Veronica,

Those look like the Aids Ride terrain charts. If so, I did it on a double but had a larger cassette in back. Also, I was in shape back then.

Everyone has far more experience than me so I'm trying to stay out. That being said, I have a compact double. I love it, it shifts better than DH's triple (and I've never lost a chain) but it does have its limitations. I'm thinking about putting a larger cassette on the back because I have a 12-25 as of now. If someone is out of shape, even a compact double will be a challenge sometimes. So...I'm not regretting the compact double whatsoever but I can see why people would ride a triple.

bowing out now