Originally Posted by
NatUp
Have you considered a compact double? Probably just me, but I despise triples -- mostly useless repetition of gears, finicky shifting and chain rub. Unless you are doing lots of steep trail work AND fast road descents where keeping up with others matters, a double will most likely serve your needs better. Just my opinion.
I've used triples on bikes since the 1980s. I've had a few bikes with doubles since then as well and I've have never noticed any of the issues that triples are suppose to have. Shifting on my triples has always been quick and precise. Chain rub is nonexistent if you set the bike up properly. And while you have some gear repetition with a triple, you trade a little bit of extra work to set up a triple for a really bad gear selection that requires double or triple shifts to use the nonrepetitive gears of a compact double.