Tricks for Riding A Triple

[Ruby Rider 2]

Hi,
I just got a Ruby triple and have never ridden a triple. Any tricks to shortening my learning curve for getting the shifting smooth and the gears just right so I can really enjoy riding this beauty?

[Aquila]

I love my triple!

Tricks? Depends what you've been riding. I switched from a 20 year old friction shifting ten speed, and the only trick I needed was to remember which hand did which, and then smile when I was able to do better on hills than I had before.

I think smiling a lot is the best part.

[OakLeaf]

To me the only difference was that I really have to resist the temptation to use all ten rear cogs with the middle chainring. You'd never do it with a double, but there's a psychological feeling that there's less chain stretch from middle-to-rear than there would be from either side of a double. I know a lot of triple riders who do the same thing. Get in the habit of using the FD more.

Smiling is a good tip for whatever ails you.

[Ruby Rider 2]

Smiling, I can do! (am already doing that - the bike is great!), but not sure I clearly understand how to use that middle chain wheel. Was riding a double before..I already have felt the temptation to use the middle one and then go to either big or little when needed. Not good?

[Thorn]

I think the best description I ever read (on this board, no doubt) was to think of it as a 3-speed with fine tuning. That is, on the front you have a gear for climbing hills, a gear for tooling the flats, and a gear for those long steady downhills or tail winds.

Then, in the rear, you have fine tuning gears. Just stick to the 4-5 gears in back that match your front gear.

Around my house, I have short hills and flats, but rarely see long downhills (we're rolling). So I spend most of my time in the middle and the middle of the back. When I travel, I get to use my other gears and remember why I have a triple.

[RolliePollie]

Smiling, I can do! (am already doing that - the bike is great!), but not sure I clearly understand how to use that middle chain wheel. Was riding a double before..I already have felt the temptation to use the middle one and then go to either big or little when needed. Not good?

I use all 10 in my middle ring and I don't get any chain rub as long as I use my front derailleur trim. But I'd say I spend most of my time in the middle ring. Then, like you, I go into the big or little rings when needed. I find the middle ring to be the most versatile for this terrain, but I would never give up my big or little rings. My assumption would be that it's fine to use all 10 in the middle ring as long as things aren't rubbing. I've been using my middle ring like this for 3 years and I haven't had any trouble. But I could be wrong about this...however where I ride, I'd be shifting between chainrings constantly if I wasn't using all 10 in the middle.

What groupo do you have? I have Ultegra on my current bike and shifting between the chainrings is great. I had Tiagra before and I had to coax it and baby it to avoid dropping the chain. I had to make sure I'd moved the chain far enough one way or the other in the back before I tried to change chainrings up front or I'd drop the chain every time.

[Crankin]

I have always had a triple (well, if you don't count my 3, 5, and 10 speed bikes from a long time ago). I spend most of my time in the middle ring, using the other rings as described. I live in a hilly area and I shift down to the granny well ahead of a steep climb. I do use the big ring on flats, but there's never much extended flat areas where I ride. Plus, I find the more time I spend in the big ring, the more my knees feel a little "jacked."
I use all of my cogs in the middle gear. I have Ultegra and have never had a problem. I rarely drop my chain. There are some smaller hills that I climb in the easiest or second easiest cog/middle ring combo and there's just no issue. In fact, when I switched from a 25 to 27, I started doing this immediately.

[denda]

I stay in the middle ring most of the time. Love my triple!

[Ruby Rider 2]

thanks!
My triple is Ultegra.
You've given me confidence to get out there and give it a whirl!
RR

[OakLeaf]

I have always had a triple (well, if you don't count my 3, 5, and 10 speed bikes from a long time ago). I spend most of my time in the middle ring, using the other rings as described. I live in a hilly area and I shift down to the granny well ahead of a steep climb. I do use the big ring on flats, but there's never much extended flat areas where I ride. Plus, I find the more time I spend in the big ring, the more my knees feel a little "jacked."
I use all of my cogs in the middle gear. I have Ultegra and have never had a problem. I rarely drop my chain. There are some smaller hills that I climb in the easiest or second easiest cog/middle ring combo and there's just no issue. In fact, when I switched from a 25 to 27, I started doing this immediately.

I'm just repeating Deb's advice - figuring she knows what she's talking about. And, with a new unworn chain and cassette, I can definitely hear the cross-chaining when I'm in the middle chainring and one of either the top two or bottom two cogs. It's not rubbing the FD that creates abnormal wear and stretch (and as you say, with most shifters that can be trimmed away anyhow), it's the sideways stresses on the chain and the cog teeth.

[Crankin]

If I "hear" the noise, I switch gears. But that never happens in the situation I described (middle ring, lowest cog). It does happen once in awhile when I need to actually switch to the big ring. Mostly, I think once you known the "feel" of your gears, you learn which ones you should be using.
I had a lot of problems with the Ultegra on my Trek 5200. In fact, I could not get the front into the big ring hardly ever, until finally, my DH put Dura Ace on there. I am not sure why this was happening, but it did cause a lot of dropped chains. I am very good at getting it back on, without getting off the bike and stopping because of this!

[GLC1968]

FWIW, since you mentioned an 11-25, that's what I have in back too. I'd wanted to put on Ultegra when I replaced it, but they didn't have that gear combination in Ultegra, so I stayed with 105. When I was looking at the Ultegra parts diagram the other day, it says not to use the Ultegra cassette with a triple crank. Maybe that's the problem you were having?

What, why? I have an Ultegra triple and I've not only never dropped a chain, but I often use all 10 gears in the middle ring. Oh wait...I only have 9 gears. Maybe that's the difference? I forgot that mine's a couple of years old.

[OakLeaf]

What, why? I have an Ultegra triple and I've not only never dropped a chain, but I often use all 10 gears in the middle ring. Oh wait...I only have 9 gears. Maybe that's the difference? I forgot that mine's a couple of years old.

Whoops, I mis-read it. Sorry. It's only the youth gearing combinations on the CS-6600 (14-25, 15-25 and 16-27) that they say not to use with a triple.

It doesn't say anything more specific than a black-box warning that "gear shifting performance will drop, and a bicycle may fall over and serious injury may result."

[KnottedYet]

Seems like I've always ridden triples. My rule of thumb is: small ring going up hill, middle ring on the flattish, big ring going down hill. One of my bikes has 9 cogs and can use all 9 in the middle ring (it's deliberately geared that way), the others are all 8 or less and have no issues, either. Old technology/old habits. YMMV.

I spend most of my time in the middle ring.