bleckb

I made the switch to a compact double on one bike last year and love it. It was way cheaper than outfitting with a triple and all that would entail (part of which was lots of money to swap the 9-speed dura ace, which I wasn't about to do). The crank was a 50th birthday present and it's done what I needed, given me an easier time on the long hills, but at the cost of being able to go as fast as possible down. When not climbing or descending, the gearing changes were something to adjust to (real easy to spin out the small ring) but after adapting, I'm happy.

That being said, my daily ride has a triple and while I don't use the small ring all that much, I do use it, particularly in the winter months.

Nickshu

Compact double. Triple's should only be for mountain bikes.

kshapero

I went with a compact double. but then the biggest hill I encounter in South Florida is an Interstate overpass.

DScott

I'd prefer a compact double, but not if it meant losing the Ultegra quality in favor of the Bontrager junk. If they'd let you upgrade to an Ultegra compact, that would rock it, even if it meant a few dollars more to you.

I don't get the impression that there's alot of significant climbing in Wisconnesota, or wherever you are. If that's true, the compact would be perfect.

Psimet2001 

That brings up a good point. When I was referring to compacts I made the incorrect assumption that we were talking about Shimano. I have found that IMHO Shimano compacts shift fantabulously. Bonty - not so much. FSA - nah. Campy - meh...so-so.

I would agree that if you do decide to go Compact that you $$-up for a Shimano compact crank. Besides...you know Jerry could use the $$.

EDIT: Just saw this on a re-read...
Wow...all I can say is that you are horribly misinformed about the area. It happens to be pretty knarly. The climbs aren't more than a handful of miles long (2 at the most in many cases), but the grades are damn near ludicrious.

Many challenge rides in the area which use the term "Hilly" in their name. Many rides where you can clear 12,000ft of climbing....etc.

If Chicago gets the olympics () the plan is to have the road cycling course in the area of Wisconsin I am referring to.

Beaker

+1 I got a sweet deal on an Ultegra SL compact on PBK. The shifting is excellent - I was expecting much worse.

bleckb

Whichever way you go, there will be some differences, though minor. I prefer the compact on my "nice" bike but get full use of the triple on my commuter/touring bike. Maybe the thing to do, as someone having mentioned the brain rewiring, is to keep consistent with your other bikes so you don't have to shift radically differently from one bike to the other. Neither choice will be a mistake though, or one that comes to haunt you. It's just that each choice has different strengths and weaknesses, but nothing so radical that you'll end up wishing you'd gone one way or the other.

joejack951

FYI, there is absolutely zero reason to change the shifters. In fact, the only reason to swap the front derailler (something you didn't mention) would be a minor weight savings. The same applies to the long cage rear derailler.

The derailler cage needs to move the same amount to shift between rings regardless of double/triple. As such, the detents in the double shifters will be exactly the same as the triple shifters. Ever notice how some Shimano shifters are spec'd for double and triple? Who knows why Shimano went away from this for certain versions.