Double vs Triple Chainring: Advice of shop or gut feeling?



AmpedCycle

AmpedCycle

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Dec 29, 2004
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Hey guys
I'm trying to figure out why my local bike shop would advise me to get a double chainring instead of a triple on the bike I'm thinking about buying... I was just really curious why. I climb a lot, and use the triple on my current bike all the time. Why would you want fewer gears, in any situation? Negligible weight differences? What else could it be? I asked the guy at the bike shop and he just joked around with me and never gave an answer... told me to get stronger, blah blah, shave my legs, quit wearing a visored helmet and wear longer white socks than the low ankle socks I'm currently wearing. I haven't the slightest idea... least of all about the chain ring.
 
AmpedCycle said:
Hey guys
I'm trying to figure out why my local bike shop would advise me to get a double chainring instead of a triple on the bike I'm thinking about buying... I was just really curious why. I climb a lot, and use the triple on my current bike all the time. Why would you want fewer gears, in any situation? Negligible weight differences? What else could it be? I asked the guy at the bike shop and he just joked around with me and never gave an answer... told me to get stronger, blah blah, shave my legs, quit wearing a visored helmet and wear longer white socks than the low ankle socks I'm currently wearing. I haven't the slightest idea... least of all about the chain ring.
Click to expand...

Maybe he meant a double COMPACT crankset and not just a regular double. A compact will virtually match any gear a triple offers. Added benefit is narrower Q factor, lower weight, better drivetrain longevity. With a BCD of 110mm, usual chainring size combination are 50/34-36.
 
I would seriously consider a compact if you do a lot of climbing. You can get a similar range of gearing options, with a less complicated setup.
 
AmpedCycle said:
Hey guys
I'm trying to figure out why my local bike shop would advise me to get a double chainring instead of a triple on the bike I'm thinking about buying... I was just really curious why. I climb a lot, and use the triple on my current bike all the time. Why would you want fewer gears, in any situation? Negligible weight differences? What else could it be? I asked the guy at the bike shop and he just joked around with me and never gave an answer... told me to get stronger, blah blah, shave my legs, quit wearing a visored helmet and wear longer white socks than the low ankle socks I'm currently wearing. I haven't the slightest idea... least of all about the chain ring.
Click to expand...
It sounds to me like every single one of the things he talked about were style issues.
 
AmpedCycle said:
Hey guys
I'm trying to figure out why my local bike shop would advise me to get a double chainring instead of a triple on the bike I'm thinking about buying... I was just really curious why. I climb a lot, and use the triple on my current bike all the time. Why would you want fewer gears, in any situation? Negligible weight differences? What else could it be? I asked the guy at the bike shop and he just joked around with me and never gave an answer... told me to get stronger, blah blah, shave my legs, quit wearing a visored helmet and wear longer white socks than the low ankle socks I'm currently wearing. I haven't the slightest idea... least of all about the chain ring.
Click to expand...
I certainly would not take a shower with this LBS guy around!! :eek:

Go to another shop and buy what does the job the best, a triple! I am over 55 and both my bikes are triples, yes the try bike too!! I cannot get the same speed range with any double.
Do the sums:
High 11/50 cf 12/53
Low 27/34 cf 25/30
with a 12-25 9 speed, I have less missing gears in the middle of the range. To do a compact double and come close, you must use a 11-27 10 speed cassette. With all the 10 speeed gear this puts the bike price up by over $500.
 
I was having the same dilemma last year when I ended up buying a comp double crank (I had a triple). I do a lot of climbing, and I have found that I prefer the comp double. As someone mentioned, you get about the same gearing range, but with only two chainrings, it's much easier to go from your top gear to your low gear on a double, as opposed to a triple. I don't see myself ever going back to a triple, just my 0.02.
 
1. Lots of gear overlap
2. You can achieve the same effect with a different cassette
3. Get stronger
 
AmpedCycle said:
Hey guys
I'm trying to figure out why my local bike shop would advise me to get a double chainring instead of a triple on the bike I'm thinking about buying... I was just really curious why. I climb a lot, and use the triple on my current bike all the time. Why would you want fewer gears, in any situation? Negligible weight differences? What else could it be? I asked the guy at the bike shop and he just joked around with me and never gave an answer... told me to get stronger, blah blah, shave my legs, quit wearing a visored helmet and wear longer white socks than the low ankle socks I'm currently wearing. I haven't the slightest idea... least of all about the chain ring.
Click to expand...

Maybe he had the double in stock ready to sell and the triple would have been a special order, or some similar reason that would have reduced profits. Anyone who has worked in sales knows that regardless of what they say, whenever possible they try to sell the merchandise that they have in stock first because it is already paid for.
 
I'm 53 and for the riding I do I considered the triple vs compact tradeoffs. I went with a wider range compact setup. For 90% of the riding I did with a triple on a previous bike, I stayed on the main two chainrings, rarely dropping to the granny. Besides, I had more chain drop problems and it seemed to happen just when I needed the granny because I was going up a steep grade. With the compact you have crisper shifting for one. That's not a firm deciding point, though. It depends also on your riding style. If you are a spinner and rarely stand on the pedals going up a hill, then, for you, the triple is the better choice.

What I found with a typical triple, though, is there were a good number of gear overlaps. What I mean is if you create your gear inches table such is this one, for example: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/ will let you determine just how many different gears you have. I found I had a lot of duplicate gears on my triple. On my double I don't have any gears duplicated.
With my double I ride mostly in the large chainring on the flats. On the hills I ride mostly in the small chainring. It just works better for me.
 
