Compact v Triple

DoubleTop

What is the real difference between a compact (39/52 with 11-25) and a triple (30/39/50 with 11-25)?

Why do the so called 'good riders' look down on others that ride a triple?

When your struggling uphill then surely that small cog of 30 is a god send - not a granny cog?

rally200

39/52 is a standard rather than a compact which will be more like 34/50.

the standard is the traditional racing choice - some users of which will look down on the compact.

loads of threads on here re compact v. triple - choice will depend on:

what type of riding & where you, how fit you currently are ,etc etc

DoubleTop

rally200 wrote:

39/52 is a standard rather than a compact which will be more like 34/50.

the standard is the traditional racing choice - some users of which will look down on the compact.

loads of threads on here re compact v. triple - choice will depend on:

what type of riding & where you, how fit you currently are ,etc etc

Sorry typing error - should be 34/50

I want a bike that I can do 10 mile TT, a Sunday 40 to 50 mile ride and do at least a 100 mile. Not much to ask for.

redddraggon

50-11 is a plenty big enough gear for upto ~40mph, There's nothing wrong with a compact.

But you could fit a 11-25/11-26 with a 53/39/30 and have the best of best worlds - big and small gears.

It's about the combination of cassette and chainset you use, rather than which chainset...

Mister W

Having owned bikes with triples and compacts my view is that a compact double is a much better option, unless you're riding up mountains. It's much easier to set up the gears on a double and by choosing the right cassette you can get all the gears you need.

Mark Alexander

Get the compact, the triple will not be used after a very short time

ShaunL

IMO the compact with the right cassette is the way to go.

After a few rides the triple will only be an annoyance.

pottssteve

If you're chubby and you live in Hong Kong a triple is essential!

nasahapley

ShaunL wrote:

IMO the compact with the right cassette is the way to go.

After a few rides the triple will only be an annoyance.

Eh? I've done rather more than a few rides on my triple, and I've never been annoyed by it. Not even once. And I can be a right irritable bugger sometimes.

Tbh I think if you get a compact you'll be fine on that (with a 27 sprocket if you're planning on doing really steep stuff), and if you get a triple you'll be fine on that too. Me, I like triples because there's every gear you'll ever need with fairly small jumps between sprockets/chainrings, and I don't have to muck about changing the cassette for racing/really hilly rides or whatever. And while it may be true that if you're fit you don't need a triple, you may certainly want one, if you like keeping a higher cadence up steep hills, for example.

And if someone really looks down on you for riding a compact/triple then they're not worth bothering with IMO.

jswba

I used to ride a triple with 11-25 in South Yorkshire but changed just over a year ago to a compact with 11-27. I much prefer the compact, as I spend much less time fiddling about changing chainrings and I get no chain rub at all thanks to a decent set-up. I've not found any hills that I can't get up on 34/27

Chris James

jswba wrote:

I used to ride a triple with 11-25 in South Yorkshire but changed just over a year ago to a compact with 11-27. I much prefer the compact, as I spend much less time fiddling about changing chainrings and I get no chain rub at all thanks to a decent set-up. I've not found any hills that I can't get up on 34/27

I have ridden both 12-25 30 triple and a compact 36/24 in West and South Yorkshire and much prefer the triple.

I don't get chian rub either thanks to a decent setup.

davehiscock

im picking up my trek carbon 5200 oclv with a triple on it on sunday!!

ARHHHHH, have i made the right choice! . i live in swindon (wiltshire ) which is quite hilly .

Mark Alexander

in the 5 years that i've had my Xenon triple 30/42/52 i've used the 30, 3 times (intentionally) all the rest for seconds when it dropped in, when I didn't want it to because it is superfluous.

redddraggon

davehiscock wrote:

i live in swindon (wiltshire ) which is quite hilly .

Is it quite hilly? The google maps Topography makes it look pancake flat :?

simon_e

Not sure any of us can answer this for you as we aren't familiar with your fitness, riding style and the terrain you like.

Horses for courses, ways to skinn the same cat etc etc. There isn't one 'correct' answer, it's a preference. It could be said that if you are accustomed to one you'll not like the other.

The subject crops up frequently, have you tried searching the forums? Here's one thread from earlier this week. The sticky thread at the top of Road Beginners is about this too.

Reddragon, no Wiltshire is certainly not flat.

redddraggon

Simon E wrote:

Reddragon, no Wiltshire is certainly not flat.

Definitely looks flat compared to North Wales and the Peaks

johna101

I have been riding a triple (53/39/30 - 11/25) for 3 years. Two weeks ago I got a new Specialized Roubaix Compact (50/34 - 12/27)

With the triple, I always found I tended to avoid the small ring if possible, and only used it for the really steep stuff to access the 30/25) I found the middle ring had most things covered other than that and in the middle ring didn't have to worry about the chain rubbing.

I was a bit nervous about getting the compact as I'm not exactly the lightest cyclist out there. I looked up the difference between the 30/25 on the triple and 34/27 on the compact, The difference was only 3 or 4 inches so I decided to risk it. (Nothing sensible like a test ride for me)

In the past two weeks I have been very happy with the compact. There are really no negatives for me. I can still get up the same hills I could with the triple with no extra perceived effort and I find the double cassette easier to handle. Perhaps the biggest (unexpected) plus is that because the gears are more spaced out, I find that I don't have to change too far when I stand while climbing. (I try to sit while climbing with a high cadence, and have to drop a few gears when I need to stand as my cadence is lower). On the triple, this involved some faffing around for me, and on a steep hill, that's the last thing I need. One gear lower on the compact seems to work.

Just my (highly personal) findings.

John

bendertherobot

What's all this chain rub malarkey? Can't you bois trim on the move!

stabilised

I'm a triple fan, too, having gone over to one three years or so ago. The North Penines aren't flat, either, and as someone who rides for fun and fitness these days after knee problems ended my racing (and wouldn't be so insecure as to post my TT times in my sign-off in any case) then see plenty of positives in a triple. I can keep a 13-23 cassette and like the closely stacked gears that gives - one tooth differences most of the time mean you can fine tune the gears and be in one that feels right more of the time. A 30 tooth granny ring means that I can still get up the hills I ride regularly, which include some with 20%+ gradients, which is important when rides generally average out at 1000ft of climbing every 10 miles. That means good cadence on climbs and staying sitting rather than out of the saddle macho stuff (especially with a dodgy knee) and I couldn't do it on 39-23. I don't understand the chain-rub stuff - my bike runs Mirage, so hardly top flight kit and I have adjusted gear mechs about three times in three years and have never had problems with chain rub than a single click of trim on the front mech doesn't solve.

johna101

bendertherobot wrote:

What's all this chain rub malarkey? Can't you bois trim on the move!

Yes, trimming works. But on the compact I don't have to as much.

The triple is still on my trusty Trek and will still see a lot of use in the winter months. (Yes I've joined the psycho 'summer bike/winter bike' crowd :oops: ). For me the compact is less bother, but not by much at all, I was happy with the triple.

I guess the main thing is having the range of gears to do what you want with the bike. In my case, the compact turns out to be a slightly better fit, with not so many gear in the big ring that I never use. :roll:

John C.

If you have to ask the question , go for a tripple, I lost count of the riders, oops sorry pushers on last years Fred Whitton who were on doubles and compacts. I'd rather ride up a hill on a tripple than push with a double. Yes I'll ride vertually any hill in the country on the middle ring when I'm fresh but after 100 miles there are hills that have me searching for several gears which aren't there.