Triples and low gears

[mimitabby]

SadieKate, I don't generally bow to peer pressure. The exception was my brief foray into non-Brooks saddles. I went from a women's MTB saddle to a terry butterfly and right back to a Brooks again. When I went back to the Brooks, people noticed, now a large percentage of my bike club are on Brooks, and some have Selle An-Atomica's.

If 3 chainrings are good for you; use 'em. I personally like the idea of the double chainring, but since triples work for me, that's what I have!

[maillotpois]

I remember back in 2004 when Tyler Hamilton was the first to go to a real compact crankset in the Tour. That was looked down upon a bit, but then others started using it because it was just better for some of the days than a standard double. And I believe folks used triples for the Angliru stage in the Vuelta in that same year.

Would that we could just routinely swap out components, gearing, etc. the night before a ride like the pros do! "Oh tomorrow I am doing the Tiburon loop, so I'll put my 53/39 on...."

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

There are way too many big hills surrounding me to use a double. I'm not King Kong, and I don't care much about achieving high speeds. I know several older bike club guys (50-70) who live around here who mash their way up our local hills every day in their higher gears. A couple of them seem to be getting major knee problems now. One had to stop riding for now his knees were in so much pain.

[mtbdarby]

I'm with you Lisa. I love my triple for the rolling hills around here. But then again, I don't know enough about the biking community at that level to really care what is "in" or not. I ride what I like and what feels good.