted for 52-42-30 chainring and 12-25 9 speed cassette and have ridden this for two years

did the calcs and figured 50-34 with 12-27 9 speed should be fine -and it is! actually better than fine-can't think why I didn't do it ages ago-or perhaps I've just got a bit stronger?

IMHO it's a far nicer ride with less shifting
what do people think?

I started out with a 52-42-30 as well with brifters. Then I got a singlespeed bike and realized that all those gears were actually making cycling less fun, not more. I found 70" to be a nice ratio and rode that for about a year. Then when it came to building a new geared bike I looked at my ratios with a new eye. Now I use 42-26 and an 11-34 cassette
(I tour) with barends

IsledeBlanc

nun wrote:

paul.d wrote:

I started cycling on a hybrid triple48-38-28 and 12-32 8 speed cassette so when I got a road bike Trek 1400 opted for 52-42-30 chainring and 12-25 9 speed cassette and have ridden this for two years

did the calcs and figured 50-34 with 12-27 9 speed should be fine -and it is! actually better than fine-can't think why I didn't do it ages ago-or perhaps I've just got a bit stronger?

IMHO it's a far nicer ride with less shifting
what do people think?

I started out with a 52-42-30 as well with brifters. Then I got a singlespeed bike and realized that all those gears were actually making cycling less fun, not more. I found 70" to be a nice ratio and rode that for about a year. Then when it came to building a new geared bike I looked at my ratios with a new eye. Now I use 42-26 and an 11-34 cassette
(I tour) with barends

I ride a singlespeed (48 x 17) during the week and compact (48-30 x 12-24 10sp) at the weekend. Would highly recommend some singlespeed riding, besides the physical benefits it has a positive psychological effect when you then ride a geared bike. You feel far less dependent on the gears, less inclined to shift at the first change in gradient or wind, and when you do, you appreciate the effect more.

wastelander

IsledeBlanc wrote:

Would highly recommend some singlespeed riding

[rant]Aaaaaarrrgghhhhh!!!! I really can't see the obsession single-speed riders have for banging on about 'the benefits', imagined or otherwise. What you might call a climb is to me a false flat before the 1.5 mile 10% climb![/rant]

That said, the compact is a great way of allowing less able/weaker riders still develoiping power and/or those who live in more challenging areas to stick to a double chain ring without the unecessary stresses of trying to push bigger gears - I certainly wouldn't consider a bike without one unless my location changes to something a little less hilly

sqwerl_mk2

wastelander wrote:

IsledeBlanc wrote:

Would highly recommend some singlespeed riding

[rant]Aaaaaarrrgghhhhh!!!! I really can't see the obsession single-speed riders have for banging on about 'the benefits', imagined or otherwise. What you might call a climb is to me a false flat before the 1.5 mile 10% climb![/rant]

That said, the compact is a great way of allowing less able/weaker riders still develoiping power and/or those who live in more challenging areas to stick to a double chain ring without the unecessary stresses of trying to push bigger gears - I certainly wouldn't consider a bike without one unless my location changes to something a little less hilly

christ. Your sweeping generalism aside, I hope that rant is directed at single-speed and not fixed. It seems to be directed at both which seems daft. Most, if not all, pro and serious amateur riders use fixed gear bikes as part of their winter training. There are genuine benefits to using one.

wastelander

I can see the benfits, but not everyone lives where even the thought of riding one is remotely possible, let alone actually riding it! Bring your singlespeed/fixed to Barnsley and the surrounding (hilly!) areas and see how you get on with it

nun

wastelander wrote:

I can see the benfits, but not everyone lives where even the thought of riding one is remotely possible, let alone actually riding it! Bring your singlespeed/fixed to Barnsley and the surrounding (hilly!) areas and see how you get on with it

It all depends on the ratio you ride, I know plenty of folks who ride fixed and singlespeed
in San Francisco and there are some mean hills there.

I was once skeptical of fixed/single speed too, but its amazing how different a bike ride feels when you don't have to think about gearing. The fixed experience is even more 'Zen' and sometimes you're not sure if its you pedaling or the bike itself. That said I tend to ride singe speed as I tour quite a bit and do some distance and a tour or a Century on a fixed
is beyond my capability.

domtyler

I love my fixie and look forward to riding it more than any of my other bikes even though I ride it every day to work and back. However I would not enjoy tackling seriously hilly terrain with it, that is why I too have a compact for riding at weekends.

I concur with the above that it helps to rid yourself of the obsession with changing gear all the time, I cannot believe how often others change when I ride with my club.
________
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Fab Foodie

I must be an extremist. Either Fixed or Triple, but not enamoured by compacts...don't like the hole between the rings and the double shifting that can ensue (never liked 53/39 either).

I like 42T chain-rings (I'm old fashioned) and there's one on the triple, combined with a 12-25 on the rear that's enough gears for 90% of my riding, so V. little front shifting required...a glorified 9 spd really with an overdrive and a crawler gear!

andrewc3142

I've got a triple on my tourer and it's certainly handy for lugging loads of stuff up hills. I've just bought a road bike for my commute and considered a compact, but ended up going for a standard double. Very happy with it but I expect it depends where you live - between Woking and the West End I don't need to change from the big front cog, but if I took it up to, say, Yorkshire I'd probably have a different opinion.

Aidocp

My Sirrus and Ridgeback are triples (a 30/42/52 and 28/38/48, respectively), when I got my road bike it only came in a compact, unless I wanted to wait indefinately (a 34/50), I wasn't sure at the time but so far I've not regretted it, I'm off to Arran at the weekend so things might change :oops:
I've never tried a fixie, don't think I'd want one as my main bike but I wouldn't mind giving one a go, I wish I had room for another bike, make that two bikes

bahzob

I am a member of both the triple and single speed camps.

Triple I have is 53/39/30 X 11-23. I find this perfect. There are no major gaps between gears so shifting is comfortable. I love having the option of a 53x11 when the opportunity presents to really motor. And the 4 low gears at the low end give me a training option of forcing myself to stay seated and spin up hills plus the confidence to know I will never have to get off and walk no matter how steep the hill.

Re single speed: somebody made comment that people did not use these on hills. I use one as a crap weather bike and round me there are definitely hills a plenty. Part of fun of single speed is going up them, steeper the better.

nun

Fab Foodie wrote:

I must be an extremist. Either Fixed or Triple, but not enamoured by compacts...don't like the hole between the rings and the double shifting that can ensue (never liked 53/39 either).

I like 42T chain-rings (I'm old fashioned) and there's one on the triple, combined with a 12-25 on the rear that's enough gears for 90% of my riding, so V. little front shifting required...a glorified 9 spd really with an overdrive and a crawler gear!

I a 42 fan too, after all it is the answer to "Life the Universe and Everything" :oops:
Nerdy half jokes aside on my 42x26 double I ride the 42T ring with 3/4 of an 11-34 cassette for 90% of my riding, I can do 25mph at 80rpm in 42x11(not for long though) and spin up most hills in 42x26. When I'm touring, or a 10% grade comes up I use the 26T ring.