UKC

Hi,

Just pondering it at the moment but was after advice. What do you need to consider before changing?

Need new shifters? Is there anything else you'd have to change with it?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Lynsey.

In reply to Lynsety: I asked my local bike shop about this once and it will cost quite a bit of money. I was more bothered about that than the cries of "cheat" from dedicated roadbike idiots. I didn't do it in the end, but if you have the money why not?

In reply to Lynsety:

a new crank set?

In reply to Lynsety:

shifters, rings, cables. Think the FD shouldn't be a problem. But why? Except with a lot more in the way of gear changing for small jumps the ratio isn't a massive difference. Check Sheldron Brown or similar

In reply to Lynsety:

New shifter, new crankset, new front derailleur.

In reply to Orgsm:

And rear deralllieur depending on what ratios you go for.....

It's pretty much a full drivetrain replacement, including bottom bracket depending on frame and type of chainset

In reply to Lynsety:
New cassette with a wider range - you might not even need a new rear derailleur.

In reply to Lynsety:

Depends on your current drivetrain, but by the time you're changing your shifters and chainset you may as well buy a complete new groupset bundle.

It may be a lot simpler to go with a bigger cassette on the rear, my touring bike has an 11-34 MTB cassette and derailleur on the back. As long as you're not on 11 speed yet, everything should be compatible (for Shimano at least)

Triple. Isn't that a bit 2008?

In reply to Dark-Cloud:



Unlikely you'd need to change rear derailleur and unlikely bottom bracket.

In reply to Lynsety:

Agree with others. I found a bigger cassette at the back much more useful than my old bike which had a triple. For me there was no benefit from three cogs up front and the drawback that you had to change more often. There might be benefits from those who want subtle differences between their gears, but if you are just doing it to get a bigger cog for cycling up hills, then fit a cassette with a 28 on it on the back. Cheaper and simpler although you will need a new chain as well probably.

Alan

In reply to Orgsm:

You would generally need a long cage rear mech for triple, if it's an old square taper or cartridge BB it's a possibility., however that aside I think we are all in agreement it's a bit of a faff and expense, beat just going compact with a 32 at the back.

In reply to Lynsety:

I've run a mountain bike 11-32 cassette on my Ultegra 9-speed road bike for the Etape, where there are very big hills - I didn't even need to change the rear mech, just adjusted the "B" screw a bit.

The only real drawback to this is that you get bigger jumps between gears, but you can live with that for a one-off, or, if you're not too radical, put a hybrid of both cassettes on, to give you what you need where you need it.

In reply to Dogwatch:


Fashion victim? People should think for themselves.

In reply to all;

So if I've got an 11 set cassette on the bracket I can replace with an 11 sprocket 11-32? This giving me a big sprocket to turn when I'm dying on the hills?

I think its all tiagra group set at the moment, if replacing can I replace with a 105 cassette?

Lynsey.

In reply to Lynsety:

What sort of bike are we talking about, and what sort of riding do you do ?

I initially thought I'd need a triple for the road bike, was persuaded otherwise and don't regret it, but I do have a 32 teeth cassette. Basically gives me low enough for the steepest hills I can find, but also high enough to push a big gear when I need it.

On my full-suss MTB I've recently gone from a triple to a double cos I realised that, with the sort of riding I do on that bike, I don't need the big ring, and again I haven't missed it.

So that leaves my hardtail XC bike, and whilst I do use the full range of gears, I also find the front mech a frequent source of frustration- getting into middle ring can be tricky.

So whilst I'm not likely to go 1x11 anytime soon, I'd only recommend a triple if you are doing the full range of riding on one bike

In reply to Lynsety:

Yeah, you should be able to. You'll probably need to change your rear derailleur for a long cage mech and you might need a new chain as your current one could be too short with a bigger cassette at the back. But a 32 tooth rear cassette will give you as low a gear as you'd get on a standard triple and will feel a lot more comfortable on the hills. I switched my 12-28 to a 12-32 for the Fred Whitton and was still on my bike on the hills when a lot of riders around me were pushing.

