Standard triple or swap out for a compact double? Opinions?
 

I am toying with the idea of a new bike for the '09 season.

I have a line on a black and white '08 Trek Madone 5.2 at a great price point.

It comes with Ultegra, and a triple.
I can leave it stock or have the shop swap out for a Bontraeger compact double....no extra $$.

The shifters would have to change as well. They would go from that standard almost gray look to the chrome looking ones.

I ride a Klein triple with Campy Veloce on it now.

Thoughts about the swap if I pull the trigger on the new bike?

I used a Campy triple for four seasons, but it works better than Shimano. With Shimano, go for the compact, unless you know that you need the lower gears.

A 30/24 and 34/27 are nearly identical ratios. If you can get by without the 30/27, go for the compact.

I'd say it depends on where you ride....if you've got some major climbs that you think you need the triple for then go for that....if you think you can get by on the compact then I'd choose that one...will the shifters still be ultegra??

I can tell you from experience that the Ultegra triple works very well. The shifts are accurate and reasonably fast. Once mine was setup, I never had to adjust it. Lots of overlap in the various gear ratios, so there's little need to cross-chain. When I switched from a triple to a compact double, I noticed myself shifting the FD a lot more. In terms of the lowest available gear ratio, there isn't a whole lot of difference between a road triple and a compact double; anything I could climb with the Ultegra triple I can also climb with a compact double.

I'm not a huge fan of Bontrager components, so I'd probably stick with the Ultegra triple...

My three bits again.

Keep the feedback coming....thanks.

Yes, the shifters would still be Ultegra if I swap.

I have a triple on the Klein now, although I hardly have ever used the smallest ring.
Still, it doesn't bother me that there is a little extra weight with the three, that's for sure.

I'm more wondering what the sawp to a compact would mean for me.
Hilly...yes.
Monster rides?
No.

Most of my riding is in the 25-40 mile range, 4-6 times a week.
50 years old...and this will be my ninth season of riding after total hip replacement surgery.

I just rode the 5.2 on a trainer this afternoon.
We plugged in all my measurements...changed out to a slightly shorter stem than the stock one and the thing felt great.

Shifting feels a lot different from my Campy, but it sure was smooth.

I also learned about those little bumps on the inside of the hoods...that they can control the computer on your flight deck? Cool....if I get the bike I might have to upgrade my computer to use that as well.

I posted a picture of the bike on a site, but the site is down right now.
Once I get a link I will post in this thread.

Thanks again for any advice on this.

Hip

CLICK HERE....for a crappy phone-quality picture of the bike after I got a good test ride and fitting in.

In the end it depends on your power with where you ride factored in. I put a compact on last year in northern Illinois spent most of the season shifting the front derailleur or cross chained. For the few grams it adds, a triple with a 12/25 cassette will take almost any unloaded rider anywhere they want to go. For the average recreational fitness rider the 52 and 53 chainrings are pretty much of a waste IMO. I think they put them on for looks. My own preference is the Campagnolo 50-40-30 triple with an 11/25 cassette. The 40 is a great all around cruiser and it mates fairly well with all the rear cogs.

What's your motivation for even wanting to swap out the components?

I have an '08 Madone 4.5 with a triple. It's new to me, so I don't speak from long experience. I love it. I was out in howling wind a few weeks ago on a "recovery" ride. Glad to have those granny gears that let me keep my cadence up and my HR down.

The shifting on that bike is smooth and fast, too. Stick with the triple unless you have a good reason to switch.

...I asked that very question of myself and my BSL guy....Really, it isn't much of anything otehr than it being a little lighter (seriously, doesn't matter to me...) and the whole double versus triple head games....which really doesn't bother me either.

I guess I was more wondering about compact versus regular perhaps?

It sounds to me from the feedback here that if I pull the trigger on this bad boy..why mess with it? Leave it as is....except of course I'll swap out the bars in favor of the ones I run now on the Klein....probably a saddle swap to what I have now too I guess.

If you are keeping your old bike, you will have to re-wire your brain to go back and forth from Campy to Shimano. And the wheels cannot be swapped out with a simple cassette change.

I've got Shimano and Sram and the basic shifting is similar enough that I rarely, rarely try to shift one like the other.

I have ridden Campy on occasion, but not that much. Always have a few mis-shifts and had to concentrate. (Ironically I would have no problem if I was using the low end Sora!)

I feel like I'd have trouble going back and forth if I owned both. Although I ride a motorcycle and even though the front brake is on the opposite hand from a bicycle, I never think about it and never get it wrong.

Back on topic, I've owned many, may compacts and triples and have never had shifting problems with any I've owned. The triples are the most versatile and can be made a lot more hill-friendly than a compact double if needed.

I do most of my riding solo or with only 2-4 riders on roads that are never flat and split up by hills with some serious gradients, and I enjoy my compact chainring alot. The small chainring on a triple never suited me on the road. I am a high cadence rider, and can maintain 25mph+ speeds with gearing to spare in the 50t chainring.

