triple to compact is it a wrong move

radiation man

i have a triple tiagra chainset on my road bike and was thinking of upgrading to a compact ultegra, but not sure now if its worth the change

Pompey Monkey

madasahattersley wrote:

That's what I do. Compacts = Good, Triples = Devil's Work.

39/52 or 42/52 up. Else you are violating rule V.

'Nuff said.

Bobbinogs

What are you hoping to achieve? What bike do you have?

griffter18

I made the move and have no regrets.

Campact saves a little weight and gives less options to cross gear with a cleaner chain line.
Unless you are cycling long distances with a lot of hills and carrying a reasonable weight (panniers etc etc), then its a good choice.

Why not see if you can borrow a bike fitted with a compact for a day to see how you get on before you commit

rolf_f

griffter18 wrote:

I made the move and have no regrets.

Campact saves a little weight and gives less options to cross gear with a cleaner chain line.
Unless you are cycling long distances with a lot of hills and carrying a reasonable weight (panniers etc etc), then its a good choice.

Why not see if you can borrow a bike fitted with a compact for a day to see how you get on before you commit

Swings and roundabouts. The weight saving is surprisingly insignificant and arguably, if you get a cleaner chain line with a compact then you haven't been using your triple properly. I've found with my touring bike that the front mech is much simpler to use. Middle on the flat, big on descents, small on climbs (simplification obv) - bottom line is most of the time is happily spent on the middle with good chainlines and there is never a need to double shift.

Personally, I still prefer the compact on a road bike generally as a simpler front setup is handy but if I had a triple, I wouldn't replace it with a compact unless it was a really cheap deal - there's not enough in it to make the change worthwhile either way. And if I did have a triple, I'd probably spend less time swapping between different ratio cassettes!

neeb

You need to work out what range of gear ratios you are actually using on your triple, and then see if these can be duplicated on a compact setup. If they can be, then it's just a case of whether you think the greater simplicity / lighter weight / image factor etc is worth the expense.

marcusjb

Pretty much what Rolf F says for using a triple in his simplification - most riding is done in the middle ring.

It really would have to be a cheap deal to make it worthwhile changing for not a lot of gain. I'd rather save my money and put it towards the next bike or whatever.

copper585

Used a triple for last ten years, as had spent years riding a double 52/42 and as getting older was finding steep hills a struggle. Doubt I would ever turn to a compact you don't get a big enough gear for descents and doubt it's lowest gear would get me up roseDale chimney like my lowest gear on my triple did. I always call it my emergency gear for steep stuff as I do ride mostly on the 42 never had any gear change problems. Mine is campag centaur by way.

rolf_f

COPPER585 wrote:

Doubt I would ever turn to a compact you don't get a big enough gear for descents and doubt it's lowest gear would get me up roseDale chimney like my lowest gear on my triple did.

This isn't generally true - most road triple setups don't offer a significanly wider range of gears than can be achieved with a compact and short cage rear mech setup. That's the point. It isn't the range of gears that limits a compact but the gaps between the gears. I can run 12-29 on my compact without changing the rear mech. The difference on a descent between 50-12 and 50-11 is minimal. You probably last about a second longer before you spin out!

Touring triples are lower geared than road triples and those do offer something a compact can't match. But then you need it as the bike is much heavier.

markhewitt1978

I'd say do it, as part of an upgrade to Ultegra, it's not worth doing as a thing by itself.

Kimble

have you had any trouble shifting so far? I've gone from a 105 double to a much newer 105 triple (courtesy of some thieving b**tard) and lament the poor shifting of the treble by comparison to the Double. apparently 105 triple shifters are notorious for being unreliable but I've found it consistently very difficult to shift down cleanly from big ring to middle ring (without shifting straight to small ring).

if you like to push a big gear (like I do occasionally) there are more options using a double compact as apparently Shimano triples are not rated for more than a 20 tooth range unless you go up to an Ultegra spec triple. I got a 50/12 as my fastest instead of my previous 52/11 which I had loved using. I'm definitely for Double compact for the ease of use of the double setup and the same climbing ability of a triple. Was thankful for having a triple for the Fred Whitton this year but will be upgrading (or down gearing) as soon as the current system is on it's last legs.

Wirral_paul

Well i have a compact on my current "summer" bike but have a triple for the new "winter / touring" build that is in progress. As others have said - it depends on what you're trying to achieve and frankly how strong a cyclist you are. I got up Mt Ventoux just fine using a 34x25 lowest gear in under 2hrs in September, but am planing on riding more in the Lakes / Pyrenees next year. The 30 inner ring on the triple should see me up 30% of Hardnott / Wrynose Pass - and I am hoping will give me more gear ratios to pick from on the long climbs of the Pyrenees. If you're a good climber and never do really steep / long climbs then a compact will be absolutely fine - so the right answer is dependent on your own needs and not what others prefer.

Dont forget that if you go to a double then you will possibly need a new left shifter and front mech - so the "upgrade" might get expensive.

prhymeate

I have a Triban 3 which comes with a triple and apart from the first few weeks I had my bike, I have never needed the inner ring in the UK. I was so grateful for it when I took my bike to the Alps last summer though.

rolf_f

Prhymeate wrote:

I have a Triban 3 which comes with a triple and apart from the first few weeks I had my bike, I have never needed the inner ring in the UK. I was so grateful for it when I took my bike to the Alps last summer though.

Yet British climbs are often so much steeper than the Alpine ones!

radiation man

i just think the ultegra compact double will shift better then the tiagra triple i have and is lighter and easier to set up and will still work with my 9 speed sora shifters. and the ultegra gs rear mech i use.

prhymeate

Rolf F wrote:

Prhymeate wrote:

I have a Triban 3 which comes with a triple and apart from the first few weeks I had my bike, I have never needed the inner ring in the UK. I was so grateful for it when I took my bike to the Alps last summer though.

Yet British climbs are often so much steeper than the Alpine ones!

To be fair I haven't ridden that many British climbs. It was more the distance and heat of the Alpine climbs that did made me reach for the inner ring. It was my first year of cycling and first alpine climb though, so maybe not a fair comparison for most people.

Daz555

radiation man wrote:

i have a triple tiagra chainset on my road bike and was thinking of upgrading to a compact ultegra, but not sure now if its worth the change

If you have a bike which shipped with Tiagra then you probably have some other components you'd get more out of if you upgraded - ie spend the money somewhere else.

Wheels & tyres is where I'd start it terms of getting an upgrade you'll really feel in everyday riding.