Triple or compact?

[Chris73]

What's best for a newbie?

 

[Pottsy]

Have a search - an often asked question.

In summary; it depends on your fitness, your preference, your terrain, your bike and the type of riding you're expecting to do.

 

[SWSteve]

I bought cheapest in the range, and as a result have a triple. I am happy with this though as some of the hills near me are ridiculous. I don't spend much time in the very bottom gear when climbing, but there are times when it's needed and I am thankful.

 

[jowwy]

same as the comments above

the type of chainset your require will be based on riding type, fitness, terrain etc. i live in a very hilly area and love the fact i have a triple, cause the hills i have to climb on some rides would be brutal for me at my weight

 

[HLaB]

I'd happily ride both (compact and tripple) regardless of the terrain but I'm fairly fit. The fit of the bike is more important to me; fashion/availability dictates 90% of the time that its a double or compact but I found the 42t middle ring of a tripple more convenient for riding in a group; the 34, 36 or 38t compact is too small for me.

 

[Alun]

I'd happily ride both (compact and tripple) regardless of the terrain but I'm fairly fit. The fit of the bike is more important to me; fashion/availability dictates 90% of the time that its a double or compact but I found the 42t middle ring of a tripple more convenient for riding in a group; the 34, 36 or 38t compact is too small for me.

What type of triple do you have, that has a 42t middle ring? All the (road) ones that I have seen are 50-39-30.

 

[HLaB]

What type of triple do you have, that has a 42t middle ring? All the (road) ones that I have seen are 50-39-30.

My old Sirrus Sport 06 has a 30/42/52 but the newer ones have been downgeared; irrc my ex colleagues 2010 Marin also had a 30/42/52 chain ring.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

What type of triple do you have, that has a 42t middle ring? All the (road) ones that I have seen are 50-39-30.

I got a 52-40-30, though I did have a 48-38-26 for a while, this helped me to increase my fitness so I could then go back to the 52-40-30, but I have gone through a range of rear ratios, which I am about to change again as I have quite a jump from 18-21 (currently 12/14/16/18/21/24/28 the 30x28 was the same as 26x24), I am now at the point where I don't use the 28 on my rides so I can fit a closer set of ratios.

 

[Nigelnaturist]

[QUOTE 2467857, member: 30090"]Go with a compact. If you had a triple you'd only want to change it anyway given time once you get fitter.[/quote]
Can't see why.

 

[HLaB]

[QUOTE 2467857, member: 30090"]Go with a compact. If you had a triple you'd only want to change it anyway given time once you get fitter.[/quote]
I've never had the urge to change my sirrus from its current tripple

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I have a triple on my hybrid - I don't think I have ever used the granny ring, and a compact on the road bike, I find the road bike is much easier to ride on the hills. (or what passes for hills around here)

 

[HLaB]

I have a triple on my hybrid - I don't think I have ever used the granny ring, and a compact on the road bike, I find the road bike is much easier to ride on the hills. (or what passes for hills around here)

I'm guessing that difference is more down to the bikes (hybrid v road bike), as oppose to tripple v compact

 

[Alun]

[QUOTE 2467877, member: 30090"]
For the sake of 4 GI (or 10 GI if you want do run an MTB set up on a road bike) you'd rather have a triple and go though the hassle of installing and indexing a triple front mech and more importantly installing a medium or long cage rear mech. Do you have any idea the stigma attached to riding a bike with such a set up or how out of place a long cage rear mech looks on a road bike!
Man up, fit a compact and attack those hills! [/quote]
I guess these two just don't realise the stigma involved in having a long cage rear mech.
http://road.cc/content/news/36222-giro-tech-millar-goes-all-mtb
http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/contador-rides-srams-new-wifli-red-at-vuelta-35156/
Still, they'll have mechanics to go through the hassle of "installing" them.

 

[Hacienda71]

I run both and in many ways the triple is a far smoother drive train than the compact. What I mean by that is the jumps between gears. On a triple you get the same smoothness as a double but with the extreme ratios you get with a compact. It has got to the stage that when I change/wear out my front small ring on the compact I am likely to replace it with a 39.

 

[BSRU]

[QUOTE 2467877, member: 30090"]Do you have any idea the stigma attached to riding a bike with such a set up
[/quote]
No-one should be stigmatised just because they choose practicality over purity, personally I just use what I want and I do not care about anyone else's opinion .