bikemig 

If you don't like your granny, well that's a problem but you may want to go somewhere else for help . . .

Phil_gretz

ThermionicScott 

Are you saying you leave the house in pants but no socks sometimes?

hrdknox1

If the triple you are trying is 50/39/30, maybe a 52/39/30 would eliminate your pants getting caught. Perhaps your pant bottom would be below the top of the largest chainring.

livedarklions

I do like to change them from time to time. It helps to have more than one pair.

Nyah

I'm saying that many people do that, but yes indeed, I do that as well. Sandals (popular w/a lot of people) or crotcheted moccasins (my personal favorite, if the ground isn't wet), without socks in Summer.


That wouldn't work, as it's not the bottom which catches. The teeth of the biggest chainring catch on the inseam, which then starts tearing once you start pedaling. Going with a bigger chainring just makes the teeth catch that much higher up the trouser leg.

ThermionicScott 

Interesting. I'm happy to switch to shorts as soon as it gets over 50 degrees outside.

I guess folks who ride with pants but no socks will need to roll up the bottom or use bands of some kind to contain their pant legs. It's not a hard problem to solve.

Fredo_Adagio

Just get a Velcro strap to put around your pants legs near the cuff. I have at least three different sets of these. I use them when I wear pants regardless of whether the bike has two or three chainrings.

I am a big fans of triples. I have triples on my mountain bike and my touring bike. I have a very steep driveway for which that small chain ring is always appreciated.

jlaw

or pants....especially these days....

rebel1916

[QUOTE=Nyah;21421953]I'm saying that many people do that, but yes indeed, I do that as well. Sandals (popular w/a lot of people) or crotcheted moccasins (my personal favorite, if the ground isn't wet), without socks in Summer.

Good Lord, please don't do that.

eofelis 

Both of my road bikes (one steel, one carbon) are custom built with 10sp Ultegra triple, with 11-36 cassettes on the back. We have a few hills here in Colorado.

Nyah

?
I've been doing it each day this week. You're just going to have to accept it.

mihlbach

adlai

Other thing is that i do like putting in mtb derailleurs in my bikes. So a double with a deore in the back gives tons of range.

JayKay3000

greatscott

so you're riding a bike with pants on, are you using a trouser strap? I ride triples on my touring bike and don't have any issues. Bulky? LOL!!!!

Retro Grouch 

That's why they have both chocolate and vanilla.

av1

I am not fan of singles or doubles either.

Germanrazor

I think a triple is for many the beginning especially for roadies in the sense it gives you more gearing to strengthen to eventually evolution to the double for simplicity. I started out many many years ago in the road culture with a triple as it was still the main diet of riders except for pro’s and advanced riders.

I think triples for them fall into two scenario of needs:

1- The triple allows a weaker rider beginning to learn the culture while assisting on those climbs to have extra gears (training wheels so to speak) -or-

2- The triple is a only option for a specific riders needs. In other words, a double will not work for the specific riding the person is doing. I am not sure on this particular ride scenario that a double would not work given a rider’s ability but I am sure number 1 above is the most common reason.

indyfabz

Here is one for you: Climbing for more than 30 miles on something like this with no services en route when you want more closely spaced gear options.

DaveSSS 

Unfortunately, all major brands have forsaken brake/shift levers that will operate a triple FD. I used a 53/39/28 triple with up to a 29T largest sprocket for many years. My new 48/32 chorus 12 speed with an 11-34 has a little more top gear and a little more low gear than that old setup. The jumps at the low end 22-25-29-34 create about a 10 rpm change, if pedaling in the 70-85 rpm range. The 11-17 range is all 1 tooth increments.

Germanrazor

I am no weight weenie but that bad boy is weighted. Like I said, depends on the manner in which you ride....😆

indyfabz

Never weighed it, but I am willing to bet it's lighter than what I rode across the country back in '99. (That orange tent on the back is only 2.25 lbs.) Put the bike on a scale at a truck weigh station. Came in at 90 lbs. The bike was a Cannondale aluminum, so it was on the lighter side. I carried a lot of photo equipment on that tour, including a Mamiya 645 with metered view finder, power grip and three lenses. Drive train was a 3X with MTB gearing. (22t third ring.) That's me wearing red, white and blue on July 4th in North Dakota.

To me, there are few things worse when touring than not having a lot of gearing steps. While I will likely never go 1x, which is all the rage now. Being in too high or two low a gear sucks.

cyccommute 

Your assumptions are wrong. A triple isn’t only for a “weaker rider” nor is it only for “beginners”. With more than 40 years of riding under my belt, I’m neither and every bike I own has a triple that gets used on a regular basis. Sometimes it’s used while touring because these kinds of roads hove into view

IMGP1741 by Stuart Black, on Flickr
Untitled by Stuart Black, on Flickr

the road in the first picture was a 10% grade and the second one is a 25% grade at 12,000 feet. In both situations, I was carrying all the gear I needed to camp and eat. The second picture was taken about 12 miles into a 40 mile day and was taken the day after covering 50 miles that was a mixture of pavement and dirt. The current mountain bike doubles would have meant that I would have had to coast over much of the distance on both days. I still spend a lot of time coasting but I can get up to a higher speed with a triple than I could with the mountain double.

If you don’t want to use a triple, don’t! But don’t tell people that if they use triples that they are weak or beginners. I could have done both trips on a double and just HTFU and/or just walk all the hills. Or I could use the tools available to me and have actually ridden the hills. I chose the latter...not because I’m weak or new but because I’m smart.

daoswald

A triple makes very little sense if you live among flat terrain. If you live in hilly terrain, it can be pretty useful.

I understand that 11 speed rear mechanics can somewhat offset the need, if the front chainrings are really carefully chosen. Where I live there are stretches of road that go on for several miles at 10% grade. Being able to drop to 30t/30t is pretty nice. And there are stretches that go on for miles relatively flat. With a SS front mech, and 11sp rear, I would either give up low range, or high range, or tight gearing for the flats. A compact might be ok in front, but then there's even more front shifting than with the triple, since the gaps tend to be larger.

My biggest complaint around triples is the difficulty in getting them dialed in. But once you do, they're fine for mortals. Wear proper biking attire, or ankle bands.