The 34t chainring is a bit too small for my taste, but it gives you a bailout gear for long climbs and allows you to get home after a punishing ride filled with interval sprints. Personally for compacts I prefer the 50/36 setup at the moment with a 11-21 cog at the back.

When it comes to triples vs compacts I think the compacts are the bee's knees. They allow you to use smaller cogs at the back which saves a lot of weight. The 5.2 is a serious bike and you are paying weight savings.

My advice is to think about what gears you use the most on your old bike and run some calculations on what size gears you use the most. Sheldon Brown has a good gear calculator on his site (google it it will pop right up) that even gives calculations based on cadence. If a compact fits into your riding style go for it!

If you don't use the small ring on your triple I'd go with the compact, less weight, better looking and there's not much you can't get up with a 34/25.

The only downside is the jump from the bg to small ring is big, you have to shift a few gears to stop yourself spinning like a hamster in a wheel.

I went from 50/39/30 triple to 50/34 compact double with no issue. I rarely used the 30 except for stupid steep climbing, and can climb all the same hills I used to with a 34x27. I find that I use my 50T more now which I quite like, but the shifting between the two chainrings does seem a little smoother to me. YMMV.

Hip - get the compact. The gearing won't make much of a difference but just the thought that you will be riding a double will do good things to your mental outlook.

It may be a placebo thing but isn't that partly why you are looking at a new bike? You still like the Klein, right?

Let us know what you decide....

55/Rad

Hip, as you know there is nothing wrong with the triple. Get it if you want it.

If you're really wondering about a compact I can tell you that I have grown to love compacts. I have ridden a few different ones over the last 2 seasons and insist on riding one up in your neck of the woods. It is plenty low enough to climb Blue Mounds, etc. and I have yet to lose a race because I ran out of gear on the top end.....:rolleyes:

I think you'd love a compact. In general I personally feel that Shimano compacts shift better than triples. That's the reason I would switch...not because of weight.

Just my $0.02.

check out the online gear calculator and compare any gains or losses you might have. You will probably find that the double does more than enough in terms of gear range and saves a bit of weight. But ultimately it is up to you..best of luck. By the way I ride both a standard and compact double and the compact makes a difference in the hills for sure.

I went from a 52-39-30 triple with a 12-25 cassette to a new bike with a compact 50-34 with a 12-27. Since all I do is hills, I immediately found that I miss the half a gear on each end. So, I changed out the cassette to a SRAM 11-28 to get just about the same coverage as I had with the triple.

I much prefer the compact. With the triple I was constantly working the FD. With the compact, I'm using the FD a lot less.

I don't notice the mind or notice the larger gear spread with a 11-28

Compact

Good Morning,

I'm so confused now!

More study is needed.
More time to think this thing out.

I think the bike is going to happen, which is VERY exciting.

Rad, to answer your question, yes, I still love the Klein and could ride it this season no problem.
Yet, as we all know here, after several seasons the bug starts to bite for no good reason other than we are bike people.

"Coach Jerry" says compared to my Klein, this 5.2 will have a difference I can feel on the road, more responsive, better climber, and without causing any discomfort for me with my hip situation.

I want to go for it, but I don't want to make a mistake on the drivetrain.

At this time I am leaning toward just leaving the bike as is.
How about I stop back in and take a couple of pictures....the current triple and the double he has offered to swap out?

i would guess this bike shop should let you ride the bike as-is on a few short training rides and swap the parts if necessary, maybe for a few bucks in wrench time.

personally i would opt for the simplicity of the compact double, but your rides may differ significantly from mine.

Only if you're not very smart. It's not that hard.

True.

I think that both are great crank setups. I personally feel that the triples shift just slightly better than the compact doubles due to the smaller gaps in chainring sizes, however the compact double has fewer chainline/crosschaining issues and fewer cage rub problem.

It's really sixes.

I don't really race, but I've never run out of gear on my compact double either. Yesterday on the ride home from work my buddy and I were sprinting at 33mph (I know, I'm slow) and I still wasn't in my tallest gear.

I went from a litespeed with d/a 9speed triple to a 5.2 with a compact. I told the shop that i wanted the option to switch out the crank to a triple . Over the two weeks it took for the triple crank to arrive, I got used to the compact and have never looked back.

Fwiw

Ultegra Triple.

I dont see any benefit to the compact double for you. You do not mind the weight or the stigma it is a triple. You will have added gears and the Ultegra is way higher quality then the bontrager. Plus you will keep (from what i can tell) the Ultegra SL shifetrs instead of swapping them for the regular Ultegra. The only argument for the compact is for the shear fact you do not want the word triple to be associated with your bike.

Use a bike gear calculator and plug in your gears and typical cadence. Then see at what speeds the compact double shifts from small to big ring. It might overlap your typical road speeds. It can be annoying to have to switch chain rings a lot, if you are often riding at end of the range for a chainring. With triples, you can be in the middle of a range more often.

I like my compact double. When slowing down, my Campagnolo shifters let me shift from big to small chainring, and go up 3 or 4 gears in the back with two thumb pushes.