Originally Posted by
Urthwhyte
Currently Tiagra is priced at ~$750 for the full groupset, and Apex seems to be targeting the low-end segment that Sora/Tiagra triple mixes typically fill at the thousand dollar bike level with the 11-32 option. People just getting their first road bikes and who aren't necessarily in the best shape are the ones that could really use a triple, but I can't imagine someone new to wrenching (or their LBS) want the hassle or the weight and thus don't mind giving up some gears in the middle. If you compare a 10 speed cassette to the jumps in an old 7 or 8 speed it doesn't seem as bad, and the cassette can always be changed out later for eighty dollars or so, versus a triple crankset to double/compact swapover.
Can we put this tired complaint to rest? The range and tight spacing of the gearing offered by a triple far outweight the extra 5 minutes of set up time and the few extra ounces a triple set up weighs. A 30/25 low gear offers far more hill climbing ability than a bike that weighs even 5 lbs. less that only has a 39/25 low gear.
I can sort of understand SRAM's approach to avoiding triples by making a low end group with a double and a wide range 10 speed cassette rather than a triple with a tighter cassette that has fewer cogs. However, with that approach they'll never get my business, or anyone else who wants the benefits of a triple but who also wants a higher end group.