Anyone still use triple chainrings?

[duff_duffy]

Just wondering if anyone out there still uses triple chainrings? Getting older and the thought of a few more gears sounds good.

[paredown]

I've just set up my first triple on the CSi I bought last summer--similar thinking as I age and a couple of health problems set me back a little in strength and fitness.

I like the idea of mainly riding on the middle ring, big ring for going down hill, small ring when you need it. I'm trying 50-40-30 with a 13-26/7 on the rear, but I've got a second setup to try that is a 53-39-30.

Yes there are overlaps, but the ratios on the middle ring are all familiar..

Bike is here:
https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=222601&highlight=CSi

[eddief]

all 3 bikes. Ultegra 10 speed and a big fat cassette (34). I rode probably 125 miles this week on our semi hilly terrain and guess I spent less than 1% of the time in the granny, but I do love it when I need it. Everyone suggests I get a compact double with a big cassette. I used to do that but these days I'd be shifting that front derailleur until I was blue the face.

[93KgBike]

I have them on the tandem.

Otherwise, compacts can be geared down easily enough. 46/28 to 12-28 works for hilly commuting, for example.

[peanutgallery]

a what? :)

[merckx]

This past spring I bolted a triple on my Zank, and I used it all summer. It was fabulous. I had all of the gears I needed for my cycling adventures. I did some 100 mile/10,000 vert ft. rides, and used every cog and chainring. My gearing was 30-40-50, and 13 X 26. Single chainring machines seem illogical.

[cachagua]

I have a couple of 110/74BCD cranks that I've got 24-tooth rings and bolts & spacers for, and an XC-Pro Microdrive with 20/29/44 rings... I'm not doing much riding these days (like, any) that requires gears like that, but I'm keeping the parts. Ya never know.

[AngryScientist]

i am using a triple crank on a few bikes, but i swap out rings and use them as a compact double. 46/30 is my preferred gearing up front. i have not once yet missed having a bigger than 46 outer ring, and i've done some very fast paceline riding with these bikes, 46-11 is plenty fast for me.

[Ralph]

I have a triple on the bike I use for traveling....and for the 15% grades in W part of Central Florida.

I've used a compact, and I know how to set it up for whatever use I'm doing......but IMHO when you need a bike with low gears.....nothing beats a triple. You can 'have your cake and eat it too". Low gears for climbing, and close ratio for riding in a pack on flats. Most times I use a 30-42-52. But also have a 30-40-50. Either a 13-26, 13-29, or12-30. Or some combination of them (13-14-15-16-17-19-21-24-27-30). Going down hill fast not important to me.

[Ken Robb]

I'm down to one road/gravel bike with 9x3 Ultegra 52-42-30 and 12-27 cassette. I had similar cranks with XT rear derailer and 11-34 cassette. My favorite triple was TA Zephyr 48-38-28 and 13-29 10 speed Chorus. As others have posted I usually cruise in the middle ring.

My mtn. bike is still a Deore triple with 11-34 cassette. The rings are smaller as was the custom on mtn. bikes.

I've never found any drawbacks to triples for my kind of riding. I think some complaints about the quality of shifts with triples may be caused in part by short chainstays which cause more acute chain angles than you get with longer stays.

[rwsaunders]

I have a 52/36 on one bike and a 50/36 on another, both using a 13/29 cassette. I'll hold off on the triple for a while with that gearing. One of my riding buds uses an 8-speed Campag triple with a 13/26 and it seems to do the trick for him. Beautiful piece of jewelry too, that crank.

[biker72]

I never have liked triple chainrings. With a 50-34 in front and 12-34 cassette I can climb most anything here locally. Not very hilly here but there are a few fairly short 9+% grade climbs. I'm getting older too. Now 80 going on 81.

[bicycletricycle]

I have one triple and I do like it. Smaller gaps in the cassette feels nice.

[wc1934]

Campy racing triple still going strong after all these years - I love it, but newer bike gets the most love these days.

