Originally Posted by terrymorse
Um. Well...I think you're having fun with us.
I'd say a compact double gives you the ability to shift less up front than a triple, not the other way around. With a triple, you're limited to how much of the cassette you can use with each front ring. And since the jumps between the front rings are less on a triple, you end up with more gear overlap than with a compact double. For example:
50-34 compact with 12-23 9-speed cassette: 3 gear overlaps
53-42-30 triple with 12-23 9-speed cassette: 10 gear overlaps
And the debate will continue as at the end of the day it comes down to personal preference.
To me, more overlap is good and perhaps not so for you. With more overlap, you can stay on any given chainring longer without shifting up front as it is easier to find your sweet spot of your rear cassette with 3 rings up front instead of two on any given ring. For example...on flat land with light rollers I stay invariably on my 42t middle ring and would be between the 34 and 50 ring of a compact much more on a lot of the terrain I ride. I know you own both 2 and 3 chainring bikes and so do I. I prefer a triple and you prefer a compact. There will never be uninimity nor should there be. It is good to have options.
Cheers,
George