Triple and Compact?

donnie murdo

Yes, I am an idiot!

Can someone tell me the difference and positive negative effects please?

mercurykev

It's all to do with weight between range trade off. A triple gives you a greater range of gears from high to low but the three chain rings weights more than a double. A compact , so saves weight but doesn't achieve as low a gear as a triple. I choose triple cos I like a wimp out gear on a steep hill.

geoff_ss

I would always go for a triple. The weight difference isn't worth bothering about. If weight is the sole criterion then ride single fixed.

Geoff

oldwelshman

Nice answer Geoff but it depends :-)
It depends where he will be riding? Why get a tripple or compact if you dont climb lots of hills?
if there are not lots of hills or he does not plan riding lots of hills here or abroad, no point.
If he does plan to ride hills then it dpends on how good he is climbing.
Some people can get by on 39 x 27 ok, other not.
Then a compact is better, but if he wants to do climbs with fully loaded panniers on at an average speed below walking where it becomes a balancing act to stay on bike then a tripple is better due to lower ratios

donnie murdo

Hi,

Thanks for the replies they are very helpful. As I live in Greenock in the west of Scotland I will be climbing hills whether I like it or not so the triple would seem to be the best choice. I take it that you can convert to a compact should you desire at a later stage?

oldwelshman

If you go for a tripple then there would be no point going for a compact later as you would have tripple sti's and as for weight saving between compact and tripple thats a complete waste of time as yopur weight probably fluctates more than the saving, or even riding with a full water bottle, its not all about weight.
Personally I am ok riding a double and have no need for tripple so could not be bothered with the extra changes and change of sti's so I just change my rear sprocket for certain rides.
As I get older (46 now) I will probably have to get a compact
If you are going on steep hills and not comfortable climbing on higher gears just go for the tripple and forget the compact. It seems thats best for your rides anyway.

donnie murdo

Thanks Oldwelshman that is useful advice. There are some very steep hills around here as Greenock is at sea level and to get out of town requires a climb in any direction unless I use the costal roads but that would defeat the purpose of getting a road bike. Plus Scotland is not renowned for it's flatness. Weight is no big issue as I have been sucesfuly riding MTB's for 14 years up hill and down dale so any type of road bike feels very light and fast to me. I have seeen this:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=24875
And thought that it should do the job?

DavidTQ

donnie murdo wrote:

Thanks Oldwelshman that is useful advice. There are some very steep hills around here as Greenock is at sea level and to get out of town requires a climb in any direction unless I use the costal roads but that would defeat the purpose of getting a road bike. Plus Scotland is not renowned for it's flatness. Weight is no big issue as I have been sucesfuly riding MTB's for 14 years up hill and down dale so any type of road bike feels very light and fast to me. I have seeen this:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=24875
And thought that it should do the job?

Looks to my eyes like a nice bike, dont know the frame at all though, but its got nice standard equipment for the money. The thing is a bikes geometry etc can make a huge difference, but ultegra and decent wheels for that money seems a good price as long as the frame is up to a similiar standard.

bahzob

Always used a triple myself. 53/39/30 with 11*23 rear. Means gear for every occasion from climbing Zoncolan to trying to catch group downhill. On climbs ratio of people with doubles I have passed to those who passed me = 100:1 or so.

Weight difference is insignificant. One thing to be aware of though is that triple front mech setup needs a bit more fiddling.

If using one I would always advise deciding which front ring you will be using at the start of a climb as changing mid way (usually the hardest bit when you realise you have run out of back teeth) can be jarring at best. (At worst the chain will come off..)

donnie murdo

Thanks for all the help,

I went for the Cube Agree Alu Aksium 2007 Triple as the compact was sold out in my size. It seems like a good deal and a good bike. I am now a roadie:)