Quote Originally Posted by Harley View Post
I ride a triple on my Mtn bike. But I'm curious about your experience with compact gearing, and compact vs triple for a road bike?
Hey there Harley
I'm chiming in a tad late here but thought I would give my two cents...
I have a triple on my mountain bike, and a double on my timetrial bike (though I rarely use the small chain ring - only when it is a hilly TT) and a compact on my road race bike.

I find the compact does everything I need, and when I compare it to triples that friends have, I actually have the same (or very similar) range of gears as they do. So I have the same smallest gears for getting up hills, I have the same gears for mashing hard on the flat.

When I compare my compact to the "normal" doubles I have ridden, I find I just have to be more cautious about changing between the big and small... which means I just try to be sure i am in the middle cogs at the back ... which is good practice anyways...

Count the teeth Harley... thats the best way to decide whether a triple is necessary... if you have similar numbers of teeth in the cogs, then you probably don't need the triple. I know some people swear by triples, but I find that it is just one more thing to change between - therefore one more possibility for mechanical error.