you people out there riding double or tripple? - Page 19

road bikes are double, unless recreational.

mtn bikes are triple for when you've road so hard you can barely walk from the cramps, so you have to use the granny gear. A previous post said it best "the triple is just a hangover from MTBs anyway."

And I started out as a mtb biker and only really use a double. In my years of mtn biking, I've never replaced a granny great - they should not be used...

you have youth on your side!.. and have probably mastered choosing the correct gearing and riding at high enough cadence on those hills...some folks will never get up those hills comfortably as they're possibly already cream crackered when they start the hill or have chosen too high a ratio when entering the climb! The trick as you have worked out is to keep spinning in a gear comfortable to you - having a triple chain ring is irrelevant - what matters is having a broad enough range of ratios to enable you to achieve your objective, planning which of these to use before and during the climb and, the physical capability to maintain sufficient cadence throughout the climb (which will depend on your training prior to the ride and nutrition taken during the ride) - a double ring will also be easier to use on a climb as you will rarely need to change the ring on the climb - just work the cassette.

Back when we carried 6 cogs on the rear, a triple would have been great because we could have run a near straight block and climbed with a decent cadence. But living in this modern world, we have 9-10 cogs on the rear and one can get a great higher range with a near straight block AND have a 23-25 as the two largest gears.

Back when I upgraded to 9, I thought my climbing days in a 21 were over but now enter compact cranks. With 10, one could have an 11-21 and with a 50-34 crank, the ratios are nearly the same but with only a 2-tooth gap going into the 21.

Triples still have merit and that would be anytime the grade is over 14% and you are touring. But for racing, go compact if you must climb.

Now if Shimano would make a compact because the new BB design makes crank swapping a breeze. One could swap cranks and drop the front derailer in a matter of minutes, easier than swapping cassettes.

Each of us needs to determine the gearing that we need based on terrain, riding styles, and power-to-weight ratio. The gearing you need isn't right for me.

Compact is interesting option, but a triple allows both for lower, tighter climbing gears and to retain the 39 mid-range for tight pack riding in rolling hills. The 34-to-50 gap leaves a hole in the middle of the speed range for my club riding.

I've never found changing cassettes to be difficult or time-consuming, and would certainly rather change cogs then mess with removing cranks and resetting an FD.

On the Double. 53/42

Flat as it gets here in miami!

On the Double! 53/42 roadie

Its as flat as it can get here in Miami.

TRIPLE!!!!! and wished I'd switched over from a double years ago. If your over 30 and over 180 lbs you're a fool not to use one. I would never survive the century rides here in California without it. All those big egos and their doubles. Even my brother sneers at my triple. But being able to spin up hills and keep my breathing and heartrate under control has made all the difference (I'm 200lbs and not fat). I'm no racerboy and max HR and oxygen debt is NOT FUN. The triple keeps me on my bike and I no longer dread the hills. The sad thing is I've seen people who should have gone with a triple choose a double (too avoid the stigma BS??) and burn out of cycling.

All this talk about triples is amazing!

As you could probably imagine, Australia is very flat, especially Melbourne, and I never ever heard of a triple being on a road bike until I got onto these (predominantly) US forums.

I live in Melbourne and have a triple on my road bike ( a Look Carbon frame). I don't use it in town but I can give you a list of places out of Melbourne where it is pretty handy. it probably adds 150g to the weight of my bike, but I've never ever walked up a single hill.

__________________
Regards Michael

Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience.

What a load of crap! How much of Oz have you seen?
Plenty of triples in Sydney used by good, above average riders. I guess your riding is confined to the Yarra cycleways?

Ok, I didn't wanna be a hero, but my 53/42 and 11/21 is all I've ever needed, and that includes Mt Dandenong.

I raced for a few years, and trained with plenty of strong riders, and
I have NEVER seen a strong rider with a triple

....and what the hell are the Yarra cycleways?

glad to hear that strong winds aren't a problem down under.

uphere on the flats of Delmarva, the wind can really suck.

i'll keep my tripple, thank you.
the double is on my mag trainer and for
sunny, calm days outside.

So now your a hero. Congratulations...

Does this mean Sydney riders are soft? Triple chainrings, lattes on Darling Harbour and no training if it's below 15 degrees?

Couldn't agree more

If I couldn't get up ANY hill in a 42/21, or maybe a 23, I'd give it up