Originally Posted by
rsrogers
I have several 3x bikes in my family (I also have several 2x bikes - gravel and road). Where the triple excels is in road touring/bikepacking. Extra low gearing with small to modest jumps is needed for long, loaded rides, with wind and hills. 26/36/48 in the front and 11-36 in the back gives me 18.7 gear inches on the low end and 113 GI on the high side - all with very manageable jumps between gears to keep a good cadence and energy conserving power requirements. I generally stay in the middle for most road conditions and can find a comfortable gear for my cadence. Drop the chain on the 26 ring up front for long steep uphill grades to find 3 unique, energy conserving gears below those possible on the 36 middle chainring. Same sort of thing on the high side for couple of unique gears for the 48 big ring for downhill stretches or with a nice tailwind. With my road cadence between 75 and 85 rpms and 10 cogs on the back it effectively turns into a range of 15 unique, non-overlapping gears with this 3X. .
Please, everbody, read this over until you unsderstand.
A Triple offers a few extra ratios--usually lower---but Also allows for tight spacing in the middle.
Riding isn't about ratios only---we all ride so we all know this. Front derailleurs are harder to shift under load, so most folks like being able to get in a lower ring to go up a hill---but particularly if you are loaded, so efficiency Really means something, having a handful of closely-spaced gears on the low ring, and a Low low, really matters. While cruising, most people want small steps again for efficiency. And when you want to push hard, to get crazy on a downhill of just for the fun of it, you want that tall gear. A triple gives all that.
Overlap is Not an issue---in fact I Like having and knowing where the similar ratios are so I can shift rings ahead of a terrain feature and not have to change my cadence. (Three up in back and down in front is usually a tiny step down on most of my doubles, for instance, and two down in back and up in front is also a slight step---so if I am approaching a hill, I got 3 up and 1 down and get into the top of the small ring at the bottom of the hill, and have ten steps down in back for climbing, and if I approach a corner slowly and then want to power out and stay in the big ring I go two down 1 up and am low on the big ring for smooth steady acceleration.)
On my touring triple it is the same deal .... I pick the ring which suits the terrain and then use double shifts when needed to get into a different ring in approximately the same gear. Duplicate ratios can be a drawback or a feature, it depends on the rider.
A triple can still give a wider range And close spacing .... there is no way to argue against that rationally. Most road riders simply do not need a 28- or 26-tooth ring, but those that do, .... or those that have open minds and can think---realize that some riders need triples for some rides.
If you have not ridden up and down steep hills all day with 80 pounds of gear, you might not understand ..... but I think we all Can understand If We Want To ......
But maybe I am wrong .... about everything.