[Johnny P]

i am using a triple crank on a few bikes, but i swap out rings and use them as a compact double. 46/30 is my preferred gearing up front. i have not once yet missed having a bigger than 46 outer ring, and i've done some very fast paceline riding with these bikes, 46-11 is plenty fast for me.

Where does one get a 46/30 crank? That sound like a nice size to me too.

[choke]

Triples rock....they definitely give more options than a double.

Where does one get a 46/30 crank? That sound like a nice size to me too.Velo Orange, IRD, SunXCD, TA and probably others make cranks that will accept those rings.

[ORMojo]

On the tandem, and on the flat bar town/path bike I use to tow the kid's trailer or trail-a-bike.

[nesteel]

I run triples on 5 of my bikes; three of them are touring rigs.
I'm not a strong cyclist, and they help handle what hills we have around here.

[fiamme red]

I have triples on three bikes: touring bike, sport touring bike, and MTB. Until a short time ago I had a fourth bike with a triple, but the frame cracked.

[bikinchris]

I just switched my triple on my touring bike to a double. I had a triple 50/34/24 with an 11 to 36 cassette that was geared for loaded touring. I swapped to a SRAM XX 10 speed with 42/28 rings and an 11 to 36 rear. I have an 11 to 42 ready to bolt on soon that will return my low gear to what the triple had.

[SlowPokePete]

My Ahearne has a triple...

SPP

[m_sasso]

3 out of 10 bikes, dedicated purpose bikes, one OX Sugino hill climbing, one Ultegra touring and one XTR mountain bike.

[Hilltopperny]

I have run triples in the past, but now find a compact or subcompact front with a wide range 10-42 or 11-40 rear gets me up most anything these days.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[marciero]

Just wondering if anyone out there still uses triple chainrings?

Kind of like asking do you still beat your... never mind.

On the tandems, yes. On single bikes no. 46/30 x 27 and 46/34 x 36 covers it.

[Bob Ross]

I don't own anything with a triple...but if Shimano or SRAM ever came out with an electronic triple ("Di3"? "3Tap"?) I would probably buy a new bike just to have it.

I love the concept of a 53/39/30 with 11-28 ...but I've yet to meet a mechanic who could get that front derailleur working as smoothly as a double. Seems like the ideal scenario for an "intelligent" [sic] FD that auto-trims (or auto-yaws, or whatever they wanna call it).

A girl can dream...

[merckx]

Triples rock....they definitely give more options than a double.

Velo Orange, IRD, SunXCD, TA and probably others make cranks that will accept those rings.

Add WI, Campag and Compass to the list.

[merckx]

I don't own anything with a triple...but if Shimano or SRAM ever came out with an electronic triple ("Di3"? "3Tap"?) I would probably buy a new bike just to have it.

I love the concept of a 53/39/30 with 11-28 ...but I've yet to meet a mechanic who could get that front derailleur working as smoothly as a double. Seems like the ideal scenario for an "intelligent" [sic] FD that auto-trims (or auto-yaws, or whatever they wanna call it).

A girl can dream...

I use a TA Alize crankset with Campag gear changers, and the shifting, front and rear, is flawless.

[icepick_trotsky]

I’ve run triples for trailer pulling duty with the kid. The middle 39t ring was pretty ideal for flats with plenty of room either direction. Smooth shifting and trim with a friction FD run via bar end.

[honestmachinery]

More choices with a triple. I rarely use the little ring, but like knowing it is there. I also prefer the smaller gaps in a narrow range cassette.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[pinkshogun]

http://mgagnon.net/velo/pedalier4.en.php

[Bradford]

I run five triples and haven't had a double on a bike since I moved to Colorado. I use 6603/4 triples with a 26 tooth small ring, with a 11-32 on the back for the road bikes and an 11-34 for the touring bike. That allows me to climb double digit inclines and long mountain passes comfortably and still push it downhill without spinning out too much. I'm not willing to give up either end or have huge jumps in the middle.

If you need the low gears, you have two choices. The triple has better gearing but at the cost of more weight and wider Q. The compact double saves the weight and reduces the Q, but at the cost of gearing. For the riding I do, it is an easy decisions and the triple wins. I don't care about a few extra grams and, at my size, prefer a wider Q.

