looking to upgrade...

[sundial]

The only thing I would suggest if you do go with a triple is to make sure it is higher end. Lower end triples won't shift as nice. I have Ultegra and it shifts beautifully.

I agree also! I had a triple with Tiagra and experienced ghost shifting from the middle to small front sprocket. I vowed to go with better components next time.

Funny thing....my riding partner has a triple and she vowed to never give up her triple.

And yes, I am an enabler. But one should *always* have a back up bike.

[ZenSojourner]

I agree also! I had a triple with Tiagra and experienced ghost shifting from the middle to small front sprocket. I vowed to go with better components next time.

Can you elaborate a little bit? I have a Tiagra derailleur on the front also, and I've had trouble adjusting it as well as a strange dropping-the-chain problem.

What's ghost shifting?

I can't remember now, but it will drop the chain when I'm climbing, but I can't remember if it's when I'm shifting UP or when I'm shifting DOWN. I was told by the SAG mechanic that it was the opposite of what he would have expected under the circumstances.

They finally replaced the chain thinking it might be a flaw in the chain somehow, and I've not been healthy enough to ride the bike for distance since. It wasn't dropping while I was commuting back and forth to campus, but that's not exactly a demanding ride with many (or any) hills on the way.

[sundial]

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=27019

[ZenSojourner]

Hmm, that doesn't sound like what I've had going on. This only happens when I'm trying to shift the chainring while going uphill, or at least it was by far more likely to happen then. And I can't for the life of me recall if it was going from smaller to larger or larger to smaller sprocket.

It's chain drop, no problems shifting except for this. No gear that's hard to get into, no chatter at odd times, as long as I stay out of the crossover gears I'm good for that.

Like I said, the mechanic said it was the opposite of when he would have expected a chain to drop.

My memory is so bad. I guess I'll find out if I ever get to the place where I can do some real riding again, whether or not the chain replacement fixed it.

[Biciclista]

If you like a triple and you ride in the hills, why should you get a compact double? because you shave off a few ounces? You can do that by skipping lunch! i mean really. I see no reason why you should give up what works for you!

[GLC1968]

Another lover of the triple here. I ride an Ultegra 9-speed triple and I LOVE it. I don't have knee problems, I'm quite strong and I LOVE hills and riding in the mountains. My bike came with the triple, but there was never a day where I felt I needed to change it out. There were often months at a time where I didn't use my granny gear at all, but it's there when I need it.

In fact, I remember passing a guy I was riding with on an uphill and he said "hey, no fair, you have a triple!"...I yelled back "sure do, but I'm in the middle ring right now...what gear are you in?" There are plenty of guys (and probably women, too) who think having a triple means that you are less of a rider. And of course, the weight-weenies will tell you that carrying around that extra chain ring when you hardly ever use it is stupid, but it weighs what, a couple of ounces? Whatever.

If you are planning on 6-gap, you'll be very thankful to have those lower gear options, I promise!

(and if, heaven forbid, you ever gain a bunch of weight like I did...you may find that a triple gear gets a bunch more use than it used to! )

[Tuckervill]

I've had two comments about my triple recently. Not the encouraging kind. Like I was some kind of loser for having it. I don't care.

Karen

[RolliePollie]

Another triple lover here! I can't imagine giving it up. When I ride locally, I use the full range of gears. I love my big power gears for descents and I absolutely rely on my granny gear to get me up the big hills. I also like the flexibility...depending on what I'm training for and how I'm feeling on a particular day, I can power up hills in my middle ring or spin up hills in my granny ring.

[Bluetree]

There is a misconception is that triples and doubles are better than the other. Neither is an indication of quality, it's more of a difference in purpose. It's like asking which is better... a truck or a sports car? Well, the answer would depend upon what you need a vehicle for.

Someone who races and looks for every split-second advantage would have different needs than someone whose primary goal is for recreation and to save their knees.

In a nutshell...
Triple advantage = wider gear range
Compact double advantage = quicker shifting, lighter weight

That said, there is good–better–best" within the triples, and within the doubles. The quality within that range is what you pay for. An "upgrade" is to go from 105s to Dura-Ace. To go from a triple to a double (or vice versa) is simply a change of gearing.