Agree...im not claiming that i am doing the tour de france NOR the rockies.. but some of the 'hills' in NJ are pretty demanding for an urban guy like me. its all relative.

Thanks,
Joey

Since I live at the base of this hill, I'm thinking a triple will come in handy so I can ride east instead of always riding south along the coast (a few hills that way too, but not this extreme). (btw, when you get to the point where i took the picture, you've about half way to the top...hang in there).

Hi, Judoka. I'm a Joey, too, from Texas. I went with a compact double because the terrain here isn't very hilly and I don't like the smaller differences in gearing (more frequent shifting) on the triples. I was worried about hills if I go on vacation somewhere. I plan on customizing a cassette like one of the previous posters recommended. I plan on getting the 12/27 from cassette Shimano and swap the two high-tooth gears from the 11/25 (23,25) with the two high-tooth gears from the 12/27 (24,27.) Many of the other gears are the same so I'll have extras of the ones I use the most and a few to play with. I haven't done it yet because I found that 34/25 is REALLY LOW! I actually don't use small chainring with 4 lowest gear combinations, even when starting.

If climbs are a big problem, I'd look at compatible SRAM cassettes over the Shimano. I think SRAM has higher-tooth counts available on their cassettes. Hope this helps!

With all due respect, you were not there and have no idea what transpired.

Unless you really need the granny gear, between these two options compact is the way to go. Giant's been offering it on their better sport bikes, and it's turning up on more and more top end bikes.

I ride compact. I like the higher spin rate.

Joey...

I don't know how strong of a rider you may be...but I lived in Jersey and left there for Europe to race so I am familiar with the terrain. Longer climbs the further north and northwest you go. Also, I was riding a bike with five rear gears back then so you did not have a lot of the choices you have now.

The bigggest thing that I tell customers is that with compact, you are not dealing with the long cage derailleur and the issues with keeping it crisp and trimmed out. And, even with 105 and ten rear gears, effectively you are not going to cross chain so it's not really 30 gears.

I am a strong proponent of compact. But at the end of the day, if you need to drop down to that granny gear, by all means get it. A lot of people will go with that, simply for the confidence that they need to complete more difficult rides. Even if they never use it.

Hope that helps.

Huh? You'd have a much higher "spin rate" with a true triple than a compact.

Its true. Most of the LBS pros were honest with me. If they were really just trying to sell me a bike, many of them would/could have sold me the wrong size, wroing style, etc. Many pursuaded me to go in other directions from what they had in stock, so I don't think they were just trying to get a bike under me to get a sale. And all had their opinions about the triple...one or two preferred the triple even if they didn't have a decent bike in stock with a triple. In the end, I chose this bike with these components. It wasn't until I tried my first medium-level hills that I realized that the quantity of lower gears were running low and that I started to worry.

These posts and feedback are very helpful. I am gonna keep with the 11/25 shimano compact for now. Will push it. If need be, I will switch the cassette. Did 10 miles to day with a 2 mile steady, but managable climb. I had about 2 gears left on the bottom chain. Anything steeper is going to push me hard, but what the heck...

Thanks again folks.

Joey

This helps a lot. I am not a strong rider. Just ride for conditioning, fun and for the occasional sprint/olympic trialthlon. Not looking to WIN, just FINISH respectably.

Appreciate the feedback. I am in Holmdel, Monmouth County. If you are familiar with this fairly small town near the Jersey Shore, you will know that there is almost NO flat terrain in the township... But fun, nonetheless.

Thanks much,

Joey

[QUOTE=roadwarrior;7532298]

...with compact, you are not dealing with the long cage derailleur and the issues with keeping it crisp and trimmed out. And, even with 105 and ten rear gears, effectively you are not going to cross chain so it's not really 30 gears...QUOTE]

Hi, Joey. I came back because I forgot something on my original post. You probably have the short cage derailleur. If you increase the range of teeth in the cassette, you may need to get a long-cage derailleur. I'm not sure how many gears yours can handle. Shimano lists the Ultegra I have as not being able to cover the range of gears that I want, but the LBS stated it worked fine. Just something to look out for if you go over 30 teeth.

roadwarrior is spot on about the crosschaining, too.

[QUOTE=coffeehaus;7532618]Thanks, yes, i have the shortcage. these are some of the specs i copied from the web: My bike is a 51 cm.

Shifters: Shimano 105, 20-Speed
F/Derailleur: Shimano 105 braze-on, double
R/Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra SS Short Cage
Crankset: Shimano FC-R600, 50/34T, 51cm=170mm, 54cm-56cm=172.5cm, 58cm-61cm=175mm
BB Set: Shimano Hollowtech-II
Free Wheel: Shimano 10-Speed Cassette, 11-25T
Chain: Shimano 10-Speed
Brake Levers: Shimano 105 Dual Control
Brakes: Dual Pivot with KOOLSTOP Cartridge Brake Shoes, Stainless Hardware and Teflon Bushings
Cables and Housing: Felt Slick Brake and Derailleur

I too like you came from mountain biking over to road cycling. I abadoned my MTB (for the most part) for a couple of years before going back to it last fall. I also went from a triple, to a compact double (50/34-12/27) on my road bike.

What I WILL tell you is that when I did return to the trails, I was AMAZED at how much stronger I was after logging 2k miles a season on the road. As for the compact, I've not yet met a hill or at least on rare occasion where I was looking for another gear..my strategy has been to pick a gear..and just stick with it..and try to get up in a little higher gear where I can.