The way my riding turned out in 2018, I had two main bikes that did two completely different types riding. The Club Racer was the weekend bike and all of those rides had significant climbing. I used both the high and low end on all of my rides. The Fierte was the commuter on a mostly flat route and I never took it out of the the middle ring. I certainly could have used a double, or even a single ring, on the commuter, but didn't really care. Have the extra gears when I don't need them is no big deal to me, but having them on the two or three rides when I took the Fierte out on my hill rides was worth it.

If you need the gear range, ignore the cool kids, find something on Ebay, and join the rest of us Freds.

[oldpotatoe]

Like when headset bearings used to be outside the frame and bottom bracket bearings used to be inside the frame, going away from triples and to even 1by(dum for road only, IMHO) is market driven drivel. Very reminiscent of compact frames...'4 sizes fit more people'..so does no 1/2 sizes for shoes but doesn't feet feet 'better'..Yup, some same gear ratios at the extremes, but many compromises, like big gaps in the interior of the cogs(remember, we are talking road machines) and no really low gears(like a 26/28t small ring, and no need for a giganto cogset like a 11-42, see big gaps above).

shimano and Campag triple front ders worked really well(as do double front ders now..please note, 1by marketeers). So when it comes to wide range gearing, stuff that allows you do be properly geared for that 12% up as well as that 12% down and also the 1-5% up and down...rollers....triples were great. BUT too often, you lose lotsa 'coffee shop points', as if you still have the reflectors in the spokes of your wheels..too bad..a step backward, IMHO.

[GregL]

We have a triple on our tandem and couldn't imagine NOT having it. There are several local climbs we tackle on somewhat regular basis that average 10+% and have peak gradients of 18-24%. The 30/32 low gear is more than welcome!

Greg

[jr59]

Why would you not want a triple? The front shifting is not a big difference. It works well enough. In fact, I think if you weigh things out, I would rather have the triple gearing rather than the single front ring setups. The large jumps in the huge rear gears is less than optimal. Now I say all that with the thoughts of if you need to go up and down hills or mountains.

I know my brother just got back from the blue ridge parkway ride with his buddies and he brought 2 different bikes with him. He ended up oh the one with the triple all the time after the first half day. The Super compact gearing on the ti bike just didn’t get it. Lol. His words, not mine. I smiled and said I tried to tell you.

[Hindmost]

...you lose lotsa 'coffee shop points'...

I just put together an 8 speed Racing Triple. Semi-Eroica and it seems like it works very nice. But I haven't gotten over this yet.

[steamer]

I have 8 bikes and all of them have triples.

[hokoman]

I have a mint 6703 triple group waiting for something to put it on, although I'm suppose to be in purge mode. I like triples because of the tighter rear cassette, I can't stand being in between gears. Makes a lot of sense to me.

[bambam]

My first road bike was a triple. When I got my first custom Kirk I put a triple on it. These bikes were used on brevets. I don't use the power gear that much on rides less that 200km but when you hit steep grades on a bike weight down for light touring after 300 km of riding you I've been glad I had it. Plus for road the jumps are more fluid. 52-42-30 is my preference with a 13-30.

[zap]

edit

We have a triple on our tandem and couldn't imagine NOT having it.

Greg

FYI

I spoke to FSA reps in Philly. They are getting rid of tandem triples preferring tiny double chainrings and wide range rear. I told them that was a mistake......they told me if I ordered 1000 tandem sets they would make more triples.

[MikeD]

I've got triples on all my bikes, but it's been a few years since I've bought a new bike. Triples are pretty much non existent on new bikes. I still like triples but at least with 11 speed, a double can give a decent range of gearing.

[GregL]

FYI

I spoke to FSA reps in Philly. They are getting rid of tandem triples preferring tiny double chainrings and wide range rear. I told them that was a mistake......they told me if I ordered 1000 tandem sets they would make more triples.
Fashion over function as chosen by product managers who have never actually ridden a tandem. Our tandem shifts flawlessly with a 53/39/30 crankset and either 11-28 or 11-32 cassettes. There's no way I would want to give up good shifting and reasonably close gear ratios just to have a double crankset and wide-range cassette.