Oh, and yes, you can upgrade when you swap. If you change the rear mech that would be a good opportunity to get something nicer than Tiagra, you'll probably notice that upgrade more than a better cassette.

In reply to Lynsety:

A medium rear derailuer is fine with a triple.

In reply to Chris the Tall:

Its a road bike and is used for long road rides with bike hills, not used for commuting or anything like that, purely road riding.

Just realised its a ten speed cassette on my bike (opps)

I take that as its shimano, any new cassette has to be shimano?

In reply to Lynsety:




Yes and no. It needs to fit the freehub which means Shimano pattern splines. So Shimano (obviously), SRAM, or any of the other offerings that will fit Shimano pattern freehubs.

In reply to Lynsety:

My commuting bike has a triple and my good bike has a double. Indexing the gears on the triple is an order of magnitude more faffy, which, alone is enough to put me off going for a triple in future. It's also not really necessary - just get a bigger rear cassette.

In reply to Lynsety:

I can see the need for a triple if you are doing touring with panniers- I did a tour of the Yorkshire dales on my MTB with slicks and was grateful for the extra gears - but otherwise you might be better off with an 11-32T cassette.

SRAM and shimano are pretty interchangeable- no problem with a SRAM cassette on your hub - but you can't mix shifters and derailleurs. Having had quite a few issues with SRAM shifters I now stick with shimano. As others have said, if you are going for a triple of even a large cassette you may need a long cage derailleur, but other than that it should be a simple upgrade

In reply to Lynsety:

I've got a triple on my road bike - I think that is one of the reasons I got it so cheap as they were going out of fashion by then. It works fine - being 105 all rather smooth. On my CX I bought a few years later it has a compact double. When I moved from flatish Helsinki to very hilly Sheffield, I felt I didn't have a low enough gear so bought a bigger back block (32 I think) but I needed to buy a new back mech too. Nothing wrong with triples besides weight I guess, but if you need to swap brifters as well as getting the new chainset it will cost you loads. A bigger ring at the back, even if you need a new mech, will be less.

In reply to Lynsety:

Interesting to read this thread as at the W/E I ordered a new rear-mech, chain, and 11-32 cassette for my roadie. I'm hoping this might make the Starkholmes-Riber climb do-able, as I haven't been able to get up it yet without stopping!

LR

In reply to Lynsety:

There are lots of variables here depending on what your current setup but these days I would say your last option is going to a triple. With a triple I only ever used the top 2 or 3 gears before shifting into the middle ring. It's just not worth while.

I'm going to assume you've got a road bike from the last 5 years.

Suggestion no1. Change your current chainset because if riding a 39/53 it's quite tall geared (especially if you ride hilly routes). Consider switching to a compact (34/50) or semi compact (36/52). This means you shouldn't have to change your shifters, cassette or rear mech. You might need to change your front mech. You can ride this for a while and if needed then do suggestion no2

Suggestion no2. As others have suggested (and if you're already riding a semi/compact) then change to a 11-32ish. This will most likely also need a change to a long cage rear mech

Do let us know what you go for/how it works out

In reply to all:
Thanks for all the help everyone. Really helpful. I might have just changed to a triple if I hadn't have asked.

Going to count teeth, check prices and then make a decision

In reply to Lynsety:

And just to add, if you're changing the Cassette there's a strong chance you'll need to change the chain. You can take a chance and if it's skipping all over the place and you know the rear mech is setup correctly then it's a new chain

In reply to LittleRob:


Make sure you pick a dry day - the steepest bit is under trees and I found my back wheel slipping when i did it

In reply to Lynsety:

And of course you can get a double crankset like a 42 / 26. The 53 / 39 or 53 / 34 setups aren't the only ones out there. Plenty of options.

In reply to Rog Wilko:


That thought might be "why have bike designers who know a whole lot more than I do pretty much stopped using triples?"

In reply to Chris the Tall:


Well it certainly wasn't on the Matlock Top 10 sportive! However, the only place I span (spun?) my wheel was climb 5 up to Alderwasley.

I did see a couple of riders fall off at various stages because they did that, and in cleats its hard to catch oneself.

+1 for my Gator-skins

Rob