So, so green LOL!

[JenLeath]

I went on a 45 min ride this morning, my chain came off in the middle of this major hill. So I panicked, unclipped and hopped off. I was putting my chain back on and low and behold I have a triple crank. Some of you may be laughing right now :o . But I really didn't pay much attention to that when I bought my bike. I just bought the one that felt the best. So, my question for those seasoned cyclists, what is the main difference between a double and a triple?

[Zen]

You probably do want a triple. Do you ever expect to climb any hills? Or have you found the Xanadu of a flat road universe ;) ?
Personally,I like a good hill now and then.

The advantage of a triple is the extra low gearing. The disadvantage is that the cross gearing problem is even more pronounced than on a double, it's heavier and it can be tricky to get perfectly aligned.

[RolliePollie]

I really like my triple. It's hilly here so I think it's what I need. I'm still learning and I drop my chain pretty often. I think the key is to anticipate when you're going to need to move into a different chain ring and do it before you're in the middle of your hill. Since I kind of expect to drop my chain, I'm always prepared to clip out and stop. The cross chaining issue is kind of a pain as I don't seem to be able to get things adjusted quite right. So I have a few gear combinations that I just don't use. But it's not a big deal because you can usually find another combination that works just as well. If I didn't have that third ring, I'd be walking up a lot of hills!

Oh, and I've come up with a way to avoid getting grease all over yourself when you're putting your chain back on. Carry a pair of surgical gloves! I probably look like an idiot out there on the side of the road putting on rubber gloves, but it keeps my hands nice and clean! I don't care for the grease-under-the-fingernails look. I guess there's a way to pedal the chain back on but I haven't figured that one out yet.

[JenLeath]

Yes, we have tons of hills here. I love right on a bench of some big mountains. Surgical gloves will be a permenant addition to my pack, as I have learned today. I still have grease on my fingers. I love going fast on flats as well, so I guess without knowing if I picked it right. The "bad" combination of gears is familiar, there are a couple that don't work well, I can hear it right away and shift out of it. Thanks for the tips.

Jen L

[Zen]

I would think those gloves would tear too easily, I carry the good old bandana stuffed under the seat. Used it today! I'm learning to listen to my bike a lot more.

[Trek420]

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=1514&highlight=shifting+load

[RolliePollie]

I think the gloves I have are actually Nitrile gloves...they're pretty thick so they don't tear very easily. I like them cuz you can just turn them inside out and stick them back in your seat bag even when they're all greasy, and then throw them out when you get to a trash can. In addition, if anyone else you're riding with ever gets hurt and there's blood involved, you can whip out your gloves and help them out.

[DarcyInOregon]

I just carry a cloth hankie in my jersey pocket. It is useful for all sorts of wiping off or putting on chains and so on, and the best is, unlike tissue, if you forget to take it out when you wash the jersey there won't be little pieces of paper all over the clothing when the wash is done.

JenLeath, you want a triple, like the others said, because you will get hills with real steep grades. If as you approach the hill and it looks real steep to you, then shift down before you start up the grade. You only drop the chain if you try to shift down when you are already half way up and bike is hardly moving at all. Anything else, you can stay in the second cog.

Darcy

[Jolt]

I just carry a cloth hankie in my jersey pocket. It is useful for all sorts of wiping off or putting on chains and so on, and the best is, unlike tissue, if you forget to take it out when you wash the jersey there won't be little pieces of paper all over the clothing when the wash is done.

JenLeath, you want a triple, like the others said, because you will get hills with real steep grades. If as you approach the hill and it looks real steep to you, then shift down before you start up the grade. You only drop the chain if you try to shift down when you are already half way up and bike is hardly moving at all. Anything else, you can stay in the second cog.

Darcy

Not sure about "you only drop the chain if you try to shift down when you are already halfway up"--I've managed to drop mine twice in the past two weeks when shifting down at the beginning of the hill. Or does that just mean I need to adjust the front derailleur a bit?

The rubber gloves are a good idea for situations like this; another option is to carry some wet wipes for cleaning up your hands. After the first time I dropped the chain, I put some wet wipes in my bag and was very glad to have them when it happened again!

[mimitabby]

I have surgical gloves with me all the time, but when my chain comes off, I truly forget they are there. No danger at all of them being torn :p

[VeloVT]

Not sure about "you only drop the chain if you try to shift down when you are already halfway up"--I've managed to drop mine twice in the past two weeks when shifting down at the beginning of the hill. Or does that just mean I need to adjust the front derailleur a bit?


I have a triple on my bike and it took me a long time to feel comfortable with it. A couple tricks to avoid dropping the chain (which I haven't done in a long, long time and I do use all three rings):

1. Adjustment is really important. If you're dropping a lot, go to the shop and tell them what's happening, and have them fiddle with the front derailleur.

2. It's not about where you are on the hill, per se, but how hard you're pedaling. It's very difficult to shift between front chainrings if you're really hammering -- this often will result in either your bike not shifting at all, or dropping a chain. You need to let up for a few revolutions while you shift. This is much more important in the front than in the back, where you can shift pretty well even when powering up a hill. I read an explanation of this somewhere, and I don't remember the fine points, but basically it has to do with chain tension, which is greater in the front.

3. It takes a little while to get a feel for exactly how far you need to push the lever and for how long to get a clean shift in the front. Upshifting will have a different rhythm than downshifting too. For me, to shift into my 52 requires a very aggressive push -- to shift back down into 42 cleanly, I need to do a very quick little click that's half as long (in seconds) -- or less -- as the upshift. If I hold it longer the chain ends up overshifting a bit and doesn't sit cleanly on the chainring, and has to be "trimmed." (Little mini up/down shifts until it's quiet). Similarly, to shift into my granny gear (30) cleanly I can't linger on the shifter -- it needs to be one very quick click.

Good luck!!!

Oh -- and if you DO drop a chain -- you can often sweep it back up while riding with well-timed upshift.

[Jolt]

Thanks for the suggestions, Liza. I do back off on the pedaling force when shifting, so maybe it really is just a case of needing to fiddle with the derailleur. There's a local bike co-op that has open shop hours, so maybe I'll bring it down there to do that.