I purchased a LandShark frame (used) and it should be here tomorrow.

I have decided I'd like to try a triple to help with the N. Ga. mountains and I'm wondering what you guys like. I am on a budget and will probably be looking to build the entire bike from Ebay, CL, etc.

I would like to go with Campy Chorus or Record but would probably be happy with Ultegra or Dura-Ace if the price is right. Ideally, I would like to build this with polished components as opposed to black but I guess I could live with carbon cranks.

Last, this is a 49cm frame and I want to keep the entire bike as light as possible.

So...any opinions? I'll post a pic when it is done.

Thanks!

Campy hasn't made triples in several years. You'll be looking at used stuff, which is okay as long as you know it's used and are cool with it.

Same deal with Dura-Ace. Ultegra is the highest-level triple currently made.

Yep, I'm planning on buying used.

By the way TSL, I was born and raised in Rochester. It will always be home but I can't say I miss the winters.

Steve

You can still get new Campy triple, not Chorus or Record. https://www.campagnolo.com/jsp/en/groupset/catid_8.jsp

There are a flood of new 6603 Ultegra Triples on ebay right now. You should be able to find what you need for $140. You will need the external BB for $30. The Ultegra triple is a first class crank, hard to do better.

I have Ultegra triples on both my Tarmac and mytri bike. They work really well, like them alot

In the parts of north Georgia I know, I'd be looking for a teeny-tiny granny ring. Scratch the Shimano road bike cranks. That leaves their MTB and Sugino -- I like the Sugino XD-600 (from memory).

You can always put a 28 or 26t granny gear on the Ultegra. This combined with a 11-28 or 12-27 cassette will get you up 20+% hills with a 50 rpm cadence at 4 mph. Most cyclist cannot climb any slower than this.

There isn't anything that a compact double can't climb. It's just my opinion, but I would avoid a triple and go compact. Even compact with a mtb rear der. That would get you a lower gear than a road triple. If I had to climb Brasstown Bald tomorrow, I'd take my compact and put a 34 rear cassette on it. A 34/34 is very low for a road bike.

Here we go...

+1 There seems to be an abundance right now.

Nobody uses a triple around here anymore. I'm just relating my experience. Do you live in the mountains? Besides the shorter chain length and crisper shifting, a double has a narrower q factor. Both those features matter to me.

Me too.

12 by BluesDawg, on Flickr

That's what I'll do too, but the last time I rode up BB, I had a triple and a 26/34 low gear. I was 30 lbs heavier than now and I wanted an even lower gear.

...there is no stopping 'em now...

If you don't have anything of value to add why do you persist in making comments?

...Because I have a sense of humor.

If the OP had asked “What should I get: a triple or a compact double”, your debate would be on topic.

But the OP asked “Which Triple for my New Build”?

If you want an intelligent debate on triple V compact double, read here:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...r-fear-no-hill

For your information, both doubles & triples have merit. I run five different drive-trains on my bikes. Nothing better than having the right tools for the job;

I can easily provide myself seven useful gearing options by having a triple on one bike and a double on the other. I use one triple crankset and both a compact and a standard double.

Bike#1(A). Triple crank with 50, 39 & 26 chainrings in combination with an 11-23 ten speed cassette.
This provide close gearing on flatter rides but still offers low enough gearing for moderate climbs. Very tight gear spacing is available from 15 to 35 mph. Frequent changes on the front chainring are avoided, the 39t chainring is good up to 25 mph and covers all flat terrain riding. The 26t chainring can cover most of steeper climbs, up to about 14%

Bike#1(B). Triple crank with 50, 39 & 26 chainrings in combination with a 12-27 ten speed cassette.
This provide close gearing on flatter rides but still offers low enough gearing for difficult 15-20% climbs. Very tight gear spacing is available from 16 to 31 mph. Frequent changes on the front chainring are avoided, the 39t chainring is good up to 23 mph and covers most flat terrain riding. The 26t chainring can cover all of steeper climbs, up to 18% or more.

Bike#1(C). Triple crank with 50, 39 & 26 chainrings in combination with an 11-32 ten speed cassette.
This provide useful gearing on flatter rides and offers low enough gearing for loaded touring with difficult climbs. Gearing spacing is twice that of the other cassettes, larger changes in cadence are required with almost all gear changes. Frequent changes on the front chainring are avoided, the 39t chainring is good from 10 to 25 mph and covers all flat terrain riding and even is good on moderate hills. The 26t chainring is the ultimate bail-out option, this offers a huge gear range. I need to avoid the big-big gear combination since this exceeds the chain wrap capacity of the Ultegra GS derailleur.

