Originally Posted by
blinky
Compact cranks have been touted as providing a boost on hills for older riders over the standard double crankset - has anyone gone from a triple to compact and has the compact turned out to be an adequate replacement over the triple for various terrain changes ?
1. As surely as 52 is bigger than 50 and 30 is smaller than 34, you'll always be able to get a wider spread of gears with a triple than with a compact double. If you think that you need that much gear range, you need a triple crankset.
2. To me the issue with a compact double is it's lack of overlap gears. That mandates when you have to shift chainrings and it usually requires a shift or two with the rear derailleur when you do.
I think that where you happen to be when you shift chainrings determines how well you'll like a compact double. If you do most of your riding on the big ring and only change to the small ring as you start up steep hills, a compact is great. If you find yourself right at the cusp of changing chainrings while riding on flat roads, I'd think that a compact double would be a PITA.