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Compact double or triple chainset for women?

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  • January 28, 2015 at 3:20 pm #23121
    Tjuice

    Seems to be quite a lot of preference expressed on this topic, but I’m keen to understand better the arguments for choosing between a compact double or a triple for a woman. (Note: I fully understand the technical arguments around being able to get a broader range, or narrower gap between gears. But the same holds true for men also…)

    Context: I am rebuilding a road bike for my wife, who is starting to regain her fitness after the arrival of child #3 (having had little opportunity to maintain fitness since arrival of child #1 around 8 years ago). The bike currently has an old triple on it (with 8 on the cassette), and I am debating whether to replace it with a newer 2×10 compact (am not currently considering 2×11).

    I personally used to ride a triple, but switched to a compact double a number of years ago, and I would not go back to a triple now. However, I note that quite a large number of the women’s specific bikes come with triples (anecdotally many more triples in women’s specific bikes than in male/non-gender specific).

    I haven’t yet worked out why triples would be a better choice for women than compact doubles. Unlikely that my wife will be riding any major mountains in the near future, and if she does start getting to that point, that will be the time to upgrade completely.

    What is the opinion amongst the readership here? Am particularly interested in hearing from regular women cyclists about what you chose, why, and how it has worked out for you.

    [Edit: Happy also to hear from unusual women…! I of course meant that I am interested in hearing from women who cycle regularly… 🙂 ]

    [Edit 2: my smiley face above turned into a smiley face on a phone – now fixed]

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  • February 1, 2015 at 9:32 pm #829449
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    Tjuice

    drmatthewhardy wrote:So I

    drmatthewhardy wrote:
    So I guess my point is: unless she’s already totally au fait with gears, try 1×10 or 1×9 or single speed maybe.

    Hehe! Don’t think singlespeed is going to be her kind of thing (despite my personal strong affection for fixed gear bikes).

    Yes, she’s quite happy with gears front and back, having ridden various MTBs, race bikes, and flat-barred geared commuters over the years.

    Think we’ll probably go with the experiment of using the old groupset for a little while and see how she gets on before making a firm decision.

    Thanks all.

    January 30, 2015 at 10:05 am #829447
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    Chris James

    I think the chart illustrates
    I think the chart illustrates the issue quite well. I find myself gravitating to using gears in the range of 60-70 inches (16-18mph at a cadence of 90). This is smack in the middle of the cassette for the middle ring of the triple.

    The compact only gives you that sort of gear at fairly extreme big/big and small/small combinations. I guess 11 speed cassettes with 11-30 type ranges have mitigated this to a degree.

    January 30, 2015 at 9:29 am #829445
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    Glyn

    Either or. Triples
    Either or. Triples generally do not let you cross chain from biggest to smallest sizes which means you do have to fuss about to get the best out of the gears whereas compacts let you ride along with the chain crossed which is far easier.

    January 30, 2015 at 7:45 am #829443
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    pants

    what is the best groupset for
    what is the best groupset for men?

    January 29, 2015 at 11:26 pm #829441
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    matthewn5

    I built a bike for my wife,
    I built a bike for my wife, and used a compact crank. Reason? She has small hands finds it hard to use the front derailleur at all, because of the high force required to change up on to the big ring, so a triple was out of the question.

    In fact a high proportion of the more casual riders I see don’t even bother to push the levers in the ‘hard’ direction at all. Look around, you’ll see people stuck in 34×12 all over the place. I see at least three, men and women, on my commute. I’ve never seen them change gear at all. Presumably they got the bike new, clicked the levers in the easy direction on the first ride, then never bothered again.

    So I guess my point is: unless she’s already totally au fait with gears, try 1×10 or 1×9 or single speed maybe.

    January 29, 2015 at 11:07 pm #829439
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    Simon E

    I don’t know if this helps,
    I don’t know if this helps, it was created from Sheldon Brown’s gear calculator.

    52/39/30 (solid) 50/34 (dashed) with a 12-25 9 speed cassette.

    Click the image to see it full size.

    January 29, 2015 at 10:07 pm #829437
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    Colin Peyresourde

    http://pixgood.com/fixed-gear
    http://pixgood.com/fixed-gear-ratio-chart.html

    This is all you need to know….

    January 29, 2015 at 9:35 pm #829435
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    Colin Peyresourde

    Do the math….simples.
    What
    Do the math….simples.

    What I mean is that it depends on what the triple is made of as to whether there is a decent benefit.

    Back in the day when your inner ring might be a 28, your middle a 39 and your outer a 53 then maybe you would be talking a reasonable differential between gears.

