compact double v triple? (my new bike!)

[IntenseRide]

I bought my first road bike last month and have ridden it twice. I have a double with a 53/39 set-up and I'm a fit 'mountainbiker' but here in Minnesota I'm unsure as to the hills and what there is to ride road-wise. After reading this, I'm wondering if I should have gone with a triple, but was told since I'm a strong rider I wouldn't need it. The bike is 17.3 pounds and riding it up hills hasn't proven an issue...yet. I figure long rides will tell. I'm wondering if my LBS will still swap it for a triple. This is great information!

[aicabsolut]

I started out with my current bike as a complete noob, and I'm not a natural climber. I have an FSA 50/36T compact crank and Shimano 12-27 cassette.

I really suffer on grades around 12%. I would need a triple for any consistent hills above that. However, I rarely use the 36x12 gear on hills (6-9% usually) anymore. And a 34T small ring is definitely easier than the 36.

I'm not sure I'd particularly want to do 18% hills even with a triple , but I wouldn't underestimate your climbing ability with a compact.

[Veronica]

How long does it take to climb a hill? To me hills take less than 15 - 20 minutes to get over. And yeah, I don't need a small gear for those.

But the long, sustained climbs we have here, the ones that take an hour or two, or sometimes even more, to get over... Oh yeah, I want a small gear on those.

V.

[SadieKate]

It's not the grade only. It's grade plus length of the climb plus length of the entire ride. A climb that is easy in the middle of a 30 mile ride may be a killer at the end of a century.

Even the pros use triples at times.

[Eden]

Even the pros use triples at times.

Very, very rarely - they really are a liablility on a race bike - though you will find that the pros get their bikes tailored to the day that they are riding them on. If they are riding a very flat course they will have a very different bike from when they are riding a mountainous one, both in gearing and other things as well. For most of us mere mortals, we need to find the setup that gives us the most flexibility to do all tasks.

My personal experience was going from a triple to a standard double. When I did not have a bike that truely fit properly I *needed* that triple - and it was even mt bike style gearing.... Now that I have a lighter bike that fits properly I find that I can climb anything thrown at me without hurting my knees (even double digit grades seated) with a standard double and fast too - but I am very small and light which suits me to climbing. I test rode a compact double and I could tell very quickly that I would be missing those top end gears - here's where the small and light becomes a liability - I need to chase downhill a lot... Personally if I was not racing I might go with a compact. If I was touring and carrying weight I would want the extra gears a triple gives you.

[SadieKate]

Very, very rarely - they really are a liablility on a race bike - though you will find that the pros get their bikes tailored to the day that they are riding them on. If they are riding a very flat course they will have a very different bike from when they are riding a mountainous one, both in gearing and other things as well. For most of us mere mortals, we need to find the setup that gives us the most flexibility to do all tasks.

Yep, but they do use them at times and the rest of us can neither do the tailoring of a bike for each ride nor have the fitness and power/weight ratio of the pros.

[RussianHillGal]

My very humble thanks to the generous women on this board!!

Veronica - the hill profile was intimidating, but also exciting to see. I definitely see alot of training in my future!!

I will definitely ask the LBS for a compact triple and work on getting into shape.

RogueDog, I'll be sure to tell Hussein that you and the bike is doing well!

Embarassing moment: I was so excited about having a bike soon that I to GG Park today and rented a bike - just to test out if i still remembered how to ride - and promptly went HEAD-FIRST into a parked SUV and banged my head/shoulder into the car. Thanks goodness I had on a helmet and was only going about 2 miles/hour. Just my pride is hurt! Will make sure to not venture out with cars again til I get a bit more confidence on two wheels!

Thanks again!!

[Eden]

Yep, but they do use them at times and the rest of us can neither do the tailoring of a bike for each ride nor have the fitness and power/weight ratio of the pros.

ummm yeah - I think I said that.....

[RoadRaven]

Back on page 1 Regina said something I agree with...

A compact with a 27-12 cassette is probably all you will need.

A compact is lighter, narrower and less subject to dropping the chain.

I have only ever had a double and my most recent bike (EMC2 Fem Etape Pro) is a compact and is all I need. Our house is 600 feet above sea levele and all rides involve going down the hills to get anywhere and therefore always involve the climbs to get home again.

Also... If you look through a gearage chart for a triple, you will see there are a number of duplications.

[ehirsch83]

Also... If you look through a gearage chart for a triple, you will see there are a number of duplications.[/QUOTE]



That is the whole reason why I have never seen the point in a triple! I forgot to mention that yesterday in my semi-glazed state.

[maillotpois]

Sure there are duplications, but I do not want to give up my power gearing 52/12 or my long hill gearing 32/28 - there is no duplication at either extreme end and I want those gears.

Greedy, I suppose!

[Veronica]

You all do what you want.

Me - I'll stick with the gearing I have on my bikes. Heck, it got me through three double centuries so it must work all right for me. And in my world, it is all about me.

V.

[spazzdog]

You go Ms. V.!!

I think it comes down to personal preference/comfort... or in my case, stubborness (I probably fall into SK's #2 category, except I only fall over when I'm off my bike)

spazz-of-the-broken-left-buttock

[jobob]

You all do what you want.

Me - I'll stick with the gearing I have on my bikes. Heck, it got me through three double centuries so it must work all right for me. And in my world, it is all about me.

V.

Ditto for me as well. It's all about V (err, me).

Enjoy whatever you end up getting, RHG. It'll be a lovely bike no matter what.

[GLC1968]

Coming in a little late here, but the original poster sounds a lot like me only 2 years ago and I wanted to share my experience. I have had 3 bikes...all with triples. I live in a hilly area where I rarely get a nice long flat section, but where super long hills are not the norm either. For my first 2 years of ridng (I'm a recreational rider), I used my granny gear quite frequently and I was in good shape. Now, I'm even stronger, and 100% of my riding near my home does NOT require my granny gear and as such, it sits idle.

BUT, when I head just a few miles west, my terrain more closely resembles what you girls in No Cal ride....hills that take hours to climb, grades in the double digits, etc. You better believe that I'm happy to have my triple then! My road bike is 19 lbs for short club rides and it flies up hills. When I load up for long (60 miles +) rides in unsupported areas, it's closer to 30 lbs...and that granny gear is a damn blessing.

My husband recently went through a double/compact double/triple debate as he bought a new (used) bike that came with a double on it. He switched to a compact, and didn't like it. Then he switched to a triple and now rides like I do...using the 'double' part around here and only using that granny gear when we head west.

Yes, if you are racing and every ounce matters, who wants to be carrying around that extra gear "just in case"? But for those of us who can save more weight by losing it off our bodies than by having a lighter crank set, a triple is quite often the best choice.