I moved from a triple to a compact double this brevet season. I found I rarely touched the "little" ring on the standard triple. (52,42,30). I moved to a standard compact (50,34) and enjoyed the rest of the season. Upon building my new distance and light touring bike I debated and debated if I should go with a triple. I decided on a TA Carmina double, in 94 bcd. I currently have a "standard" set of compact rings on it - 50,34 and am running a Campy 13-29 cassette. The bike was designed for distance and light touring - and I live in the green mountain state - my favorite loop rides take me over several gaps and lots of "climby" terrain. The Carmina will allow me to use an inner ring as small as 30 - so should I tour, I'll change rings. I have a second set of rings - 48,32 for climby brevets. I'm planning on swapping to those this winter.

To me, cycling is a compromise - no matter what you do. The ideal situation would be to have an infinite set of gears - perfect for every situation. This doesn't exist - so we have doubles, triples, compacts, singlespeeds, fixed gears, high wheelers, and unicycles to choose from. I chose a unique compact double - and I'll live with the ranges - using a casette, ring swaps if necessary, and better aerobic fitness and strength to my advantage.

I learned quite a bit from a small group of riders who did the Boston Brevet series fixed - one of them riding BMB in a 42x16. They would blow by me on the climbs - and seemed to be enjoying it a heck of alot more than me - I would occassionally catch them on a descent - but often they would just spin up and go...

Gears are only a part of the equation. Not long ago bikes had 10 useable speeds (or less) and people rode and toured just fine. We now have "10 speed" drivetrains - and options for potential combinations allowing 16 - 24 useable gears. Find something you like, get a ratio that works for the terrain you ride in, and train, ride, and have fun.

Find something that works for you, love it, ride it.