    My brother was given a triple as a hire bike earlier this year, the inner ring and middle ring were a 34/39…..there was no point. All the give in the front derailleur only gives rise to more chain dropping action than medieval prison riot, a for not benefit…..

    there is a great graphic which you might be able to find on the internet or pinterest which shows the diff.

    January 29, 2015 at 6:27 pm #829433
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    dottigirl

    My first road bike was a
    My first road bike was a triple and I still ride it for errands and trips of less than 30 miles.
    I like the middle ring. I find I’ll keep a better cadence with the triple than a compact or standard crankset. It’s mostly flat around SW London, so I’m in the middle most of the time.
    The drawback is the near-constant adjustment my knackered parts need.

    What cassette range will she have on the back?

    January 29, 2015 at 4:36 pm #829431
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    keef66

    I have one bike with a
    I have one bike with a 50/39/30 triple and a 12-25 cassette, and one bike with a 46/36 CX chainset and a 12-27 cassette. If I was forced to choose just one I’d probably go for the simplicity of the latter, but there’s not much in it.

    With the triple I spend 95% of the time in the 39 chainring and use the whole cassette because I’m lazy. Bit more front changing with the CX chainset.

    I did have a 53/39 double, but with ageing legs I used the big ring so rarely I replaced it with the CX chainset

    January 29, 2015 at 2:00 pm #829429
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    Simon E

    John Stevenson wrote:Off the

    John Stevenson wrote:
    Off the peg triples are stupid.

    I disagree. My 50/39/30 triple may seem “stupid” to you John but, like Chris James, it suits my purposes perfectly. Horses for courses.

    Those wanting super-low gears for laden touring would be better off with a MTB (triple?) chainset.

    The 9 speed Sora CX chainset is 46/34 and the rear derailleur will handle 32 teeth. The shifters are rebadged Tiagra 9 speed so reliable yet slick & smooth. The saving over a 10 speed groupset could be spent on some nice wheels. If I was building a bike similar to the OP’s purposes that’s what I’d choose.

    January 29, 2015 at 11:14 am #829427
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    Kapelmuur

    Have a thought for us oldies
    Have a thought for us oldies who would like to ride up hills without bursting our ageing hearts.

    I can just about manage the steeper stuff on 30 x 30, but it may not be too long before I need a lower option.

    Mind you, I hadn’t realised that getting off and pushing was an option until I read ‘Joeinpooles’ post.

    January 29, 2015 at 10:57 am #829425
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    Tjuice

    Rod Marton wrote:In short, if

    Rod Marton wrote:
    In short, if you aren’t racing I don’t see any advantage in changing your current 8 speed triple to a 10 speed compact double

    Except that the whole triple groupset is now pretty worn out, and a lot of it could do with replacing. E.g., I’ve had to dismantle the (supposedly non-user-serviceable) shifters a couple of times to clean out hardening grease and to re-lube, and they have a number of scrapes; also cranks no longer look beautiful. Keen to build up a nice bike for my wife, so there’s going to need to be some groupset investment.

    Given all the above perspective, perhaps the answer is that in the very short-term, I just put the triple back on the bike and assess my wife’s riding style/needs. As her fitness builds, I think the likelihood is that she would spend very little time in the inner ring, but would possibly benefit from it in the short term. If it looks like she does not need the range of gears and is not too sensitive to the gaps between them, then I’ll consider a compact double, rather than replacing a triple with another triple.

    Thanks for input everyone – does seem to come down to preference, rather than there being particular benefits one way or the other.

    January 29, 2015 at 8:42 am #829423
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    Rod Marton

    Many years ago I rode a
    Many years ago I rode a go-anywhere bike with a 7 speed triple. This gave the ideal range and spacing of gears, and as the number of sprockets on the cassette gradually increased I failed to notice any improvement. Nowadays we have compact doubles with 10/11 speed cassettes, and – guess what – we have come back to the same number and range of gears – though everything has become lighter, more expensive and less durable. In short, if you aren’t racing I don’t see any advantage in changing your current 8 speed triple to a 10 speed compact double – and there is the small disadvantage that the jump between the chainrings becomes larger.

    January 29, 2015 at 8:42 am #829421
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    Rod Marton

    Many years ago I rode a
    Many years ago I rode a go-anywhere bike with a 7 speed triple. This gave the ideal range and spacing of gears, and as the number of sprockets on the cassette gradually increased I failed to notice any improvement. Nowadays we have compact doubles with 10/11 speed cassettes, and – guess what – we have come back to the same number and range of gears – though everything has become lighter, more expensive and less durable. In short, if you aren’t racing I don’t see any advantage in changing your current 8 speed triple to a 10 speed compact double – and there is the small disadvantage that the jump between the chainrings becomes larger.

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