Greg

[bocobiking]

Every bike I’ve had since 1982 (16) has had a triple. I currently have 7 bikes with triples: five six-speeds (friction) and two 10-speeds. All the reasons for this have been covered well in this thread. Triples get me up the hills in Colorado, have good ratios, and I’m too old to change.

[Dave]

I switched all of my bikes over to compact cranks about 10 years ago. Even though I was riding in Colorado, I found that a 50/34 with a 12-27 provided enough low gear for all of my rides. Fast forward to 2018 and I find that I need a 12-32 to get up some of the extremely steep hills that I now ride.

My current 34/32 is a little lower than the 28/25 that I used with my 53/39/28 triple.

[Clancy]

Where does one get a 46/30 crank? That sound like a nice size to me too.

I’m using a 46/30 from White Industries that I really like.

A friend has converted a couple of triples to doubles and is using smaller chainrings, something in the range of 46/30 or 28. He is 82 and still doing 150 miles a week. He has a local machine shop shave back one end of the spindle. Don’t know the exact details but I’ll find out.

[gdw]

I don't have a road bike but have converted all of my mountain bikes back to triples since they are used to ride to and from the trails. Most of my trail riding is done in the middle ring, 30 or 32 tooth, with a 11-30 or 11-34 cassette but the 22 or 20 tooth small rings see a lot of use when bikepacking. We have some dirt and pavement rides in Colorado that offer over 25 miles of fast descending, the top of Rollins Pass to Boulder, where the large ring sees a lot of use.

I recently moved into the hills above Boulder off of Magnolia Road and plan to use a bike for commuting and shopping when the weather permits. The small chainring will definitely be appreciated.
http://theroadtocat1.com/colorado-climbs/magnolia/index.html

[kingpin75s]

No triples for the past 15 years plus.

Love 2x Compact and MD gearing and the versatility of the White Industries 2x VBC setups as well. Only run 1x for Mountain and Fat.

Am always fine losing a little on the top end and have always found I can get the gears I need on the bottom end.

[TheseGoTo11]

Like when headset bearings used to be outside the frame and bottom bracket bearings used to be inside the frame, going away from triples and to even 1by(dum for road only, IMHO) is market driven drivel. Very reminiscent of compact frames...'4 sizes fit more people'..so does no 1/2 sizes for shoes but doesn't feet feet 'better'..Yup, some same gear ratios at the extremes, but many compromises, like big gaps in the interior of the cogs(remember, we are talking road machines) and no really low gears(like a 26/28t small ring, and no need for a giganto cogset like a 11-42, see big gaps above).

shimano and Campag triple front ders worked really well(as do double front ders now..please note, 1by marketeers). So when it comes to wide range gearing, stuff that allows you do be properly geared for that 12% up as well as that 12% down and also the 1-5% up and down...rollers....triples were great. BUT too often, you lose lotsa 'coffee shop points', as if you still have the reflectors in the spokes of your wheels..too bad..a step backward, IMHO.

Right on...especially if you ride on a wide variety of terrain like that around Boulder. My all time fave is setup has 53/39/30 with 9 cogs from a 10spd MTB cassette (12-32).

[Ralph]

I have a brand new....never been mounted Campagnolo Comp triple crankset, with brand new 30-40-50 rings sitting in my parts box now. Tried to sell it, and no one wanted to pay it's worth (to me anyway), so kept it. Imagine it will get mounted before long on a bike that now has a Chorus 52/39. In many ways that gearing makes more sense than the double gearing....even for mostly flat riding with occasional hills.

BTW....The 30 tooth chainring weighs 30 grams. Maybe the bolt bosses add a couple more grams. The alloy bolts are less than 10 grams.

[DarkStar]

Have a Gipiemme racing triple mounted on my Marinoni touring bike.

