rcordray

My ride: New (3 Month Old) Cannondale R1000 Triple. It came stock with a mostly-Ultegra drivetrain with one exception: a Truvativ Carbon Roleur Triple Crankset (30/42/52.) I have just over 500 miles on it w/ 46,000 feet of climbing so far. I live in So. Cal. and ride hills every day. I bought the triple for the climbing, but I'm really disappointed with the shifting performance. If it's not dropping the chain (frequently), it's missing the middle ring on either the up or down shift. I bought this at Helen's in Santa Monica and it's been back in the shop MANY times for service, to no avail. Helen's called the Truvativ factory to find that the original chainrings were manufactured for the Shimano 9spd chain which is marginally thicker than the 10spd. They changed all three chainrings to slightly thinner ones (said Truvativ) and replaced the chain, but still the shifting is terrible. It still has trouble finding the middle ring and still occasionally drops the chain altogether. I've even taken it to a different LBS for a derailleur adjustment at addditional expense and still no real improvement. Today I was surfing around and found the following statement on the FSA website: "It is important to understand that the Shimano Ultegra 10 speed triple front derailleur is designed to work only with a 39 tooth center chainring." Has anyone else encountered this problem or heard such a statement regarding triples? It appears that Cannondale has mated ill-matched components here and I may not have smooth and accurate shifting without upgrading to an Ultegra triple w/ a 39t middle ring.

rcordray

Forgive the double posting - I'm new here

sydney

The 10 speed ultegra and DA triple cranks use a 39 middle. 9 speed DA triple also used a 39 middle, and many that tried to use the ultegra 9 speed FD designed for the 42 ring rather than a DA triple front designed for the 39 ring had problems...The supposed tiny difference in chainrings should not be an issue.

HillRider

I've heard that Dura Ace triple front derailleurs are designed to work with 30/39/53 chainrings while Ultgra is supposed to work with 30/42/52. However, I can't believe the performance should be dramatically different when used with the "wrong" chainring set. My experience is that front derailleurs are pretty tolerant.

rcordray

My performance is crap! Is this what I should expect for buying a triple in the first place? Is anyone happy with their triple setup?

sydney

Triples work fine when components match and they are tuned correctly....www.parktool.com has the drill in the repair sction.

sydney

The ultegra 10 triple uses a 39 middle like the DA 9 and 10 triples.

rcordray

It appears that I'm right in my belief that the Truvativ crankset is to blame. Perhaps another case of a bike manufacturer including a cheaper (?) component into an otherwise reliable drivetrain.

fmw

Don't blame it on triples in general. I have a Campy triple setup on my Bianchi. It shifts surely, reliably and quietly every time. It works way better than my Ultegra double. If you've ruled out adjustment, then either there is a defective part (front derailleur?) or an incompatibility with the crankset. Shimano publishes specs on what their equipment will handle. The bike shop should have that information.

Bolo Grubb

I have a RPM triple crankset and a Sora FD. It has always shifted just fine for me.

I do not think the 10sp is a problem. I think the front deraileur is likely the main issue, perhaps a compatability issue with the crankset?

Al1943

The 10-speed Ultegra comes with a 39 middle.