personally I would have a double, i live in leeds which is hill central and i've never even come close to needing a triple. I guess it is nice to have as insurance though!
I had a double up until about two weeks ago (when I broke it [:(]) and I decided to put on a triple (Ultegra) - wow what a difference! I have extended my gearing range significantly, consequently I am faster on the flat and having an easier time going uphill.
Only caveat is you do end up searching around a bit for the right gear at the top and bottom of the cassette to stop the chain catching the chainring...
I have a triple and absolutely love it - helps to have good gear discipline as well and to constantly be playing with the gear dependant on the terrain.
Live in North east of Scotland - one or two wee hills so the triple comes into its own.
Another option is to go for a standard 39-53 on the front but a wide ratio cassette on the back. Shimano do 12-27 and campy 13-29. All the groupsets we've tried seem to cope with this level of shifting and it gives you a similar range to a compact without losing the top-end gearing that compacts deny you and without the extra weight and shifting issues of a triple. Mind you - Box Hill's a bugger isn't it!
i use a compact with a sram 11-26 cassette on the back. This gives me higher and lower gears than a double with 12-27 and i find it shifts well throughout. If you dont like to spin as much as i do up hills then think 11-23 with a compact would be cool.
You don't say if you are an old knacker like me or one of these young fit people that we see far too many of in events. If you are talking about using your bike where there is only one hill the compact keeps things simple, cuts down on rotational weight and as Aero Blob suggested you can get a wide ranging cassette that would do the job, you could then swap cassetes depending on the event.
A triple is cool where there are many hills and being a 'Super Veteran' (i.e. old) I have used a granny ring on many occassions with my previous bike. My new bike has a compact and has a 38:28 that will do the job almost as well as my triple, just have to grunt a bit more. You could always hop off and walk as I did on one occassion when I fluffed a gear change and lost momentum, I actually walked up quicker than I could have pedalled - moral there I suppose.
It's mighty hilly here in Wales so I've gone for a compact especially as I'm a "veteran" ie old and knackered and I've reached the stage where I'll take all the help there is!
Comments
Only caveat is you do end up searching around a bit for the right gear at the top and bottom of the cassette to stop the chain catching the chainring...
Live in North east of Scotland - one or two wee hills so the triple comes into its own.
Andy
Andy
A triple is cool where there are many hills and being a 'Super Veteran' (i.e. old) I have used a granny ring on many occassions with my previous bike. My new bike has a compact and has a 38:28 that will do the job almost as well as my triple, just have to grunt a bit more. You could always hop off and walk as I did on one occassion when I fluffed a gear change and lost momentum, I actually walked up quicker than I could have pedalled - moral there I suppose.