Triple vs compact

Buckie2k5

Hi there, looking for a quick bit of advice. Iam currently riding a triban 3 with 50/39/30 and 12-25 at the rear. As being a big lad i find myself in the granny ring whenver i hit big and long climbs. Iam now looking at purchasing a synapse tiagra compact which has 12-28, would i feel a big diff on climbs? unsure how 34-28 would compare to 30-25 :?

Cheers.

de_sisti

Stick with the chainset that you have and just buy a cassette with a 28 in it.

Grill

They're almost identical. As De Sisti said, just buy an 11-28 or 12-28 cassette.

lc1981

34/28=1.21
30/25=1.2

So very little difference.

Buckie2k5

may have worded it wrong. Iam buying a cannondale synapse with a compact 12-28.

thanks ic1981 so i shouldnt be blowing out my arse any more than i do already

triban 3 for sale very soon

lc1981

I guess one thing to note is that with your current setup, you could always add a cassette with a 28t largest sprocket to get an even lower gear, but that option isn't available on the new bike, since you're already relying on a 8t largest sprocket. But unless you're really struggling on the hills, that probably isn't necessary.

Buckie2k5

I can manage up them in the easy ring, just.. lol. I only been going for 2 months so im hoping as the weight is coming off it should start to get easier. I was just a bit worried that the triple to compact would be a big difference.

Cheers for your help.

grazza_e

If you haven't bought yet, have a gander at a few bikes with SRAM Apex on them. They have a very big cassette range available, I think you can get a 11-32t cassette. I was quite jealous of a friend with spinning his way up the stelvio this summer while I was mashing. Second cassette costs not much if you grow out of it.

Buckie2k5

I will have a look cheers. Would a tiagra 12-28 be changeable to a 11-32 cassette?

Grill

Not without swapping your rear mech to a medium/long cage.