What happened to 3 chainring setups

[brommieinkorea]

Are triple cranksets out of production? My touring bike is a 3x9 configuration. I really like most things about the bike. My latest bike is a 2021 but it's a Brompton so it's really a 1988. Am I that out of touch with the latest and greatest?

 

[Punkawallah]

Are triple cranksets out of production? My touring bike is a 3x9 configuration. I really like most things about the bike. My latest bike is a 2021 but it's a Brompton so it's really a 1988. Am I that out of touch with the latest and greatest?

For square taper and hollow tech bottom brackets, you can still get triple cranksets. No idea about other specifications, but Spa Cycles are your likely source:
https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m8b0s109p0/Drivetrain/Chainsets

 

[wafter]

I'm with you on this and lament the passing of the humble triple...

I think 1x fundamentally suits MTBs as the simplicity is a win from a cleaning / functionality perspective given the conditions they have to endure, while the gaps between ratios is tolerable and even beneficial sometimes.

I’ve never got on with doubles on road / gravel bikes, finding myself skipping between chainrings frequently. I think if there’s ever a good use case for a triple it’s on a gravel bike (or at least those that are more road-adjacent) – since it essentially needs both a good spread of ratios to accommodate mixed terrain and smallish increments between them to keep on-road cadence fairly consistent.

Sadly Shimano have effectively killed the triple as I don’t think any of their current lineup features any – the last being the touring-focussed Deore XT T8000 and Deore T6000 groupsets along with some of the lower-end utility-focussed offerings... all now killed off by Cues which has no triple options

 

[raleighnut]

You’d like the “straight block” freewheel on my ‘77 Centurion touring bike.

12, 13, 14, 15, 16 & 17 teeth.

how’s that for close ratio.
View attachment 790652

Ah a 'Corncob' set up, I've got a 'semi-corncob' on one of my bikes 12,13,14,15,16,17,19,21

 

[roubaixtuesday]

I'm with you on this and lament the passing of the humble triple...

I think 1x fundamentally suits MTBs as the simplicity is a win from a cleaning / functionality perspective given the conditions they have to endure, while the gaps between ratios is tolerable and even beneficial sometimes.

I’ve never got on with doubles on road / gravel bikes, finding myself skipping between chainrings frequently. I think if there’s ever a good use case for a triple it’s on a gravel bike (or at least those that are more road-adjacent) – since it essentially needs both a good spread of ratios to accommodate mixed terrain and smallish increments between them to keep on-road cadence fairly consistent.

Sadly Shimano have effectively killed the triple as I don’t think any of their current lineup features any – the last being the touring-focussed Deore XT T8000 and Deore T6000 groupsets along with some of the lower-end utility-focussed offerings... all now killed off by Cues which has no triple options

A triple is perfectly suited for a heavy tourer or tandem. The gear range is unmatched.

We have 24/36/46 with 11-36, which is a wider range than a Rohloff, and use them all.

 

[mickle]

I seriously considered setting my touring bike up with a super compact double 24/38 but there's a big shortage of choice in front derailleurs to suit such a set up. Further complicated by my refusal to use anything Shi**no. So its got a triple with a vintage Sachs front mech and it works a treat.

 

[wafter]

A triple is perfectly suited for a heavy tourer or tandem. The gear range is unmatched.

We have 24/36/46 with 11-36, which is a wider range than a Rohloff, and use them all.

Absolutely - bet it excels in those applications. Sadly it seems they're too niche for the big boys to bother catering for them any more

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Absolutely - bet it excels in those applications. Sadly it seems they're too niche for the big boys to bother catering for them any more

I'm not sure what the official capability of the new CUES doubles is. They might be similar (we're actually just outside of official Sora capacity)

 

[wafter]

I'm not sure what the official capability of the new CUES doubles is. They might be similar (we're actually just outside of official Sora capacity)

If you search for Path Less Pedeled on Youtube Russ has done a good video on wide-range doubles with CUES bits.

It appears that this systems lends itself well to wide-range doubles, however these still retain some disadvantages relative to having three glorious chainrings..

 

[roubaixtuesday]

If you search for Path Less Pedeled on Youtube Russ has done a good video on wide-range doubles with CUES bits.

It appears that this systems lends itself well to wide-range doubles, however these still retain some disadvantages relative to having three glorious chainrings..

I don't do videos, they take ages to get the same amount of info across as a sentence or two, and make it impossible to refer back too.

What's the widest range CUES setup possible - gear inches range?

Abovementioned Sora triple gives 18-112 gear inches.

 

[FishFright]

I hate wide ratios and the resultant gaps between gears.
Silly marketing terms, such as 'gravel', also irritate me.

Outside of this tiny group of islands is a world with many millions of gravel roads where that 'marketing term' is just common sense.

 

[matticus]

I'm with you on this and lament the passing of the humble triple...

I think 1x fundamentally suits MTBs as the simplicity is a win from a cleaning / functionality perspective given the conditions they have to endure, while the gaps between ratios is tolerable and even beneficial sometimes.

But surely front derailleurs account for a tiny %age of problems out on the trails?!?
Having a triple means the rear can be much simpler => more reliable**, less expensive.

But in terms of use, it's the wide gaps that most deter me. I even notice them on my (mostly flat-land) commuter - 1x8*, usually 11-32cassette.
Seems a bad trade-off for a bike with a smaller overall range than my triples :P

*Yes I know a 10sp would suffer less, but that's more cost, more cleaning, etc etc ... And my friction shifter would work much less well!!!
**If your rear shifter/der' croaks, you still have 3 gears with a triple!

 

[fritz katzenjammer]

Are triple cranksets out of production? My touring bike is a 3x9 configuration. I really like most things about the bike. My latest bike is a 2021 but it's a Brompton so it's really a 1988. Am I that out of touch with the latest and greatest?

I still see triples occasionally when assembling new bikes but it’s only bottom of the line stuff so I would assume “triple“ and “quality“ are not terms that would be used together to describe these group sets.

in fact, the term “junk” comes to mind.

however, if you want to fix up an old 3x set up chainrings, cassettes etcetera are still available and you can even find NOS front derailleurs or good used ones on eBay if you want to spend the time looking. I’ve resurrected several old bikes over the past few years and had no trouble finding nice equipment from the 70s and 80s at reasonable prices.

 

[MichaelW2]

Do these 1x systems need chain keepers at the front to prevent it jumping off?

 

[Bristolian]

My Specialized Allez had a 3 x 9 Shimano Sora set up with 50/39/30 chainrings when I bought it which, some time back, I was toying with the idea of switching out for a 2 x 10 105. What I actually did was replace the 50T chainring with a 48T one and now I really like the set-up and will be keeping it. I don't use the small ring very often but there are a few hills near me that require its use.