why do most roadbikes...?

[4F]

Its not fukked knees thats my prob on the hills..... its just TOTALLY fukked!!!..... LOL

You want to move to Suffolk, no hills round here

 

[wafflycat]

I love my triple chainsets!

 

[bonj2]

I ride a double on my MTB, am i doomed?

i'm replacing my cranks on my mtb with a double soon, i.e. a 22-32 double. Never really use a 42 with 2.5" tyres so no point having it there.

 

[mr Mag00]

i am ditching my pixie ring on my mtb too. i feel hardcore heheheeee

 

[Auntie Helen]

I've got a triple on my trike and used the granny ring a fair bit for the first month whilst I developed the recumbent muscles to get me up hills.

I don't think I've been down to the granny ring now for two months - my lowest gear on the middle chainring seems to be OK to get me up some of the short but steep hills around here.

I do find that on the granny ring the chain is so slack the pedalling action is less smooth.

 

[Andy in Sig]

It'll all be irrelevant once Rohloff has produced the lightweight version of the Speedhub and then derailleurs will be relegated to the spare parts box of history.

 

[Chris James]

>triples

= MTB

Double = Roady bike

:On the training set of wheels I've a 13-25 (which is a touch TOO big) 1.

On the Racey Wheels 2. - I've 12-21 block 9sp. ~ both.

On the C.Set side I've a 42 - 53 ring set-up.

On 1. i could do with a biggest cog of 23 but that'd mean having a 12t which i dont want as its TOO low for training on.

Shimano should bring out a 13-23 including an 18t.

Without meaning to be rude, Liverpool is flat as a pancake so I dare say knowing which gears you use may be of limited use to the original poster from County Antrim.

I am originallly from Chester and for runs out into Cheshire I would not consider a triple. In fact a single chain ring of about 46 would be fine. Now I live near Huddersfield and most of my cycling is in the Pennines and I use my 30 tooth chain ring all the time.

 

[GrahamG]

In the past I have compared my bikes granny ring to those, er specialist channels on the far reaches of the Sky system! 99% of the time you never go near them, then one weekend Mrs User76 takes the kids to see her mum or sister, you go out and get pissed and, well you know, you're glad they are there aren't you A bit like turning a corner and thinking "Oh balls, I don't remember it being this steep!!"

That is quite possibly the best triple analogy I have ever heard.

 

[HLaB]

I took my Sirrus out (flat bar roadbike) the other day for a ride up the Lammermuir Hills and when it hit 21.5%, I was glad of the tripple/ granny. Normally the compact on the dropped bar roadie is fine, I don't think its been on slopes steeper than 16% though.

 

[jasper]

Blimey this website read my mind

There remain a number of cyclists that believe tradition is more important than progress, and since early, classic road bikes didn’t have triples 30 years ago, they still shouldn’t now. This is frequently the same type of person who feels that "steel is real" (meaning that any other material, be it aluminum, titanium or carbon-fiber, just isn’t what a bicycle is supposed to be made out of) and probably doesn’t wear a helmet.

And there are truthfully some people so strong that they don’t need a triple crankset, or for inexplicable reasons just don’t have a whole lot of trouble climbing in very tall gears at very high speeds. Alas, there are few of us so afflicted.

Finally, there are slight trade-offs in terms of weight (figure an extra half-pound or so of weight) and shifting performance. Not much decline in performance, but the longer chain makes for a bit more work for the rear derailleur, and on the front, shifting between the inside and middle chainrings isn’t quite as precise as the shifting on a double. Not bad, in fact, pretty darned good, but not quite as good. If you're racing, these trade-offs aren't required since, if you had to gear down that low, you wouldn't be competitive anyway.

 

[Mortiroloboy]

<Delivered in a Windsor Davies Stylee> Triples is for Poofs Lofty

 

[RSV_Ecosse]

<Delivered in a Windsor Davies Stylee> Triples is for Poofs Lofty

LMAO!!!! That really made me smile.

 

[fossyant]

Triples / compacts...... I'll hang up me wheels if I get one of them......

Nah, compacts/triples are perfectly good if you are planning to do 100 hilly miles, but if you are not, then a 53 / 39 is just about right !

 

[Over The Hill]

This is a BEGINNERS SECTION post!

I swear by a triple and will even admit to dropping down from 30 teeth to 26.
If you end up so fit you dont need it or the ride is so flat you cant find a hill steep enough then OK you are carrying a tiny bit more weight.

On the plus side, when you do London to Brighton you can zip up Ditchling beacon ( a very big hill right near the end if you do not know it) while all the tossers on doubles are pushing there £2,000 bikes up the hill. At that point judge who is looking "Gay".

Of my three front gears, I hardly used the big ring when I got the bike but now use it more and the Granny a bit less. One day I may not need the Granny but then I may lay off cycling for a while and need it again.

Bottom line is: with three rings you have a bike that will cover a wider range of needs and abilities. So look at it the other way, two rings may be limited in a way that you now or in the future may need.

Another analogy is it is like a puncure repair kit, you take it, it adds a bit of weight and you may not need it but when you do need it you are glad you have it.

 

[dodgy]

I buy a bike for what I need it to do today. If my circumstances change, I buy a new bike