Shifting on a compact

[ohnovino]

I'm about to order my first road bike (at last!), but I'm stuck on whether to go for the compact or triple. I've run the numbers through Sheldon's gear calculator and the triple doesn't really offer any "extra" gears (the highest is the same and there's effectively only one extra at the low end), so I'd be happy to go with the simpler compact.

My only sticking point is the shifting. The jump between a 50 chainring and a 34 sounds large - is it something I'd get used to or does it cause people problems?

 

[fossyant]

Should be fine - I'd recommend a chain catcher just in case if your mecanical adjusting isn't top level !

 

[jowwy]

+1 on the chain catcher - fitted one to my bike and now gear changes on the front are a dream

 

[172traindriver]

Agreed about chain catcher, for thr sake of a relatively small outlay you are protecting the paint job on your bike. Also think of how annoying a dropped chain is and then the oil smeared fingers grrrrr!!!!!!

 

[Pottsy]

I found it a bit large. I changed the 34 to a 36 and I'm very happy with it now. With a 12-25 on the back it still gives me a low enough gear for my locality and fitness levels.

Everyone has different views on this old classic question though. I don't like the look and don't need the extra gears of a triple on my road bike (love it on my tourer of course though).

 

[Cubist]

Mine is a 50/36 but over a MTB 11-32 cassette and still needs a double shift to keep things smooth. I changed it to a 34 front because of some local hills, but changed it back as it needed all sorts of toggling to keep the ratios smooth. If changing down going uphill I had to change two or even three at the cassette.

I have a triple now, and can confirm it is far, far more civilised.

 

[boydj]

After several years of using bikes with triple chainsets, I got a bike with a compact chainset last year. I found the jumps between the chainrings always needed a change at the back - often two cogs. 50/34 became 48/36 which made the changes at the front a bit more civilised. That switch along with an alternative, wider-range cassette for hilly runs did make the bike more rideable. And I always have the options of 34/48 or 36/50.

I still prefer the triple, which lets me keep to a smoother cadence - mostly on the 42 middle ring, using 3 to 8 at the back.

 

[PpPete]

All my own bikes are triples - I just prefer it, but I did use a compact for a couple of rides in the USA last year. Never found the big gap between 50 & 34 to be a problem in itself, or indeed changing between them to be difficult.

 

[Smut Pedaller]

I like the simplicity of a double up front, also the shifting is generally better than a triple. I find that I'll generally stay in the 50t big ring for most of the time, only shifting to the small 34t for hills and for tootling around a low speed. This is with a 11-25 on the back which maintains a nice tight spacing with a good overall range. The disadvantage is that I tend to cross chain more often (big-big) but honestly, this is not really a big deal at all - cross chaining on a triple is also a problem.

 

[HLaB]

My compact is a 52/38, I don't find that two big a jump, although I do double shift a bit, with an 11-26 cassette it gets up all the hills round here. I've hired bikes with 50/34 and can't say I noticed the gap either, but Melbourne (or at least the bits I found) was pancake flat and in the southern Spanish mountains you were glad of the lower gears. What I have found in the club peleton some folks transition isn't smooth and they seem to go backwards but that's probably more to do with them and would happen with a tripple too. My old bike was a tripple (52,42,30) and I think it actually performed better; I'd be in the 52 most of the time and with the larger 42 I could cruise at a comfortable cadence and pace within a group (whereas 38 is a bit too small unless you are a really fast spinner) and whilst most hills could be tackled in the 42, the 30 was there for emergency. I think that's my preferred gearing and when I was in Sardinia I also hired a tripple, I think the only reason I've ended up with a compact was because of availability most of the bikes I've bought have came with either a compact or double as standard.

 

[Globalti]

I have a 50/34 on my roadie and yes, at the foot of a climb it can be irritating for the rider behind you when you drop to the small ring and you suddenly lose 5 mph or more. If I'm in a hurry and don't want to lose momentum I will need to go 2 or even 3 smaller on the cassette in order to keep the speed up.

I had to fit a K-Edge anti-chaindrop device in order to prevent the chain from dropping off every fifth change.

My winter bike has a triple, which makes hills easier (30 - 30) and the gaps between rings are much smaller and easier to manage. On balance the triple is better but somehow I don't feel it fits with the image of a sporty road bike. I think it was Bonj who crystallised my thoughts on triples when he wrote on here that "mountain bike gears have no place on a road bike".

 

[ohnovino]

Well I've gone and ordered the compact. With a 12-30 cassette I reckon I won't be doing much changing at the front anyway.

Oh Lordy, this means I'll be a roadie by the end of the week. I better get used to snarling at people instead of giving a friendly wave

 

[Garz]

Well I've gone and ordered the compact. With a 12-30 cassette I reckon I won't be doing much changing at the front anyway.

Oh Lordy, this means I'll be a roadie by the end of the week. I better get used to snarling at people instead of giving a friendly wave

Haha it's not that bad, I would say the ration would be 6:1 friendly wave/nod to stubborn twit.