Originally Posted by
Bill Kapaun
I have low level Shimano triples that shift fine.
The claim for simplicity is for those unwilling or too incompetent to adjust a FDER or thoughtless LEMMINGS.
Triples seemed to have had a pretty good run before they suddenly became "complicated".
I've had triples and always like them and they shifted easily and perfectly. I set my wife's road bike up with a triple and same thing - easy enough to adjust and no issues shifting. I always liked that I could use the center ring most of the time and just shift to the big or small occasionally. I now have a couple of "compact doubles" and, while they work just fine, I find myself shifting the front a lot more.
I recently got an inexpensive (but very perfectly functional and fun) gravel bike with a 1X9 Microshift Advent. It works fine, but with the particular chainwheel it has, lacks 1 or 2 high gears that I occasionally miss. Since I use that bike almost exclusively to ride by myself or with my wife, it's not a big deal. If I was riding with equal or faster riders on the road in a group, I'd miss them for sure. But I need the low gears it provides, with the largest cassette spec'd for the RD (actually 2t larger), I get that and will always err on the side of low gears vs. large. sp I'm not tempted to replace the chain wheel. But it is a compromise for mixed riding I do with it.
I think the triple has a bad rap.