I currently have an 8-speed cassette and triple crank, and am looking to upgrade to a dual and 9-speed, in that order (i.e., not necessarily at the same time). What else will I have to change as a result? Chain? Shifters? Derailleurs? Would it be better to upgrade both crank and cassette at the same time?

If there's a thread on this issue already, I'd appreciate the referral. Thanks!

At a minimum, you'll need 9 speed STI shifters, rear derailleur, rear cassette and chain.
You can get a complete package including all of these items from Excel Sports for $395.00
https://www.excelsports.com/new.asp?p...ajor=1&minor=5

Is there a specific reason you want to upgrade to 9 or just want to burn money?

I ride a Giant OCR3 with original components.

The current crank is a triple, but irritates because I can only use a narrow range of cassette gears before the chain starts to rub. Am I incorrect to believe that a dual crank will solve this problem? Well, that's what I've been told.

My query about the 9 is because I'm wondering whether I'll need to compensate for going to a dual. And if there are other components I'll need to change as a result of going to a dual, and if it makes a difference to these additional components as to whether I have an 8 or 9, well, I wonder whether I should bite the bullet and go with a 9?

It's really not about style or the itch to upgrade. I could care less about having the triple; I just want to ride in silence.

Something to look at is your current chain line. I run a triple and it's perfectly quiet for most rear sprockets when in the middle chain ring. The chain line won't be so good for the small or big chain ring but then they don't need to be. For a short while mine was running pretty badly but my LBS adjusted it and it's been great ever since. Also the condition of the chain has a great impact on how well the drive train runs and changes. Go to a LBS that you trust and talk to them. It may be simpler to fix than you think but I don't want to stop you upgrading if that's what you want.

Hey we've all been there.

Regards, AnthonyG

THat same kit is way cheaper at performance. In fact, I think the 105 kit is only $189 after coupon (shifters, rear mech, cassette, chain)

He doesn't need a RD.If he want's to get rid of the triple,don't forget crank and BB.

I'd make sure the FD is positioned aligned and adjusted properly before dumpig alot of money.Certailny with a triple you need to pay attention to cog selection if your shifters have no trim. I've got several triple setups with no tim in the shifters and no issues with chain rub. too many people seemm to have no clue about what gear cobinations they should and shouldn't be using.

To upgrade to 9s and double you NEED: Shift/brake levers, bottom bracket, crank a cassette and a chain. You triple derailleurs will work but you could upgrade them too if you just was them to be higher level components.

I sent you a PM.

Also not sure what size crank you need but Nashbar has a pretty smoking deal on a Cannondale double crank for $50. They only have 170 mm and 172.5 mm though so if you ride 175 mm it wont work for you. With the right deals I think you could pull off the basic conversion for roughtly $300 give or take a few bucks.

If you were doing the same conversion, but were going to keep the triple (i.e. just upgrading to 9 gears), would you still need to replace the BB and crank? If so why?

no

No it won't solve your problem, actually you will have less gears to use cuase you are missing 1 chainring up front.

It doesn't matter if you are a on a double or triple. You should still never use all the gears. IE (smallest gear in the back and the smallest in front, or the biggest gear in back and biggest in front) the Reason is that the chain is so far out of line that it cuase a lot of wear on the chain, sprokets and such.

Also if you have it in the big chain ring and the biggest cassete, your rear derailer will be stretched to it's max, you stand a change of breaking this.

Kind of funny I see riders in our group all the time riding in those combo's, I don't know if they are scared to be out of the big chainring, or they just don't know better. I bet you could wear out a set of gears in a season riding like that.

The extra cog in the back is at least nominally an improvement, but dropping a chainring in the front is a backwards step in the machines overall capability. It doesn't make sense.

"...The current crank is a triple, but irritates because I can only use a narrow range of cassette gears before the chain starts to rub. Am I incorrect to believe that a dual crank will solve this problem? Well, that's what I've been told".

It makes more sense to properly adjust the derailleurs than to replace the drivetrain.
If your new "double" setup starts giving you problems from being poorly adjusted, what do you "upgrade" to then?

I did this to my Trek 1000, it cost a lot of money but I now run 9 speed Ultegra and 9 speed 105 through out the bike. Make it worth your time and money.

RacingPain

A big part of using a triple is knowing proper gear usage and the trim function in the front shifter.Correct FD alignment and adjustment is critical too.

My husband has the exact same bike, exact same problem, and he wants to upgrade too. Maybe you two can talk. He was thinking about getting the parts online, and getting a book on how to do it. I will make sure he reads this post. Thanks for asking the question.

Also the reason my man wants a double, is because he says never uses the smallest gears and it is a waste.

Agreed.

I tuned a friend's bike (50cm Trek 1000, Sora drivetrain) a few weeks back. With the way the front derailleur had been positioned by the shop, she could only use 4 gears per chainring without rubbing. I lowered the derailleur, angled it correctly, reset the cable tension, and now she can use 7 gears on the small chainring without rubbing, all the gears on the middle (though the extreme outside gears should be avoided anyway), and 7 gears on the big chainring. The gears that rub are the extreme cross-chain gears anyway, so shouldn't be used.

I'm not sure what frame size you have. Bikes with short chainstays can be hard to set up with triples (the chain needs to run a more extreme angle since the distance between BB and rear hub is shorter). This may be the case with an OCR3 - not sure.

If you're even a little bit mechanically inclined, go to the front derailleur adjustment section on the Park Tool repair help website and follow the process from start to finish. Spending some time to get the front derailleur position correct might help solve your problems.