Bike #2(A). A standard double with 50 & 39t chainrings in combination with a 12-27 ten speed cassette.
This provide close gearing on flatter rides but still offers low enough gearing for moderate climbs. Very tight gear spacing is available from 16 to 31 mph. Frequent changes on the front chainring are avoided, the 39t chainring is good up to 23 mph. Super steep climbs are a challenge for all but the fittest riders.

Bike #2(B). A standard double with 50 & 39t chainrings in combination with a 11-23 ten speed cassette.
This provide close gearing on flatter rides but still offers low enough gearing for moderate climbs. Very tight gear spacing is available from 15 to 33 mph. Frequent changes on the front chainring are avoided, the 39t chainring is good up to 25 mph and covers all flat terrain riding. Steep climbs are a challenge for all but the fittest riders.

Bike #2(C). A Compact double with 50 & 34t chainrings in combination with a 12-27 ten speed cassette.
This provide close gearing on flatter rides but still offers low enough gearing for moderate and steep climbs. Very tight gear spacing is available from 16 to 31 mph. Frequent changes on the front chainring are required on flat terrain, the 34t chainring is good up to 20 mph. Super steep climbs are possible for moderately fit riders.

Bike #2(D). A Compact double with 50 & 34t chainrings in combination with an 11-32 ten speed cassette.
This provides low enough gearing for the steepest climbs. Tight gear spacing is available in a limited range from 18 to 22 mph. Gearing spacing is twice that of the other cassettes, larger changes in cadence are required with almost all gear changes. Frequent changes on the front chainring are required on flat terrain, the 34t chainring is good up to 22 mph. Steep climbs are possible for all riders.

I’ve actually used 5 of these options during 2010. I only need to change crankset & cassettes. The front 105 derailleurs and the rear Ultegra GS derailleur don’t even require adjustment. Replacing the 50 & 39t standard crank with the 50 & 34 compact is easy also. The 50t chainrings on both help avoid the repositioning the FD and the Hollowtech outboard BB stays in place. I just remove the left hand crank arm, remove the crankset & reinstall.

I have the Sugino XD crank (a sweetly, geezerly 26/36/48 with 12-25) on my Shimano 9 speed and am very happy...closer set gears not needing a bigger cog spread and tall enough for my needs.

**Best check whether its compatible with a 10 spd....I suspect not.

Apologies to WSC, but there are advantages with a triple that negate the marginal extra weight. My only regret is the wider Q-factor. Give and Take...there is no perfect bike set-up in this fallen world.

+1.... hard to beat it.

Au contraire..... You can get smaller inner chainrings for Ultegra triple if that is needed.

I'm wrestling with this issue myself just now as I want to do light touring in N. Hampshires mountains. For 3 to 4 days, with camping gear, I'll need to load the bike with 20 lbs. of gear, including rear rack and panniers but not including food and water. My bike is an 8 spd triple and my best estimate at the moment is I'll need 25 gear inches. The 30T chainring would be replaced with a 28T and the cogset would be replaced with a Harris Cyclery custom 13-30. If needbe, It is still possible to replace the 30T chainring with a 26. A triple provides quite a bit of choice it seems to me with relatively close gearing.

I would go with the 26t granny gear!

Not much to say after that! I've used setups close to #1B and #2C, 52/39/30 with 12/27 and 50/34 with 11/28. What you say is exactly right. With the triple (Ultegra) I rode up hills that fitter riders with narrower gear ranges walked. Only once, when I had serious IT band problems, did I ever walk up a hilll (20% grade).

The 50/34 and 11/28 (SRAM Red) is a very nice setup with a nearly the gear range of the triple, but wider gear spacing. Also, as you said, with the triple a simple swap on the rear cluster to 11/23 changes it to a very nice close ratio setup that STILL has low gears for climbing.

I'd add that the triple will always allow you to get to a gear that has the ratio you need at the moment with less cross-chaining, a point usually left out when the "redundancy" of gear ratios on a triple is discussed.

Thanks Barretscv. I'm a noob to this cycling business and do not have a feel may be needed for touring or anything else. Thanks to this forum I'm learning fast.

Durn you BD! I'm sitting at the office today awaiting deliver of my Blue T12 tri-bike that I won on EBay.

Then I click your link and look at that Compact Triple and I'm thinking how good it would work on that Soma Smoothie ES or CoMotion Norwester I've been thinking about.