you people out there riding double or tripple? - Page 18

Triple dura-ace
There's always a hill somewhere that can not be climbed by mortal men. then you need a triple.

I have a road bike with a doube and one with a triple. Do not like the triple. But also have a triples on my mountain bikes. Triples are a waste on road bikes and just added weight.

They add 100-200 grams, not a big deal. If you've got the power of Lance, then his 39/23 might be enough for you. I only can sustain about 1/2 of his power output, and climb 1/2 as fast.....so my 30/25 triple works a lot better for me.

One advantage of the DA triple is that the two large rings remain unchanged from the double 53/39 sizing so for those of you who think triples are for sissy's you have the normal performance, however the third ring is a 30t which is a good bail-out/emergency gear. Theres so little extra weight that the argument really comes down to dollars and of of course "vanity"

i have a 52/42/30 crank with 25/12 cassette.

my style of climbing is to use high cadence, normally on 42 with 23/25. i will try to maintain a high cadence for as long as i can until i bong. thats when i know i can always downshift to my triple to save the day.

by this time, it would just be easy spinning to the top and hopefully by now have already smoked a few of the guys.

all thanks to my lil granny.

I've found just the opposite style works best for me on long climbs. I'll let them go at the bottom, get in the 30 ring and spin at 80-90 rpm while keeping my HR under 90%.

Often will catch and pass people halfway up the climb who've blown up. If I'm still going strong with the summit in sight, then I can always shift up and sprint over the top.

The amount of fun depends how many more mountains or miles are left in the ride of course...if it's the first 1000 ft in a 10K foot vertical day, that's no time to play.

In my search for a short wheel base ultralight recumbent with 20" wheels, I need to choose between a double or triple ring setup. My road bikes all have a gear range of approximately 20" - 100" , and I need the low gears for climbing. Top speed is not a priority;
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I need to have about a 19" or 20" climbing gear and I'd like to have at least a 100" top gear.
That appears to require a 55-tooth biggest and 34-tooth smallest ring up front and an 11-34 cassette in the back. I have not considered the Capreo cassette, but you may have a suggestion in that regard.

That kind of spread reminds me of the TA Cyclotouriste setups I used. TA makes Zephyr rings today down to 33 and up to 56. I might like to find a 110 carbon crankset to put those on, but if not, the TA crankset would be fine.

1. Will that wide a spread shift smoothly on a double, and if so, what front and rear derailleurs are best for that application?

2. Do you suggest a double or triple ring setup for recumbent use in light of the gear range I want to have?

3. Also, what can be done about preventing the chain jumping off to the inside and to the outside?

Thanks for your response. Lowell Fink

I don't use the granny gear, but I do have a triple on my Road Bike

Both. Road bike, Liteseed is a double. Touring Sequoia, is a tripple.

I ride a triple, but I wish I had bought a double. I never use the small ring, and it always is annoying when I accidentally shift onto it. I hate having to "trim" between the mid and high rings too.

Why is this thread so long and why can no-one spell "triple"?

I ride a triple. Realistically, I don't need it, but when you think about it, the weight differential between the triple and double crank is not too great.

Double.


Can't see the point of a granny ring, it's just weight. Not much weight I know, but still, if we took that attitude to every bit of the cycle you'd end up pedalling a tank.

Hills? Hills? I live in scotland for f**ksake! Just leaving town is like cycling up the side of a house. But...39-25 bottom gear will get you up the Alp or La Plagne very efficiently. So it does for me.

I think the triple is just a hangover from MTBs anyway. Guys crossing over to roadbikes are naturally worried that they struggle with the big gears and a few years ago they would have been quite right to worry. Everyone I knew was pounding about with close ratio blocks where the lowest ring was a 19. In those days the standard lay out for your double was 42-52, not 39-53 as now. If you work out the gear inches you'll find that these ratios were tough, men. So, the MTBers were right to worry. Now however we've moved to higher cadences and lower gears I don't think there's anything to fear. So....in conclusion....



Double.

Hmm.. I've only been endurance riding for a year or so having come away from family orientated MTB riding which I only took up 4 years ago in my mid 40's. The bike I have is an old Raleigh RS equipe - ex garage sale - and has 42/52 with 14/24 cassette. Interesting to note your views as I've been wondering whether to opt for a triple or not. The biggest improvement I've seen recently is from using cleats...really helped me on hills and gave me more confidence to get out of the saddle. I'm thinking of a new bike next year so will probably end up with 39/53 by default with a slightly broader cassette which, I'm confident will help enormously. If you can recommend a suitable bike that will not cost me too much I'd be glad to know.

1. It's a poll
2. Some people seem to be quite opinionated on what a "real" biker uses.