Changes in gearing
 

Hi, I hope to start racing this year. However, I have a triple right now. Should I switch to a double and should I take out the big 27 gear and replace it with something smaller? I like climbing, if that helps. Thanks.

just leave it as it is.

First, go to the racing subforum (at the top of the page) and look up the sticky: "New to Racing? Here's a tip or two"

Second, do a race and see how your fitness compares. If you are regularly using the 30/27 to climb, unless you are climbing 20% grade walls, you are likely in need of some fitness during the off-season before you will be competitive in a race.

After you have started a race, you will be able to see how your gearing works for you. The most common gearing that racers have around here is a 53-39 in the front paired to a 12-25 in the back. This varies though. Many racers are adopting compact cranksets with a 50-34 or 36 in the front and an 11-23 in the rear. Very few racers have triples, though that's not to say that you should change cranksets just because of this. Mostly, racers don't use triples simply because of chainline issues with the large chainring being too far to the outside to use the big-big combo without derailing, and because there really isn't an opportunity to use the 30 tooth chainring in a race. Shifting to the 30 under duress in a race is iffy with a lot of derailments, and if you are in the 30, you are likely going too slow to keep up with the pack anyway.

So, my advice is to get a taste of, first, fast paceline riding, and second, racing, before changing any of your equipment. Once you have a taste, you'll know better of what you prefer in the way of gearing. Going from a triple to a double setup requires changing your at least your front derailleur, crankset, and bottom bracket bearing. If you run Shimano, you need to make sure your shifter is not triple specific; if you run Campy, you are fine. Right now you can find some good sales on NOS (new old stock) 9 and 10 speed parts, and if you are clever, you might be able to do the conversion for under $200.

Triples are not allowed in races. Neither are bikes that ever had them. You have to buy a new bike.

Unless you're doing some brutally steep climbs, you won't be using the inner ring (or you'll be way OTB).

However the inner chainring will only be about a 100 gram weight penalty.

You'll be fine racing what you got. If you get into racing, stay with it, and move up, you might consider some gearing changes, but you really don't need to.

And if you happen to be one of the gentic freaks that goes from Cat 5 to Cat 2 in a season, you can really have fun upseting some people riding your triple.

It depends on the kind of racing you're doing and what the terrain is like. It might be nice on long steep climbs if you have any.

^ unless you're doing truly brutal stuff, or you like to climb spinning 110 rpm, you'll be OTB if you need to use the small ring.

Doesn't mean you should not race your triple.

Does mean for 95% plus of the races you'll encounter as a Cat 5, if you need a triple, the low gear is just going to make your limp home alone less painful.