What's a Compact Crank, anyway?

[7rider]

Bad JuJu...You should check out some gear charts before deciding that you need the triple for the occasional hill.
http://www.fullspeedahead.com/downlo...ing%20chart%22
The gearing you get with a standard road triple (52/42/30 and a 12/25 cassette) isn't all that different from a 50/34 compact set up with the 1-25 in the back. I think just the weight savings alone will help make up for any gearing loss (what's the weight of the '05 bike vs. the '06?).
With the compact, you could even put a 27 on the back, and you'll be flying up the hill on a less complicated drive train.
Just my $0.02.

[Bad JuJu]

Thanks for the tip, Regina. I'll check it out. It's funny that I've always been a language person, vs. numbers (I'm an English teacher), but I LOVE studying anything having to do with the science and math of cycling.

[Triskeliongirl]

I have 50/34s on both my bikes with a 700c rear wheel and love it. I pair it with a 12/27 casette for MOST riding, and on one bike I installed a mountain (XT) rear derailleur, so I can swap out the 12/27 for an 11/34 when I got to serious mountains or for loaded touring. They are mechanically simpler and easier to keep in adjustment, and ligter than triples. Just run the numbers through sheldon's caluclator to figure out what you need. What you give up is tightly spaced gearing with the wide range casettes like the 11/34. The 12/27 is just great though, and gets me up anything in the texas hill country.

[winddance]

I have a compact double (50/34) paired with a 12/27 in the hilly SF Bay area, and while it gets me up most hills, I definitely see the benefits of a triple or a mountain cassette for sustained climbing. I'm sure I could eventually make it to the top of Mt. Diablo if I worked at it, but it'd sure be nice to have a triple so I didn't have to burn myself out trying to get there.

Still, it's a nice way to equip a bike for hills without the expense of converting from double to triple. That's ultimately the reason that I chose to go this route. And whatever doesn't kill you...