Specialized Dolce/Road Bike Questions

[OakLeaf]

I've got a 105 triple on mine too (long cage Ultegra RD) and I don't think I've ever dropped a chain (touch wood). Luv2climb, did another mechanic vet your gearing change? It does seem like a huge jump from middle to small ring. Why not change out the middle ring too? Geez, even on my regular road triple the middle ring is a 39. Seems like a 36 would be more in line with mountain gearing.


To the OP, +1 on test riding a lot of bikes and choosing the one that fits you best.

Basically if you need a wide range of gearing, the question of triple vs. compact comes down to what you'd call the powerband if your legs were an engine.

Are you comfortable pedaling in a wide range of RPMs - for extended periods if you need to? On your current bike, where the gearing makes its largest jumps, are you okay with that, or do you feel like you're always in the wrong gear, pedaling too fast with a downshift and too slowly with an upshift?

[zoom-zoom]

I've got a 105 triple on mine too (long cage Ultegra RD) and I don't think I've ever dropped a chain (touch wood).

I suspect my FSA crank played a role. I've heard a lot of chain-dropping issues happen with the lower end FSA cranks, so it probably wasn't a Shimano/105-specific issue. Now I have SRAM Rival cluster with a Force crank, so there's no 3rd party issues to contend with.

[Owlie]

I suspect my FSA crank played a role. I've heard a lot of chain-dropping issues happen with the lower end FSA cranks, so it probably wasn't a Shimano/105-specific issue. Now I have SRAM Rival cluster with a Force crank, so there's no 3rd party issues to contend with.

My cranks are also FSA. It wouldn't surprise me, though. I had an FSA bottom bracket fail at 600 miles, so...

[Savra]

I will add my voice to the those with the dropping chain on a triple. My 2006 Dolce Elite originally had a triple but it constantly dropped the chain going from the smallest to the middle ring. I switched to a compact double and haven't gone back.

[Crankin]

I've never had an issue with my Ultegra triple.
Of course, I have a resident mechanic who tunes the front derailleur whenever I feel anything starting to be "off." My triple shifts as smoothly as the compact on my other bike.

[OakLeaf]

My 105 triple really isn't that particular. A couple of times the clamp-on FD rotated on the frame, and when that happened it wouldn't shift into the granny at all. Eyeballing was good enough to get the FD back aligned properly - though there's a narrow window to keep the cage from contacting the frame when it's in the granny. Once in a while the cable needs tightening, as all cables do - the first sign of that is the chain will rub on the outside of the FD when I'm in top gear, and it can rub in the top two gears well before it starts affecting shifting.

My old beloved touring bike had a triple, I don't even remember what, but likely SunTour/Sugino. I very, very rarely dropped the chain on that. My hybrid has a cheap Shimano MTB triple (SRAM shifters), and while it doesn't have a ton of miles, it's gotten pretty much zero maintenance - just last week I replaced the brake pads for the first time, and the drivetrain is seriously crusty. I don't think I've ever had to adjust the derailleur cables once the bike was broken in. I've definitely never dropped the chain.

I dunno ... maybe certain frame geometry doesn't work as well with a triple setup? Because it's never been a problem for me.

[Jo-n-NY]

I have a Compact on my Ruby and never had a problem. I have Sram Apex on my Dolce which is a Compact also and again, have no issues. I would go with the compact double as I think you will have less issues with it.

As far as the brand that would be up to you to try and decide. For me and my family Specialized fits us all right from the box and the brand we are most happy with. They have a wide array of sizes.

[luv2climb]

Luv2climb, did another mechanic vet your gearing change? It does seem like a huge jump from middle to small ring. Why not change out the middle ring too? Geez, even on my regular road triple the middle ring is a 39. Seems like a 36 would be more in line with mountain gearing.

Sorry it took me so long to get back to this thread, there's been a lot going on lately.

Last year I tried to buy the smallest middle ring possible at the LBS, but they semi-condescendingly told me that my 24t small chainring should be enough and that they would have to order another chainring (typical response from retailers in this oversized cowtown! ). I will try once more to get a smaller middle ring.