Keep in mind for all you high end bike nuts out there some frames, such as a Giant TCR Advanced, ARE NOT DESIGNED for more than a double front chainring. Check the frame you have first before going with a triple. Also. Dura-Ace no longer come in triple, only Ultegra. (I am pretty sure at least)
 
This is all really good advice... and the bike I'm buying is a new Specialized Tarmac Expert with Ultegra. I think I've decided to go with the compact double. The only thing I'm worried about, aside from climbing without a granny gear, is keeping up with the race team at 35 mph without looking like the cartoon roadrunner @ 150 rpm's. You guys don't think this would be a problem, do you?
 
AmpedCycle said:
This is all really good advice... and the bike I'm buying is a new Specialized Tarmac Expert with Ultegra. I think I've decided to go with the compact double. The only thing I'm worried about, aside from climbing without a granny gear, is keeping up with the race team at 35 mph without looking like the cartoon roadrunner @ 150 rpm's. You guys don't think this would be a problem, do you?
Click to expand...

It won't be a problem. A 50/11 is a higher gear ratio than a 53/12. If you can spin out either on flat ground, you would give Boonen or McEwen a run for it in the sprint.
 
AmpedCycle said:
This is all really good advice... and the bike I'm buying is a new Specialized Tarmac Expert with Ultegra. I think I've decided to go with the compact double. The only thing I'm worried about, aside from climbing without a granny gear, is keeping up with the race team at 35 mph without looking like the cartoon roadrunner @ 150 rpm's. You guys don't think this would be a problem, do you?
Click to expand...
The only reason I went with a triple vs. compact double is that I didn't want to deal with the big drop from 50 to 34 when riding in a fast pack. We have a lot of rolling hills here, and I've gotten used to popping a quick shift from 53 to 39 to jam over the hill, then back to big ring, without having to click up/down the cogs.

Guys I ride with who have the compact seem to stay in the 50 ring most all the time in the pack, and just shift cogs more often. They say you get used to the big gap in the midrange, and like the fact they aren't carrying extra gears that overlap. Since I've never ridden with the compact, don't know how hard it would be to get used to.

Bottom line, setting up the new bike with a triple allowed me to keep the 53/39 and 12-25 I was used to. The inner (30 ) ring just adds a tight set of useful climbing gears, from 30-19 down to 30-25, while keeping the traditional road-race gearing on the middle and big rings. In an attempt to salvage at least some style points, I went with the FSA Team Carbon triple crank.
 
gclark8 said:
I certainly would not take a shower with this LBS guy around!! :eek:

Go to another shop and buy what does the job the best, a triple! I am over 55 and both my bikes are triples, yes the try bike too!! I cannot get the same speed range with any double.
Do the sums:
High 11/50 cf 12/53
Low 27/34 cf 25/30
with a 12-25 9 speed, I have less missing gears in the middle of the range. To do a compact double and come close, you must use a 11-27 10 speed cassette. With all the 10 speeed gear this puts the bike price up by over $500.
Click to expand...
If you like using the triple stick with it. You have a wider range of gearing. I have tried a compact 50/34 and the constant shifting of the front chain rings to get the tweener gears drove me nuts. I ride my triple as a double only using the small chainring on the front for the killer climbs. I have a 50/40/30 which is perfect. I could change the big chain ring for a 52 or 53 if I wanted to but I find a 50/13 good enough and is similar to my 53/39 double. Always remember that they aren't out on the road with you when you are peddling up a big hill. Its just you and the bike where the "cool" factor really doesn't count.
Until they come out with a rear cogset 12/34 you won't have the same range as a triple with a compact double.
 
Deanster04 said:
If you like using the triple stick with it. You have a wider range of gearing. I have tried a compact 50/34 and the constant shifting of the front chain rings to get the tweener gears drove me nuts. I ride my triple as a double only using the small chainring on the front for the killer climbs. I have a 50/40/30 which is perfect. I could change the big chain ring for a 52 or 53 if I wanted to but I find a 50/13 good enough and is similar to my 53/39 double. Always remember that they aren't out on the road with you when you are peddling up a big hill. Its just you and the bike where the "cool" factor really doesn't count.
Until they come out with a rear cogset 12/34 you won't have the same range as a triple with a compact double.
Click to expand...
But this bike isn't available as a triple... so what then? Is there a difference btw the normal double and the compact double?
 
Great thread. I too like the triple so I can bail to the middle ring or small ring if necessary without having to move through all the cogs. But perhaps it's better technique to move through each gear in order to keep a steady cadence :confused:
 
AmpedCycle said:
This is all really good advice... and the bike I'm buying is a new Specialized Tarmac Expert with Ultegra. I think I've decided to go with the compact double. The only thing I'm worried about, aside from climbing without a granny gear, is keeping up with the race team at 35 mph without looking like the cartoon roadrunner @ 150 rpm's. You guys don't think this would be a problem, do you?
Click to expand...

A 50x12 will give you about 112 gear inches while a 53x12 will equate to about 119 gear inches. If a guy on a normal 53x12 going downhill pedals at 80rpm you will just be pedaling 85rpm to keep up.
 
Get a compact. End of story. This same thing happened to me. I was so skeptical, and now I can't believe I ever road on triples.

The only thing that could go wrong, is the fact that the front derailleur that is setup on the bike could suck at shifting. Since normal derailleurs are made for a 15t drop and not a 16t drop.
But this is only minor, if it even does arise, then you can buy a new front derailleur and it will go away.

The FSA C-16 should be nice! IRD makes one too.
 
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