[djm]

A wide-range double can cover the range of a road triple. This works well if you are insensitive to cadence but I find the large steps between gears to be inefficient and uncomfortable. With a triple, I can use a close-ratio cassette and almost always have a gear for my desired cadence.

[Corso]

After a few R2D2s, I threw and old mountain bike triple on my cross bike, just for that event. Hmmm, that worked ok...So I now have a Shimano road triple on it year round...not for cross racing-but exploring everything else.

I'm not young, and my crappy knees like the granny gear!

[jr59]

The di3 idea is a great one

[jamesdak]

Yes! :banana:

http://www.pbase.com/jhuddle/image/166790982.jpg

[b33]

I have found the mid-compact to be THE solution. YMMV.

[RFC]

9 speed 12-23. Basically gives me three distinct gearing systems.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/786/40991399322_97633fd6b4_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25sgCUb)IMG_0052r (https://flic.kr/p/25sgCUb) by Robert Copple (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150689726@N06/), on Flickr

[rpm]

Last winter I needed to replace worn 9 spd drivetrain parts on my 2006 Strong gravel bike. I didn't want to go 11 speed because I had non-compatible Hed wheels, so I decided to go with a whole Tiagra 10 speed gruppo with 30/39/50 cranks and 12-28 cassette.

The whole project was pretty inexpensive, and the Tiagra stuff works surprisingly well. It's a little heavier and not quite as quick as Ultegra, but it shifts just fine. The middle ring is sort of the default, but I use the other rings some on every ride.

[jtakeda]

I have a triple on my touring/off road bike and really do love it.
53-40-30

The only complaint I have, and the reason Im taking it off once I find an affordable substitute is the inner ring makes it so I cant use a full sized water bottle in the under downtube water bottle cage.

I have a whiskey flask cage that I mount tools to sometimes since a bottle cage wont fit

[jtbadge]

For anyone tri-curious, I have a nice 105 5600 triple group listed in the classifieds. It came with a bike I bought complete, but I have a different drivetrain in mind. It was really pleasant to use!

[zap]

A wide-range double can cover the range of a road triple. This works well if you are insensitive to cadence but I find the large steps between gears to be inefficient and uncomfortable. With a triple, I can use a close-ratio cassette and almost always have a gear for my desired cadence.

This.

On our tandems we have Record 10 11-25 cassettes.

[bobswire]

Yep.

[mt2u77]

2x is all I need for a road bike, but for my do everything gravel/tour/commuter I use 46/36/26 w/ 11-32 (+/-). I run big tires— 700 x 42 or bigger, so I still have plenty of gear inches to go fast. I rarely use the granny, but part of “do everything” includes pulling 100 lbs of kids and groceries up an 8% grade.

I admit the granny is nice on some of the more challenging gravel rides I do. On some of the extended insanity climbs I can continue to spin and keep traction, while the over-geared trash their legs, stand, and surge. I do pretty well on these rides despite riding a 5-10 lb heavier bike than my otherwise equals.

I like the overlap. I can leave the front shifter alone for most riding. Flat/rolling commuting— 46. Winter/headwinds/cruising— 36. Fast sport riding the hills— 46/36. climbing walls, pulling stumps— 26.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[justindcady]

For whatever reason the 2011 Trek Madone 5.2 I have was built up by the LBS with a triple Ultegra crankset. At first I was like, "***?!" living where a 40mile ride will often have less than 400ft of elevation gain. But, after a while I realized that it let me replace the 11-28 rear with a 12-25 and not have a care in the world when I do get to climb a bit. I absolutely love having a straight block from 16 down to the 12.

[Red Tornado]

Only on a mountain bike. Always been 2X on road. Started 52/42 then 53/39. If climbing gets to be too much of a challenge, I'll go compact with an appropriate cassette.
That's what I prefer, but you do what's right for you.

[Whit51]

I recently got a good deal on an Ultegra triple 10 sp group and installed it (minus the brake calipers) on a Poprad frame. I managed to get it dialed in. Otherwise, I've found them hard to set up with STI. I have left triples on some bikes that came with them if they worked well. When building up a bare frame I go with a double. I've converted a couple of triple crank-sets to compact doubles, using the inner and middle positions, which works fine and can give you some sub-compact gears,
but doesn't look quite right.