I was always a good climber on the mountain bike, but the climbing is different. Stick with the double..maybe move to a 12/27 rear cassette..and just ride it..you'll get stronger and will be glad you didn't go backwards to a triple..you'll enjoy smoother shifting, and you WILL get stronger..and after a solid season of the roadie side, you'll be surprised when you get back on your MTB.

Have fun!

Thanks for the input. This helps. I am not planning on giving up the MTN bike. Still using it when riding with the wife and family... But road cycling is a totally different experience.

I wouldn't even consider a triple unless I planned before hand to swap out the groupset because I couldn't live without the bike or frame (though that has only happened once and it was more of a budget consideration than anything else). I've ridden both standard, compact and triple cranksets for extended amounts of time (thousands of miles each).

If you do alot of climbing, then I'd go with a compact. If you do alot of flat high speed riding, go with a standard. You can get alot of compromise out of your choice of cassette.

I currently run a compact (if you can still consider it a compact) 52/38 110BCD FSA K-Force Light crankset with either a 12-25 cassette (on '08 Mavic SLs when I'm doing climbs during training) or 11-23 (On my Zipps because I like the tightness of the ratios for flat out speed). I have climbed 203,000 feet this year with the 52/38 crankset but sometimes I long for a more traditional 50/34 compact.

I vote compact for sure if you need a better compromise!

FWIW, i started on a roadbike almost 3 years ago with a 50/34 compact crank and 12-26 cassette. I changed the 26t cog to a 29t cog because i'm weak like that (and there was this one mountain road i liked to climb) The 29t cog is my "just in case" gear.

I recently built a new bike (light touring) that has a triple crank (50/42/30) and a 11-34 MTB cassette. (downtube shifters make adjustments easier) Lets just say i can climb just about any road you can find.

There's nothing wrong with having a bailout gear. It may not look as elitist as a full double crank and a 11-23 cassette, but if it gets me where i'm going, i'm happy.

I plan on taking up mountain biking during the offseason, just to try something new.

Versus a 53/39.

The point being that the reason for going to a triple is that a rider does not feel they can handle only a 53/39 for their rides.

I am. I lived near Princeton and we trained all over the state and rode over there.

I bought a new bike last year and they only had the Compact cranks. I told them to order the Ultegra SL Triple stuff and I would be back to get installed. I rode the compact for two weeks and got to liking the two chainrings to mess with vs the three. (I had ridden a triple for 8 years). I called the shop and told them to forget the switch out. Now I live in a hilly part of Texas and find that the compact does just fine. I really do not miss the 30 tooth at all and I also find that I use more of my gears both in the large and small ring. It did take a little getting used to the larger jumps between gears, but that is a non issue now......
I am trying to decide if my wife would be better off with a compact vs a triple. Time will tell...

Shifting is NOT smoother on a compact. The 16 tooth difference (typically) makes the shifts more awkward, and sometimes requires some "attention" to execute.

Cross chaining is much easier on a compact. If the chainline is correct, you have the use of more of your cluster on both rings. There's where your equivalent effective range comes in.

I have a compact on two bikes and a triple on one. I like them both, but I think the ability to climb further up the rear cassette on my 50t ring is really nice.

That might have to do with the particular crank, though. For me, and with good FD adjustment, both Shimano compacts I have now shift better (smoother, more reliably) than the Truvativ cranks I had before (one compact, the other standard). I really didn't expect it to be much different, but I'm sold on them now.

Thanks everyone. All the advice has helped. I've been riding every morning since I got the bike. 8 days now. I've been able to climb the hills with more confidence and not shifting down. Challenging myself to stay on the top crank and have shifted to the lower gears only once with 7 to 9 gears still left. I hope to have something left when I really push it. I think a lot of it has to do with body positioning and using my legs/body/bike (handle bars) properly vs my MTN bike.. Its a whole new frontier. I have a lot to learn about the sport/hobby, my bike and myself.

Hopefully, I wont be begging for a triple when I get to something with real kick!

Thanks!

Joey

Just to throw more information out there...

I started out with a triple and this was fine for awhile but as I got stronger, I found myself constantly switching from the big chainring to the middle. It seemed the big one (53) was just a tad too large for going on the flats, but the middle ring was a little small. When climbing I would often be switching between the little ring and middle. Aaarggghhh! Actually it wasn't bad, I just was shifting the front frequently.

When I demoed a bike with a compact double, I realized that I could just stay in the big (50 tooth) for much of my riding. If it is going to be a serious climb, the small ring is great. (And as the pitch of the road varies, changing to the appropriate gear doesn't involve changing the front ring.)

In my case, the compact is actually much more appropriate. While the OCP factor is a plus, and the weight savings are nice, not constantly messing with the front was the selling point.

The moral of the story is that the compact is not necessarily a bad choice for you. Give it some time and see what you think. (Yes I know you have already said responded to this effect...)

Dude, you're a third degree black belt. Don't even worry about it. And if anyone gives you any grief, kick their butt.

HA. The Judo only helps if and when I fall. I know how to roll well. And yes, If someone tries to steal my new bike, perhaps I will have a better chance than most.... Thanks for all.

Overall, whether the climbing benefit is or isn't the same just depends on what gears you will actually have. I think you do have to construct a gear chart to see what you really have. One trade-off of compact v. triple is the actual number of gears and the possibility for small steps between them over the entire range - clearly there's more of this type of flexibility with a triple than with a compact double. Some people who needed a climbing gear used a double with a Megarange cassette - these have 6 close-spaced cogs and then a big jump to 34 teeth. If you have a deraillrue that can handle this it can be real good. Then some like to shift down to the bottom step by step.