Originally Posted by
Homeyba
I think you need to tell your "ego" who's boss.
Nobody has ever been big enough to tease me about riding a triple, and I've ridden/raced with some very talented people. Your choice of gearing should be just like choosing the right tool out of the tool chest. Would you choose the wrong tool just because someone might perceive you as a sissy? That doesn't make much sense. .
You would probably also advise me to pick a fight with my redheaded wife:-) Trust me when I say I couldn't care less about other's perception. It's all about me, my ego and not accepting that my age continues to increase.
Originally Posted by
Homeyba
I don't understand why people want to point out that a 50-11 is bigger than a 53-12? Sure it is but it's not bigger than a 53-11. It's best to compare apples to apples. The advantage of running a triple is that you can run a tighter cassette. I personally am not fond of big jumps (on my compact) so I typically run an 11-25 cassette and for hilly rides a 11-27. I spend most of my time in the triple on the middle chainring so cross chaining isn't really an issue.
People make the 50/11 to 53/12 comparison, because a 12-25 or 12-27 cassette was usually considered a pretty good companion to a 39/53 crankset. I know that 11 tooth cogs were around before the introduction of compact cranks, but, it seems like they certainly became more common place once the 110bcd and 34/50 chainrings became the norm. And, to point out to the vast majority of reacreational riders that they probably rarely shift into their 53/12 and subsequently aren't loosing any top end gearing with a compact. Unless of course they're running an 11 tooth cog in combination with a 53 tooth or larger chainring and spinnning that combo out.
Originally Posted by
Homeyba
Just as an aside, I took my compact on a hilly century a few years back and was with the fast (Pro/cat1/cat2) guys for the first 65 miles of hills then we hit a 5 mile flat section and I got spit off the back of the group because I couldn't spin fast enough. That really sucked. Especially answering the "what happened to you" questions afterward... I still use the compact in the right circumstances but I'd rather have people make fun of my triple as I blow their doors off than get spit out the back because I don't have the right gears.
Well, if you're going to try to hang with the "Pro/1/2's" you might want to look around at what they're driving. There were probably a fair few 54 or 55 tooth chainrings in that group if "any" of them could push the pace that high. A 50/11 gives you plenty of gear inches and at a cadence of a mear 90 should have you going in the low 50's (kph). Plenty for most us mortals.
[QUOTE=Homeyba;14529974]I don't really understand the cross chaining complaint. I rarely end up cross chained. Maybe it's just me. QUOTE]
If you're riding with pro's and getting dropped at speeds in excess of 50kph I understand you wouldn't have the same concern as Mrs. Fred, who averages about 22-24kph on her rides. Presuming you don't want to use the two most extreme chainring/cog combos and maintaining a cadence of roughly 90, the crossover from small to large chainring on a 34/50 happens at 27-29 kph. That's right in the sweet spot for Mrs. Fred when we're cycling along nice flat to rolling terrain. Subsequently, she finds herself frequently having to shift both front and rear to maintain the correct gearing. Versus a 39, which can carry you up into the low 30's before heading for the big ring.