Joined: May 2007
Posts: 23,474
Likes: 16,981
From: SF Bay Area
Bikes: Litespeed Ultimate, Ultegra; Canyon Endurace, 105; Battaglin MAX, Chorus; Bianchi 928 Veloce; Ritchey Road Logic, Dura Ace; Cannondale R500 RX100; Schwinn Circuit, Sante; Lotus Supreme, Dura Ace
Riding my old bikes, I get why triples were popular BITD. Most of them came with 52/42 x 13-24 AT MOST. I replaced most of them with 13-26. I can do hills with those, but it's a chore and it can't be more than about 10 minutes or so. The one that came with 13-32 has yawning chasms between its 6 cogs, where I can choose between 110rpm and 80.
But now, with 10 or 11 speeds and 30, 32, or even 34t largest cogs, not to mention compact cranksets, I don't feel the need. At the moment, I don't want anything smaller than the 36x34 I have available on one of my bikes. I even find that too small on lots of hills where I use the lowest gear on the other bikes.
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