Compact, double, triple chainwheel, how to choose?

NGMTB

Looking at getting my first road bike, probably a simple answer, but what option do i choose?
Compact, double or triple chainwheel.
I will be riding up to 50 miles once or twice a week, not racing, just riding for enjoyment.
Many thanks

anto164

tbh, i'd just get a compact. if you're riding for enjoyment, make sure you've got some nice easy gears for the hills.

My compact is good for every hill i've been up so far, but tbh, i've span out nearly on a few descents and also have wanted more gears when on the local chaingang which i'm guessing wouldn't be an issue for you.

Buckled_Rims

Get a compact. If you really want a lower ratio then go for an Apex compact. Apex has now IMO meant the death knell for the triple....although still good for touring! A standard chainset is great if you're fit, lean and riding flat roads. In most cases it makes no difference to the average rider.

If you spin out on a 12-27 cassette then even on a compact (34/50) you'll be doing over 40 mph! I personally find no pleasure on the roads around here going at that speed downhills. Logic dictates that a closer ratio cassette is much more important then top speeds.

desweller

Triple: Allows you to have a wide range of gears without compromising gaps between ratios. Negligible weight penalty of an extra chainring. Chainline of middle chainring makes the entire back block available on it, so in practice you'll hardly ever change gear at the front.

Compact: Permits use of wider range of ratios than with a double but incurs a large gap between chainrings at the front and cannot accomodate narrow gaps at the back without forcing you to select either a tall set of ratios or a short set. Inconvenient crossover point at front chainring means a lot of front shifting.

Standard Double: Cannot accomodate low ratios, so you'll need to be a strong rider to use this. Taller gears for higher speeds (if you can push the pedals round). Big ring for big speeds only, so you won't need to change gear at the front much.

arlowood

+1 for the compact. I used to be a fan of the triple on my previous bike (Spesh Secteur Elite) and was doubtful when I upgraded to a Trek Madone with a compact chainset.

However with the supplied 11-28 cassette on my Trek i had little or no problems on the hills and just recently swapped the supplied 10-speed 11-28 Ultegra cassette for a Tiagra 12 - 30. So now the 34-30 combination gives me the same ratio as the 30-27 lowest gear with the triple I had before.

So go for the compact for flexibility but make sure you marry it with a reasonable spread of ratios on the cassette eg 12-27, 11-28 etc.

houndlegs

arlowood wrote:

+1 for the compact. I used to be a fan of the triple on my previous bike (Spesh Secteur Elite) and was doubtful when I upgraded to a Trek Madone with a compact chainset.

However with the supplied 11-28 cassette on my Trek i had little or no problems on the hills and just recently swapped the supplied 10-speed 11-28 Ultegra cassette for a Tiagra 12 - 30. So now the 34-30 combination gives me the same ratio as the 30-27 lowest gear with the triple I had before.

So go for the compact for flexibility but make sure you marry it with a reasonable spread of ratios on the cassette eg 12-27, 11-28 etc.

Ca n you explain how you work the ratios out please.

mrushton

Just go to the gears section of www.sheldonbrown.com and use the online caculator. You can enter arious ring/sprocket sizes and get the result in different formats. You also get to filter in wheel size/crank length