Hello, Newbie here so I hope this isn't a dumb question.

I purchased a road bike last fall and have been bitten by the bug. I am now riding 3-4 times (ruffly 200 miles total) a week. I live in the foot hills of Colorado and find myself climbing a lot. The salesman I bought the bike from suggested a Jamis Ventura Aluminum with a triple crank set and 12-23 9-speed cassette for a first bike. I want to improve my climbing ability and the bike weighs in at a hefty 20.7 lbs. I've been considering changing my crank set to a compact 50/34 since I almost never use my 30 ring and spend nearly all my time on the 39. This would save me over 300 grams and from the sounds of it would give me almost the same range of gears as the triple. Am I just being a noob and looking in the wrong area for improvement?

Thanks
Robert

Are you sure you have a 39 now? Most triple cranks (including the one spec'd on the Ventura) are 52/42/30.

You'll probably feel more difference on the climbs by getting a better wheelset.

You already answered yourself. If you don't mind spending the extra cash change to a Compact Double, I would too, makes sense.

Corsaire

I improved my climbing alot by just working on the motor,and ignoring the granny ring.I wouldn't worry about 300 grams if you are dragging around pounds of extra KKs and Big Macs. You sure you have a 39 ring and not a 42 in the middle?

Yeah, and lighter tires.

LOL....Weight is weight. No difference from where it comes from. OK, 1 gram off the wheels is equal to 1.01 grams off the frame.

BW..... Except that getting rid of excess lard matters more.

Not really what I meant.

There are other advantages to an upgraded wheelset e.g. stiffness. If weight is the primary consideration, you'll probably be able to pull more weight off the wheels and tires than you can out of an affordable crank.

I wouldn't bother with that change. If you want the bike to climb better look at better wheels (lighter) and just ride ride ride thus making the engine better. I too am looking at moving from a triple to a compact double but I am also doing some other things. For one I use my small ring, and for two I have a 52/42/30 rather than 53/39/30 (I am guessing there as you said the middle ring was a 39). I run a 12-25 in the back on Ultegra 9s. My plan was to convert to Campy Centuar 10s with a 11/27 conversion cassette on the back. This gives me just about the same low gear as 30-25 and more top gear than 52-12 that I have currently. There are also about the same number of usable gears as my current triple setup, the point would be to do less shifting at the front...err and to switch to Campy.

Won't argue with other advantages of upgraded wheels such as stiffness/aerodynamics/hub smoothness etc.

I was pretty sure my set was a 52/39/30..but I'll double check that.
I assumed my wheels were ok, the Richey ORC 20 sp front, 24 sp rear...but I know for the price I paid I have mostly bottom of the line components.

I'm not to concerned about my fitness, I play a lot of other sports though nothing compaired to cycling. At 5-11 149 lbs I'm actually trying to gain a few more pounds. As far as my performance, I am finally averaging a consistent low 18 mph ave over my 45 mile sunday ride and want to get that up to 19-20 for the summer.

I'd be interested to see how that works out. The cogs on the 11-27 are pretty close together.

21 pounds is hefty?

Well, compaired to a lot of the other road bikes I see guys riding. That weight is just the bike and componets w/o pedals. Most aluminum bikes I see weigh around 17-18 lbs with decent components.

Want to donate to the fund in the name of progress on this project? I am looking at it seeing 4 maybe 5 gears used on the big ring (12,13,14,15 + 17) another 5 on the middle ring (14,15,17,19,21) and 4 on the small ring (19,21,23,25). With the compact 10s combo I see the 50 with 11,12,13,14,15,17,19 then the 34 on 15,17,19,21,24,27. There is a bit of a jump there, maybe the big rings works up to 21 then a 21 to 15 jump on the back when down shifting. Maybe this isn't that great a plan...I don't know.

It's not cheap I know so I don't blame you. Heck I got other things I need more than a Campy 10s conversion considering my ultegra 9s works perfectly and isn't even that old to begin with.

I still think it is a good way to get a decent range of gears with only one chainring shift.

The main reason I was considering this set up was for the range without the extra weight. I know I should just probably save my money and get a bike with better components more suited for my needs this time. I just didn't know what I was looking for and didn't want to spend big bucks on a bike just to discover that cycling wasn't for me. Turns out I love it and want to improve my performance.

THe weight advantage is not a big deal, but the simplicity of having 2 chainrings is nice.

Chainline management is a little easier and it's nice have to only shift the front derailleur once.

The Compact works the best for this purpose with a 10s set-up (I think)

MMM, sounds like I would gain more from a nice set of wheels...something I can also swap from this bike to my next easily. At least thats what a lot of people seem to think, I just want to improve my climbing since my goals include a lot of rides through mountain passes this summer.

Don't rush it you will get better climbing by climbing and new equipment can be had later, maybe a whole new bike with a double and aero light wheels. Patience grasshopper patience.

I think if you spend the money on that conversion, you are going to be dissapointed. You are not going to see much, if any, perfomance increase for your $$$.

If you never need the 30 ring, why are you looking at a compact? If you are doing all of your climbing on the middle ring, a standard double will give you lower gears than you are using anyway, without losing the top end.

I have no clue what saddle is on your bike now... BUT if it is a cheap steel-railed thing, you can get a decent drop in weight that you can feel by going to a nice Ti-railed unit.

I couldn't believe the difference (12 years ago) when I pulled off my TurboMatic and put on a Flite.

-Z

.66 pound difference (300 grams) from a triple to a double, 1/2 a pound isn't that much.One sweats that.

300 grams seems like a lot of weight reduction for a swap to a compact crank. You sure that's right? Also, I doubt most guys who are contemplating a component change would call "give me almost the same range of gears" as an advantage.