Hi all,
I have been reading all I can a debating whether or not to put my triple crankset back on my bike. I have a Jamis Eclipse. Yes, it's a racing bike and shouldn't need a triple. But, I really want that low gearing for the weekends when I'm in the mountains.
Here is the problem:
When I put it on the first time, or one of the LBS put it on it seemed like I could never dial in the derailleurs to make the bike shift a smoothly as I wanted it too. I ran the triple for about a month last year and tried playing with the adjustments and having a bike shop adjust things too. In the end I put my double back on because the shifting was much quiter and smoother.
Last night I brought all my parts and the bike to another shop that seems to have more skilled mechanics and I explained to them what I'm telling y'all now. He said, that some frames weren't as willing to accept a triple crankset because of the length of the chainstays. My chainstays are 410mm. You can find the overall geometry of the bike here:
Eclipse geometry.
I mentioned that Lemond sells the Zurich with a triple and I would imagine that most people that buy them have good results with regards to shift performence. He said I couldn't compare the two frame. But when I look at them they seem fairly close. The chainstays on a 55cm Zurich are 415mm. Would that make such a big difference?
If I want to minimize chain rub should I run a narrower chain? What are the pros and cons of a narrower chain?
Lastly, to address the initial question, does frame geometry dictate whether or not you can run a triple crankset?
Thanks,
Sean