Triple v Double v Compact

[al-fresco]

One chainwheel on the front, one cog on the back - it's the future I tell you!

 

[PpPete]

One chainwheel on the front, one cog on the back - it's the future I tell you!

There's always one !

Much as I like riding my fixed, for a geared bike I much prefer a triple.
Why ?
With a reasonably wide ratio cassette I find I can use the middle ring most of the time. The granny is reserved for the serious hills, the big ring for long downhills and the very occasional long flats with a tail wind.
And replacing just the middle ring if it ever wears out is a viable proposition - if you need to replace 3 rings you might as well buy a whole new chainset.
I've tried a compact, and just couldn't get on with it, I was forever finding myself cross-chaining.

 

[steve52]

i saw in a sience ish type mag in the docs or some where an atice on a machanicia drive that gave a sort of varible if not infinit drive? anyone eles seen it of was i dreaming?german i think

 

[MacB]

One ring, one cog and anything from 2-14 gears in the hub

 

[Rob500]

So what do you consider my 39-53 as? (11-25).

I'd say that's def a Double.

 

[monnet]

What I knew when I opted for a standard double over a compact however, was that I didn't want to compromise a bigger gear downhill or on the flat for something better uphill. The compromise was a larger (28) sprocket on the back which may or may not be enough for you in any given circumstance, hill or mountain depending on your own ability.

I'd say then that that is the real question Rob, compact equals smaller gears than a standard and the trade-off comes in having more scope on the lower gears. Like me you might find that an 11-28 standard is a compromise, whilst others might find that too much of a gap between gears.

Best of luck.

You are aware that a 50x11 top on a compact is bigger than a 53x12 on a double? I agree with your point about sacrificing big gears for little and the personal choice as to how tight you want to run the ratios. If it's flat you can get away with a straight block, for hills you need variety to cover both the ups and downs, the aim is get a nice spread without too many gaps. I'd suggest in your case a compact would have allowed you to run a 11-25 or even 23 and you'd be getting the same ratios you are off a double but without such big jumps at the back.

 

[Monsieur Remings]

Fair enough Monnet, I had read this somewhere but went for what I did in the end and it suits me fine. Mine is an 11-28, I didn't want a standard double on a 12 at the top end, I wanted the 11 on the bigger chainring.

 

[Dan_h]

One chainwheel on the front, one cog on the back - it's the future I tell you!

^ This, and a big dose of HTFU

 

[Garz]

Terrain based I'm afraid then based on grinders or spinners category in regards to the OP.

 

[jann71]

How do you work out the difference in gears between a triple and double?

I have been riding a Giant scr with a triple 9 speed tiagra - 30, 39, 50 and 12-28 cassette. I've just bought a nice planet x carbon with a double not compact and 12-27 campag.

The new bike is much lighter but not sure if I will get up hills on it!

I'm more of a spinner than a grinder

Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk

 

[Alun]

Divide the number of teeth on the chainwheel by the number on the cassette.
Your lowest on the triple is 30/28 = 1.07 and on the double 39 (probably)/27 = 1.44
There are other refinements but this method will allow you to make a direct comparison.
As you can see the double is quite a bit higher than the triple in bottom gear

 

[zigzag]

i've recently built myself a quiche compact chainset 42/34. i only use one chainring in the front most of the time, but it can be hard to get up the hill steeper than 20% (not a lot of hills like that anyway). 34t chainring will be a safety blanket if i'm too tired. regarding big 'ring - i don't race and don't go very fast, so have no real need for it. if the big chainring just sits there with no chain around it can cause more injuries in case of an accident.

 

[andrew_s]

i saw in a sience ish type mag in the docs or some where an atice on a machanicia drive that gave a sort of varible if not infinit drive? anyone eles seen it of was i dreaming?german i think

Nuvinci N360 stepless gear hub
360% range (eg 28-100 inches), twist grip shifter, heavy (even the new 30% lighter version).
American.
There have been other similar variable ratio transmissions in non-wheel applications back to the 60s at least, but they relied on heavy preloads to prevent slip and didn't shift easily. The Nuvinci hub uses a fancy grease that effectively solidifies under the transmission balls.

 

[Smut Pedaller]

A Compact compared to a standard double means you have a larger gearing gap in chainrings in exchange for smaller gaps on the cassette for the same overall gearing range. Also you have the option of going lower overall on a compact.

 

[bigjim]

Don't know if it is just me but triples always seem to need constant adjustment.