Originally Posted by Sinfield
Just wanted to pop in with a quick question for you all.
I'm slowly collecting parts for my ultimate mutant bike (cyclocross frame w/ rack braze on's) that I'll be able to ride on fire roads, commute on, hit up spirited road rides, and also tour on in a year or so (A friend and I are going to do the east coast of australia) and as I sit around perusing component choices, I began to wonder about a crankset.
Compacts seem to be all the rage in the road world because they give you most(all?) the gearing choices that a road triple does with the added benefit of being lighter weight and in many cases crisper shifting. My question is, would a compact be worth it for touring, or do triples tend to work better. I realize that a big part of the equation is cassette selection. This bike is going to be my all around bike, and will most likely replace both my dedicated road bike and maybe my xc mountain bike. I like the idea of lighter weight wherever possible to help make up for some of the other components that will out of necessity be heavier (possibly going with disc brakes) but I want to find out whether I'd be shooting myself in the foot in regards to a future tour. Thanks.
Compacts are nice. I am planning on getting one for my road bike this winter. With that said, triples have a greater range. Try a Sugino triple crank. They have the 110 BCD. You can get them in 48/36/26 or something like that. A traditional 130 BCD crank is limited in it's gearing. I always like having a 48 or 46 big gear up front. It isn't cool when you hang with your roadie friends but it is practical. Good luck I know you will do well.
Tim