[NHAero]

Nine speed triples on the tandem, Big Dummy, old Klein MTB set up for winter with studded tires, and all three of my wife's bikes. Bob Jackson recently converted from nine speed to ten speed triple, 24/30 low gear stumppuller, which was none too low when I rode D2R2. Anderson converted to 44-33 with an eleven speed 12-34 cassette is fine for MV, but I expect some day it will get a new crank with 44-28 so similar low gear to what I had with the triple.
The triple on the Anderson had a 12-30 nine speed cassette, so the double set-up actually has tighter cog spacing in the gears I ride the most.

[Drmojo]

My traut came with a triple
Took it off for compact double
But now...
White Industry 46-30 is best for
Napa riding

[oldpotatoe]

I have a brand new....never been mounted Campagnolo Comp triple crankset, with brand new 30-40-50 rings sitting in my parts box now. Tried to sell it, and no one wanted to pay it's worth (to me anyway), so kept it. Imagine it will get mounted before long on a bike that now has a Chorus 52/39. In many ways that gearing makes more sense than the double gearing....even for mostly flat riding with occasional hills.

BTW....The 30 tooth chainring weighs 30 grams. Maybe the bolt bosses add a couple more grams. The alloy bolts are less than 10 grams.

When a peanut gallery person whines about the 'extra weight' or 'complexity' of a triple I always yell, 'my aunt matilda's mustache'..these are non problems.

[Hindmost]

My traut came with a triple
Took it off for compact double
But now...
White Industry 46-30 is best for
Napa riding

I was just riding with an old roadie who is very pleased with his two Eisentraut cx bikes set up with triples for on / off roading.

[Ken Robb]

When a peanut gallery person whines about the 'extra weight' or 'complexity' of a triple I always yell, 'my aunt matilda's mustache'..these are non problems.

On the weight questions I wonder how the extra weight of triple vs. double rings compares with the extra weight of the very large cogs used to get low enough gearing with a double crank. I'm guessing the weight totals of each system would be very close when they provide equal ranges of gearing.

[93KgBike]

9 speed 12-23. Basically gives me three distinct gearing systems.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/786/40991399322_97633fd6b4_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/25sgCUb)IMG_0052r (https://flic.kr/p/25sgCUb) by Robert Copple (https://www.flickr.com/photos/150689726@N06/), on Flickr

Great looking bike! Nice shot. That bike, corduroy pants, fall weather - puts a smile on my face.

[RFC]

Great looking bike! Nice shot. That bike, corduroy pants, fall weather - puts a smile on my face.

Thanks!

[Ralph]

On the weight questions I wonder how the extra weight of triple vs. double rings compares with the extra weight of the very large cogs used to get low enough gearing with a double crank. I'm guessing the weight totals of each system would be very close when they provide equal ranges of gearing.

I think so also. Those big steel cogs, even if on carriers, aren't light.


It's true....A Carbon double crankset is lots lighter than an aluminum triple crankset.

But I have weighed an aluminum Centaur (crank last triples based on) double 39/52 with 13-29 combo (loose cog) rear, VS a Campy 10's triple with 13-26...and 12-30 (last 3 cogs on carrier). All weighed about the same. Double or triple. The 12-30 10's Campy cassette is a tad lighter than a loose cog Campy 10's 13-26. Aluminum carrier plus thinner cogs and wider spacers (all 2.5 MM) on 12-30.

[C40_guy]

I've got a NOS Campy Record Triple on the shelf, with matching BB, on the off chance that I need to build up a touring bike. The likelihood that I will ever build a touring bike, at this point, is 0.

In the meantime, all of my bikes have compact cranksets, except for the 'cross bikes set up with single front rings.

[Edit] Wicked Fat has original BioPace triple. :)

Except for loaded touring or perhaps significant alpine adventure, I don't see the need for a triple at this point...