3x drivetrain on road bike
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2021
Posts: 2,015
Mentioned: 25 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2731 Post(s)
Liked 489 Times
in
354 Posts
3x drivetrain on road bike
Do any of you rock a 3x on your road bike? I just fixed my road bike today and had forgotten that it has a tripple up front, but it came it big handy on my way home where I just wanted to chill climbing a steep hill. Why did these fall out of fashion? Are people just not slow enough for the granny gear or something?
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 6,051
Bikes: Colnago, Van Dessel, Factor, Cervelo, Ritchey
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4008 Post(s)
Liked 7,504 Times
in
3,023 Posts
Do any of you rock a 3x on your road bike? I just fixed my road bike today and had forgotten that it has a tripple up front, but it came it big handy on my way home where I just wanted to chill climbing a steep hill. Why did these fall out of fashion? Are people just not slow enough for the granny gear or something?
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 6,051
Bikes: Colnago, Van Dessel, Factor, Cervelo, Ritchey
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4008 Post(s)
Liked 7,504 Times
in
3,023 Posts
#5
ignominious poltroon
Join Date: Jan 2022
Posts: 4,140
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2280 Post(s)
Liked 3,503 Times
in
1,839 Posts
Humans have devolved. Or at least I have. I got a bike in 1987 that had a 53/48 T double up front and some sort of corn-cob in the back where all the cogs were about 14 ± 2 T. Now I have a 52/42/30T crankset on the front, and an 11-30T cassette on the back. But it is Campy, and therefore beyond reproach.
Most touring bikes had (and many still have) triples with far smaller granny gears.
BTW, I try not to rock when I pedal. If you are doing that, it indicates the saddle is too high.
Most touring bikes had (and many still have) triples with far smaller granny gears.
BTW, I try not to rock when I pedal. If you are doing that, it indicates the saddle is too high.
Likes For Polaris OBark:
#6
Sunshine
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 16,701
Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo
Mentioned: 124 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 11048 Post(s)
Liked 7,596 Times
in
4,236 Posts
How do you forget the number of chainrings on your road bike?
Likes For mstateglfr:
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 2,615
Bikes: 06 Lemond Reno, 98 GT Timberline mtn.bike
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 430 Post(s)
Liked 714 Times
in
445 Posts
Because it's cheaper to put less chainrings on a bike and still charge an inflated price for it. It tries to be justified as being simpler, tuning doesn't have to be as "perfect" as with a triplle, and generally works better. My ancient (98) mtn.bike and my road bike ('06) both have triples and both shift just fine and have never given me any trouble. My bikes are well maintained, and while I'm not an expert mechanic, I do OK. I am a senior, so maybe I just don't appreciate new "advances". My trouble free triples are staying on my bikes-and the triple gets full use on the road bike, while no so much on the mtn.bike.
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: South shore, L.I., NY
Posts: 6,974
Bikes: Flyxii FR322, Cannondale Topstone, Miyata City Liner, Specialized Chisel, Specialized Epic Evo
Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3308 Post(s)
Liked 2,146 Times
in
1,213 Posts
With the move to 11 and 12 speed cassettes, these allowed a great deal of range of gearing. You can get the same range with a 2x or 1x as you do with a triple. Thus it was decided that 3x was no longer needed. Of course you don't get the same gearing as there are sometimes huge gaps between the cogs of those 11 and 12 spd. systems.
Likes For Steve B.:
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 8,732
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4554 Post(s)
Liked 5,074 Times
in
3,129 Posts
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: reno, nv
Posts: 2,323
Bikes: yes, i have one
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1151 Post(s)
Liked 1,193 Times
in
694 Posts
Do any of you rock a 3x on your road bike? I just fixed my road bike today and had forgotten that it has a tripple up front, but it came it big handy on my way home where I just wanted to chill climbing a steep hill. Why did these fall out of fashion? Are people just not slow enough for the granny gear or something?
as you get older you will learn to use that granny. ain't called a granny for nothing.
Likes For spelger:
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,501
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18527 Post(s)
Liked 15,875 Times
in
7,454 Posts
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 8,563
Mentioned: 69 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3261 Post(s)
Liked 2,573 Times
in
1,533 Posts
I have them on all of my bikes. The main advantage a triple has over a double with the same range is reduced amount of shifting to go from one end of the range to the other. If you compare the two on a gear calculator, you'll do more physical shifting with the double. Whether that is important or not is up to the individual. Some people don't like shifting the FD either.
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 8,563
Mentioned: 69 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3261 Post(s)
Liked 2,573 Times
in
1,533 Posts
I usually run 52/40-42/30 triples. There's one climbing ride every year(last weekend) that I change to 52/36/28. The 52 is used very little on that ride. Most of it is on the 36/28 double part of the chainrings.
#17
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2021
Posts: 2,015
Mentioned: 25 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2731 Post(s)
Liked 489 Times
in
354 Posts
I also think one advantage of a tripple is downshifting in the front under load. Its easier on the bike than downshifting in the back, so I like having a tripple even if it doesn't give me a larger effective range.
Last edited by LarrySellerz; 05-28-22 at 09:26 AM.
#19
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,501
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18527 Post(s)
Liked 15,875 Times
in
7,454 Posts
#20
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2021
Posts: 2,015
Mentioned: 25 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2731 Post(s)
Liked 489 Times
in
354 Posts
I have a bad memory man I guess if pressed I could have remembered that my road bike had a tripple but it took me by surprise for a second when fixing it. Like "ooh yeah this thing has a tripple, huh thats cute... whatever it will come in handy.." was pretty much my thought process. It seems like its dated technology based on the bikes I see around me but maybe they will come back into fashion
#21
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 6,051
Bikes: Colnago, Van Dessel, Factor, Cervelo, Ritchey
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4008 Post(s)
Liked 7,504 Times
in
3,023 Posts
Likes For Dean V:
#23
bocobiking
6 road bikes, all with triples. I've had numerous road bikes since 1981 and all of them have had triples.
#24
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 8,732
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4554 Post(s)
Liked 5,074 Times
in
3,129 Posts
Likes For PeteHski:
#25
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,501
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18527 Post(s)
Liked 15,875 Times
in
7,454 Posts
I have a bad memory man I guess if pressed I could have remembered that my road bike had a tripple but it took me by surprise for a second when fixing it. Like "ooh yeah this thing has a tripple, huh thats cute... whatever it will come in handy.." was pretty much my thought process. It seems like its dated technology based on the bikes I see around me but maybe they will come back into fashion