By George, I think she's (almost) got it! Compact Vs. Triple

[ttaylor508]

Hi Ciao - I think you really should try both a triple and a compact. Is there a shop near you? The compact wouldn't work for me as I miss the high gears. On my triple I rarely use the small ring, but when I hit a big hill I gladly use it. Both my husband and I decided on triples for that reason. Here in the nw, we have hills. My husband can spin a crazy cadence in his smallest gear when climbing and I have yet to see someone pass him going up hill. As for smooth shifting and dropping chains, I have never had a problem. I have ultegra and it shifts like butter even after having well over 2,500 miles on this particular bike and I have never dropped the chain. But...as you have read here, everyone is different in what they prefer and so I wouldn't think of making this kind of decision without testing both.

[Ciao]

"chain suck"?

Oh, I wish I could just go test ride!


edit: Thanks Ttaylor, but that is near impossible. The shops here don't let you test ride... and rentals are usually kaka.

[Ciao]

Not necessarily. Triples also have a tendency of ghost shifting.

Missed this the first time around... I've never experienced "ghost shifting' with my setup.

But, thanks to all of you, I'm realizing that a triple on a road bike isn't that unusual and guess that the mechanics are pretty much the same as on a mtb. Yes?

[sundial]

From Sheldon Brown:

Chain suck

Chain suck occurs primarily when downshifting under load from the middle to the smallest chainring. The bottom run of the chain may not immediately disengage from the middle ring, and can get carried upward until it wedges betwixt the chainwheels and the right chainstay.
This jams the crankset. Since you probably wouldn't have been shifting to the granny if you weren't already climbing, the sudden lock-up of the drive train deprives you of what little momentum you had, and you are very likely to stall and fall.

Chain suck is commonly caused by bent chainring teeth, dirty chains, or, occasionally, burrs on the teeth of new chainwheels.

Jonathan Levy has an extensive Web site about Chain Suck

[sundial]

I'm realizing that a triple on a road bike isn't that unusual and guess that the mechanics are pretty much the same as on a mtb. Yes?

Yes.

[Ciao]

Thank you for both posts.
-------------------------------------------

Ok, onward to tackle my contact at the bike shop - armed with new knowledge and confidence - and backed by an experienced team! Thank you all!

[mimitabby]

Ghost shifting? what's that?

I have an old clunker bike with a double, and a triple on my custom bike. My triple is a top of the line Campy gear set.

The disadvantage to the triple is there are SO MANY gears! do we really need that many gears?? honestly? So, as a result, the learning curve is longer, i've had the bike a year and I'm still figuring out the optimal gears. The one thing I'm real good at is my granny gear. if i had to settle for something smaller there, I'd be miserable. My bike shifts so wonderfully, I don't see that there is a problem with the three chain rings, it shifts a lot better than my other bike... but i might be comparing apples and oranges here.

But then i get on my clunky bike (it might be a 10 speed, come to think of it) and it grinds and smacks and I still don't use all those gears either.
I hope this information is helpful to someone. I'd buy another triple in a flash. but I'm fervently hoping that someone figures out a better way to do it. (and no, I don't think a fixie is the answer!)

[Ciao]

Yep, I have "sweet spots" in my triple too - but they're more to do with my body's strengths/weaknesses on different terrains and preferred cadence. I'm typically on the upper end .. hop to a mid gear when transitioning .. and hop to the bottom 2-3 grannies when climbing. So, I'm always using the outer edges of my gears. Strangely all with a similar cadence... It's as if my body prefers 1 level of output - and the gears control it with the changing terrain.

[Norse]

I have triples on my hybrid and mtn bikes, and Shimano's compact on my road bike. The compact replaced the stock double the bike came with. Love, love, love the compact. The triples? I never use all those gears (as someone said, do we really need that many?) and there is frequent chain suck and I tend to stay in the biggest and middle gears and rarely have use for the small one.

I got the compact after doing a horrid road climb on my double. I am not getting any younger and this ride made me hate the double. After much research and talking with others, I decided to go with the compact rather than a triple for typical reasons - less weight, less parts and gears to have mechanical trouble with and it gives you that 1-3 extra gears not found on the double. I have found that these few extra gears are all I need and I am glad I did not put a triple on.

[Ciao]

Thanks, NorseGoddess, for the counter viewpoint. Can I ask - were you strong on hills to begin with? Doesn't sound like you need the grannies when climbing. (Wish I was that strong... but know it will come with time.)

[tulip]

Okay, since we've all given you our chainring secrets, can we come and visit you in Tuscany? All of us?

[mimitabby]

no kidding!

so what's chain suck and ghost shifting?

[7rider]

Thanks Ttaylor, but that is near impossible. The shops here don't let you test ride... and rentals are usually kaka.

They don't let you take a bike for a test ride???????
That's the most crazy thing I have ever heard.
How on earth are you supposed to know if a bike is right for you if you can't ride it first??????

[alpinerabbit]

Hmmm.... it's got to do with the cost of the bikes and the risk a newb is taking with a racing bike and falling, crashing... my LBS only has test MTBs. Some other shop have roadies and hybrids as well.

In my opinion you won't find out how a bike handles on one short test ride anyway.

It's tricky....
You have a budget, you pick the right size, you get what you pay for... and if you don't know what you're doing and the shop is bad, you buy another bike soon but from another shop.

[Ciao]

You are all welcome to head over! We love visitors! Plus it gets us off the computers and acting like tourists too. We typically have 1-3 groups rolling through per month - family, friends, friends of friends, business colleagues of, old neighbors... lol. So, I've compiled a nice 'visitors kit' complete with map, hotel & B&B recommendations (and discounted rates), what to see and the tricks to bypass those long lines, the secrets that locals know... etc. PM me if you'd like me to email you the 'kit'.

alpinerabbit - you're right. And I appreciate your no-nonsense approach. There's one shop that carries the Scott - so tomorrow I'm going to go over and sit on it just to see if the measurements on paper make sense in person...(and buy a few goodies I'm sure). Then I'll hold my breath, order the darn thing, and take it for it's first few spin on test runs of the Dolomites before that Maratona.