Compact Crankset

I LOVE triple... I live in a VERY hilly area and would suffer without it. I think its biggest advantage over a compact is that you can get a taller top and lower low gear than with a double. Then you get the middle ring to transition between the two. I ride 80% of the time in the middle chainring... Drawbacks are weight (but i would be better served to shave a 1/4 pound off my butt than my bike) and it is a LITTLE bit harder to get fine tuned because of the 3rd position.

That being said... I LOVE my triple.

I'll third the bigger cassette option. It's the cheapest and easiest way to get some lower gears.  That said, I have been experimenting with a compact crank gearing set-up on my winter bike (50x34 on the outside of a triple) and I am going with a compact on my new tri-bike.  

I dislike triples on road bikes (my winter bike is a hardtail MTB "converted" to road use) Mostly because of the dodgy shifting and their propensity to throw chains at inopportune moments.

With a 50x34 and two cassettes (11x23 and 12x27) you are covered for all situations a 34x27 is comparable with the 30x23 low on most triples and 50x11 is comparable with 53x12.

You just reminded me why I hated my triple!   I haven't had any issues with my chain on the compact. 

Compacts are great but a 34 X 27?  Wow.  Your legs must be a blur.

I guess that is a 30 X 23, but still, wow.

Dude, I'm running a 11-32 cassette on my winter bike with a 50/34/26 and when I need those granny gears I'm gonna use them (15% Grades on gravel @ 35 degrees F) or to keep the ol'ticker going in Z2 up a hill.

So, no my legs are not a blur in those tiny tot gears.........Now downhills on the fixed are another story 34mph in a 42x16 (190 rpm) is not sustainable for long, 

On the hills I climb, a 34x27 is juuuust right - definately no blur action happening.

How exactly does this make you a better cyclist? Best money you can spend? I'd take clipless pedals, aerobars, aerodynamic wheels over a lower set of gears, anyday.

Rocket Man - 2006-03-30 9:40 AM Well Mr. Crankypants assuming they already have all of those things (which by the sound of things they do) I am saying a compact crank is a huge benefit for those of us who do not climb well. My climbing has improved tremendously over the past couple of years due to weight training and hill repeats, however in order to have any legs at all left for the run, I recommend a compact on hillier courses.

Big assumption, which is why I asked. Don't want some newby coming on here and saying, screw the clipless pedals, I'm going for the compact crank.

Don't have the hills you guys do, but still can't understand how a lower (therefore slower) set of gears makes you a "better cyclist."

the bear - 2006-03-30 10:08 AM

Rocket Man - 2006-03-30 9:40 AM Well Mr. Crankypants assuming they already have all of those things (which by the sound of things they do) I am saying a compact crank is a huge benefit for those of us who do not climb well. My climbing has improved tremendously over the past couple of years due to weight training and hill repeats, however in order to have any legs at all left for the run, I recommend a compact on hillier courses.

Big assumption, which is why I asked. Don't want some newby coming on here and saying, screw the clipless pedals, I'm going for the compact crank.

Don't have the hills you guys do, but still can't understand how a lower (therefore slower) set of gears makes you a "better cyclist."

Actually, on serious hills, a lower gear can be faster. It allows you to stay in your"power band"  (rpms where you generate the most power) Therefore, a lower range of gears will allow you more options within that "power band".

Of course, compact gearing does not necessarily equate to "lower gears"  If yopu check out the gearing charts for 50/34 with 11-23 versus 53/39 with a 12-27 you'll see that they are quite similar, especially on the top end. There is a slight weight advantage for compacts (both at the crank and at the cassette). For me, a constant tinkerer with the bike a compact with a 110 bcd gives me mad options for whatever gearing I want (they make 53's and larger for 110 bcd), but a 38 is as low as you can go on a 130 bcd standard crank.

For a lot of newbies in hilly areas, gearing and shifting are really big issues. A compact offers triple-like gearing options without the possibility of wonky shifting. They make sense, and I expect to see a lot of manufacturers going to compacts on "entry-level" bikes.

So, yes in some cases a compact would be money well-spent in becoming a "better cyclist",  especially in a non-triathlon context. I agree that clipless pedals, aerobars, and fitting are things that can make you faster, but unless you can actually ride the terrain, faster is just a distant concept.

Bear, I know you do TnT coaching, and I occasionally ride with the group that a friend of mine coaches. I see, time and again, new riders have a very hard time (sometimes even pushing their bikes) on our hills here in the Blue Ridge. For them, the lower the gears they have, the better. they are not concerned with fast. Hills change everything.

I'd submit that what will make individual a "better cyclist" is highly variable and has to be taken on a case-by-case basis. At the end of the day, though, the best way to get better is to.......(drumroll)..........ride lots.

I hear what you guys are saying, but are you really "better," or just using lower gears to your advantage? And, as RLUSI points out, many of those lower gears are available with a bigger cassette, a cheaper option I initially suggested.

Yes, RLUSI, I've taken three TNT groups to the century around Lake Tahoe, 10,000 feet of climbing. All of them finished comfortably by becoming "better cyclists" through training (and excellent coaching), not by adding a compact.

Not saying a compact doesn't have it's benefits and uses, just unconvinced that it makes you a better cyclist. No more than a triple makes you a better cyclist, or a 34-tooth cog.

The statement wasn't that a compact made you a better triathlete, but that it made you a better cyclist.

I recently changed my bike set-up from a standard double to a compact with a 12-27 cassette - my local riding area is all hills.

Most/all of the other riders on my regular Sunday ride have triples - I am able to match them on the climbs with my current set-up - even though my setup is at least a couple of gears shy of their lowest gear.