Is it true nobody makes triple cranksets anymore?

[pll]

OakLeaf is totally right. The Synapse 5 can ship with a triple (see the specifications on the Cannondale page: it ships with a 50/39/30 crank from FSA). What a nice gift! What color are you getting?

[awm03]

I think the color is light blue (color accent, rather). Wonder if the LBS will let me test it before committing? It's already paid for.

The other concern is being slightly more upright on the Synapse. "They" are always trying to get me on a more "comfortable" bike -- "Here, sweetie, you'll love this!" But I find that I lose power when I sit more upright, especially when climbing hills (I may be a fat ol' grayhair, but I don't shy away from climbs). I rented a Cannondale CAAD last year to ride around Tuscon and liked it very much. If the Synapse doesn't feel right, I might swap it out for an equivalently priced CAAD.

[Koronin]

My old road bike has a triple, my new one has a double. I love my new bike, but would prefer to have a triple. My LBS has said that they can and will convert it to a triple if I want. Right now since we live in a flat area (coast) and don't have plans on riding the road bike in the mountains any time in the near future we're looking at taking the smaller chain ring off and getting what would be similar or the same as the middle chain ring on my triple to put where the smaller one currently is. That's the ring I typically ride the other bike in and would be much happier with right now on my new bike.

[pll]

I think the color is light blue (color accent, rather). Wonder if the LBS will let me test it before committing? It's already paid for.

The other concern is being slightly more upright on the Synapse. "They" are always trying to get me on a more "comfortable" bike -- "Here, sweetie, you'll love this!" But I find that I lose power when I sit more upright, especially when climbing hills (I may be a fat ol' grayhair, but I don't shy away from climbs). I rented a Cannondale CAAD last year to ride around Tuscon and liked it very much. If the Synapse doesn't feel right, I might swap it out for an equivalently priced CAAD.

If you like the CAAD, swap it without giving it a second thought. The Synapse has a more upright position (I have one and love it; my back cannot handle a racier position, unfortunately).

[makbike]

I have a triple Ultegra on my Orbea Diva.

[Wahine]

To summarize what most people have said here:

The pros of a triple nowadays pretty much comes down to having a wide range of gears (but not necessarily a lower low gear than a compact double) with less of a jump between gears.

The pros of a double are that you don't have to lose the same lowest gear, and the shifting of the chain rings tends to be smoother with less need for tuning due to the fact that you're dealing with 2 rings instead of 3 and in addition, the distance the derailleur has to travel is less. So it's mechanically a little simpler. That and the weight issue.

My BF does custom bike builds for a living and he still has clients that want a triple over a double. And yes they are available but sometimes hard to source. So if you really want a triple, it's possible but I wouldn't give up on the compact double idea.

[Crankin]

I have both and for the reasons that Oak described, I like my triple a lot better. I have an Ultegra triple that has never been a problem.
I actually have 2 lower gears on my compact double than the triple (I have the mountain bike rear cassette) and I hate the jump in one particular place. I am thinking of switching out the cassette to one that has one less low gear, but will have the cog I like and am now missing. It will essentially be a compact double with the same gearing as my triple.

[azfiddle]

I went from a triple to a compact double, and did not have any problems. The lowest gear is very similar to what I had on the triple.

The only adjustment was getting used to shifting between the two front rings- which was a big jump. It just takes a little more attention to plan ahead when you're coming up on hills. And after a little experience, I didn't think about it any more.

Sharon

[awm03]

Thanks so much everybody. You are a fantastic source of info. I am going to give the compact double a try, and if that doesn't work, I know now that it's not the end of the world.

[featuretile]

I have a Ruby with a compact double. I found that it did not have enough low gears to get me up the hills. (Nothing is flat in the Santa Cruz mountains.) I now have a mountain bike cassette and derailleur and I love it!

The problem with Shimano is that they make an 11-34 or 11-36 10 speed derailleur for mountain bikes and pair it with a Shadow derailleur. Apparently this derailleur is not compatible with road bike shifters. After much searching on the Internet, I found that some people had bought the new cassette and paired it with an older Shimano Deore rear derailleur. I bought the pieces and had them installed, even though it is not to spec and bike stores don't seem to want to do this. It works fine, as long as I don't cross chain.

Even though I now have my bike working as I want, it was a struggle. If I was to buy a new bike, I would probably get a triple - or I'd have the bike shop where I bought it install the larger cassette and derailleur before I took it home.

[jusdooit]

I wouldn't get too hung up on triple vs. double. If you feel you need that "extra" gear change the rear cassette to an 11-28.