Bike Build - Triple or Compact?

[salsabike]

I have a Seven Ti Axiom and did the same kind of thing that Crankin did--got a mountain cassette. My lowest gear is about the same as I had with my old Bianchi's triple--I live in a very hilly place, and I like doing hills, so that was essential. All working very well.

[khg]

What Crankin said--what is most important is your gear ratios, and you can now get as wide a range with a compact double as with a triple. A reason to go with a triple over a double would be that with the double a wide range will mean a little bigger jump between gears than the same range in a triple. Sheldon Brown's gear ratio calculator might be useful--you can plug in the info for what you have with your triple, and see what would produce the same ratios with a double. http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/

[OakLeaf]

I've been off TE for a bit and late to this thread, but I'll reiterate what I've said before: it's less about the gear range and more about the RPM range. Riders have "power bands" just like internal combustion engines do. If you're comfortable in a wide range of RPMs (like a RPM range of 15+), then by all means get a compact. But if you get in a situation, more than occasionally, where your bike just doesn't have the right gear - upshift and you're "lugging," downshift and you feel like you're spinning like a sewing machine and not getting anywhere - that means you're the type of rider who would do better with a triple, which will give you more steps between the gears.

Just like an 8-speed transmission in a car vs a 3-speed.

[tulip]

I will differ. If you will be touring with a loaded bike, a triple will definitely be your friend. I have bikes with compacts, bikes with triples and bikes with doubles. If I'm doing any touring with any load (and I do credit card touring, so no tents), I really enjoy my triples.

[ridebikeme]

Like so many of you, I have bikes with both. And after putting tons of miles on both, I prefer a triple. It gives me the low gearing that I need, but the jumps in between gear ratios is much closer and to my liking. But we all have different areas that we ride in and different opinions.

[maillotpois]

I have an 11-32 cassette with a standard derailleur on my campy 11 speed compact and it is awesome. It is the same easy gear ratio as on my triple and frankly it shifts better (the triple needs a little adjustment). So you have a lot of range with a compact.

[ridebikeme]

As a shop owner, I have heard many times over the years that triples simply do not shift well. The reality is that as long as everything is adjusted correctly, the cyclist isn't asking the bike to shift in weird combinations... then everything is fine. Like any bike, there are ways to shift that make it easier and more rewarding for the cyclist. For most folks, the large jump between the larger mountain bike cassettes are sometimes a challenge, but the each of us have different opinions and different needs, so the end result is that whatever works.