Originally Posted by
carlos danger
i guess it actually is hard to set them up.
Only for some. Don’t blame the tool.
No. I don’t know. I’m a long time volunteer at my local co-op. I see hundreds... possibly thousands... of triples per year. I send that same number of triples out the door without rubbing issues per year. They often go out the door shifting better than they did when they came out of a retail shop.
I have observed some things that can make for better success when setting up and tuning a triple, however. First and foremost is choosing the proper front derailer. Shimano’s front derailers aren’t as good as they should be. Shimano’s engineers have added all kinds of channels, sculpting and chain lift structures to their derailers, especially the more expensive ones. 105, Ultegra, Durace, XT, and XTR are all more difficult to set up than the lower line derailers because of all the special features Shimano has put in them. Tiagra, Sora, Clairis, Deore, Alivio, etc. are all far better front derailers. They are easier to set up and accommodate a wider range of gearing than their more expensive brethren.
Or just use SRAM fronts. They work with Shimano shifters (at least to 9 speed) and they are far better mechanisms.