compact chainsets does everyone have them now

andy610

i cant make my mind up do i get a compact or a triple chainset, my trek pilot has a 52 42 30 triple chainring on it, rear cassette is 25 x 12 im thinking of putting a triple sora 3403 50 39 30 and 26 x 12 rear cassette on it, but it seems most have compacts now 50 34 but they are more exspensive and is the extra money worthwhile and not sure if my triple 8 speed shifters will work with a double compact

STEFANOS4784

Stick with the triple, it gives you more range, there will be certain cycle snobs who will say don't but if your using all your gears then don't worry. I f you find you're switching gear at the front a lot then consider a compact but if you use the small ring on hills and it's not just a cop out then why change?

peanut

if your bike is already set up for a triple it would make sense to stick with a triple. I have doubles on my road bikes and I have just converted to double compacts.
you need to do a bit of homework yourself as no one can answer this question for you. Get a gear chart off Sheldon's site and work out your current gear ratios.
Then input your intended triple and compact double and compare the gear charts that you get.
Then go for a ride on your favorite loop and make note of the most frequently used ratios and see which of the options will suit your riding

rickhotrod

If you use a 42 chainring to go up hill, your chain and cassette will last a lot longer compared to using a 34 chainring.

My advice is to use a 52/42 double with a custom 9-speed 13-32 (13,15,17,19,21,23,25,28,32) cassette. This will give excellent cassette life. Most hills can be tackled using a 42/25 or 42/28 gear, with a 42/32 left in reserve.

peanut

I would agree with a double if he already had one but his current setup is a triple. It would make sense to keep that less work and setup and the op is familiar with the triple changing.

Swapping to a 42t chainring and 32 sprocket would leave the OP several gear inches worse off that he already is wouldn't it !

it would also mean he had the added expense of a new front and rear mech to add to the cost of the new chainset. (I seriously doubt you could buy a 52x42 chainset off the shelf anyway they are nearly always 53x 39 nowadays)

sorry if that sounds critical of your suggestion but the gearing would leave the op worse off

nickwill

rickhotrod wrote:

If you use a 42 chainring to go up hill, your chain and cassette will last a lot longer compared to using a 34 chainring.

My advice is to use a 52/42 double with a custom 9-speed 13-32 (13,15,17,19,21,23,25,28,32) cassette. This will give excellent cassette life. Most hills can be tackled using a 42/25 or 42/28 gear, with a 42/32 left in reserve.

Not round here they can't!

peanut

sorry for the double post but this site is impossible for me this year. It took 2 minutes for my post to process and I had to logout and back in to get the page to unlock due to the animation . Grrrr lets not go there shall we

John.T

I see no good reason for changing. Your current set up has a good range of gears. If you need lower you could get a cassette with a 26 or 27. With 8sp I would stick with a triple as a compact would space the gears out too much. I miss an 18 cog on 50/34 and 12/27 10sp. With 9sp you also loose the 16. Not sure what dissapears on 8sp but I think I would miss it. If you really want to change the front set up just get some new chain rings. Stronglight and TA both do them in most sizes. Spa Cycles can get most of them.
http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b0s0p0

redddraggon

rickhotrod wrote:

My advice is to use a 52/42 double with a custom 9-speed 13-32 (13,15,17,19,21,23,25,28,32) cassette. This will give excellent cassette life. Most hills can be tackled using a 42/25 or 42/28 gear, with a 42/32 left in reserve.

keef66

I deliberately specified a triple and a 12-25 cassette on my new bike so I had a fairly wide range of gears with no big jumps anywhere. My knees are knackered so I need to keep the cranks whizzing round at a fairly constant cadence, and this setup is perfect for undulating Suffolk.

If I was headed for the alps or signed up for the Fred Whitton I'd be swapping cassettes to give me a 27 tooth sprocket.

andy_wrx

I guess knowing why you want to swap the 52/42/30 and 12-25 you already have might have some bearing on the advice.

Is it knackered or worn out and need replacement ?
- if so, what's knackered ? You could fit new rings to your existing chainset a lot cheaper than a new chainset and probably bottom bracket too

Or money burning hole in pocket and fancy a change / wanting to upgrade ?
- if so, do you think a Sora chainset is an upgrade? Probably not much of one if at all, you'd get better value upgrading your wheels.

Or does it not suit you somehow ?
- that might have the biggest bearing on whether you go triple or compact

I assume you have a Tek Pilot 1.0 with 8sp Sora 3300 shifters ?
- if so, these are shifters specifically for a triple. You might as well buy a new bike as replace the shifters, chainset, bottom bracket, cassette, chain to go compact...

peanut

redddraggon wrote:

rickhotrod wrote:

My advice is to use a 52/42 double with a custom 9-speed 13-32 (13,15,17,19,21,23,25,28,32) cassette. This will give excellent cassette life. Most hills can be tackled using a 42/25 or 42/28 gear, with a 42/32 left in reserve.

oh my god where did you get that picture just spat my dinner all over the Wife