Whats the advantages and disadvantages of a compact road chainset. Only ever used 53/39.

Easier to climb with but less at the top end? Suits a faster spinning rider, I think just gone non compact on my new road bike the increase in speed is huge, even with a 12 27 cassette at the back to get my fat ar$e up longer hills. I like it so far but need to watch the knees until I get acclimatised to it so the compact is staying on for the commuting bike!

Note: all of the above may just be rubbish!! 😉

compact is away of getting away from triples on road bikes. You gain a wider gear range maybe loosing a bit at the top but gaining at the bottom.

Advantages lower gears if you need them, disadvantages, you might find the bigger gaps a pain.

Thanks.

Yeah I went for compact because I wanted lower gears for doing long slow rides in hilly areas, and cos I’m fat. However on the flats where I wanted to ride was right at the change from big to small ring, which was a pain in the arse – shifting rings all the time, and a huge gap between rings so you have to go back across the block again when you shift rings.

Triple was much better. None of the disadvantages in terms of use, and only a small weight penalty. But I already had triple shifters.

I’ve just swapped back to 53/39 as like mrmo says with a compact the gaps are too big.

It depends where you ride really. I do all my riding round the lake district and the steep hills like wrynose or hardknott are pain in the arse with a double, its much quicker to climb them on a compact. If you live somewhere fairly flat then a double would be the one to go for.

i find you can stay in the big ring for most of the time until you get to the steep bits, bottom end is a bit lower which is handy if you are a spinner (i am) don’t miss any top end as i wuss out at 40mph 🙂

depends on cassette too, i use a 25.

A lot of road cassettes seem to go down to 12 teeth. I run a compact triple with an wtb 11 34 cassette. Suits pretty much everything I do. I’m too much of a philistine to notice big gaps.

I’ve historically been a big gear masher (I run a 55 on’t TT wagon) and put a compact on my winter bike a couple of years ago to make me spin the pedals more in the off season.

The compact also helps offset the extra weight of the winter bike.

I was thinking a Campag compact running a 11 speed 12-25 cassette to try to keep the ratios a bit closer.

BTW thanks for the replies.

Why are people anti-triple?

I’m not anti triple. Having said that, With a 11-34 on the back, and a 30/39/50 chainset, even with two full panniers, I don’t tend to use the granny gear.

Why are people anti-triple?

They’re ugly, heavy and don’t shift quite as well as a double.

What’s the weight penalty? A little ring and some alloy can’t weigh that much…

I use the granny gear a lot because I like being able to pedal up big steep hills at 70rpm and 220W

would a mtb triple front shifter work ok for a road double converted to flat bar?

I was under the impression that double chainsets allow you to use the full range of the cassette without the chain-line becoming too bad.

I have been reading up on the choice between compact and traditional rings because I’ve started racing with a double, and it seems that the pro’s have began to use smaller gears when climbing since riders lice Lance Armstrong have done well by ‘spinning’ up climbs. The actual increase in top speed at the same rpm is not much when you go from 50 to 53, therefore if you wish to maintain the small gaps between gears (and racers do because it allows them to keep in the cadence sweet-spot) the best option is to run a close cassette with a compact. Running a 53-39 with a wide range cassette results in gaps between gear that are too big. Perhaps this justifies the 11 speed of campag…

Source: http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/techctr/gearing.html

would a mtb triple front shifter work ok for a road double converted to flat bar?

depends on the front mech and are you using shimano or campag. the answer could be yes or it could be no.

Shimano index front shifters so are less tolerant of mix and match.

I’m sure South Devon is still undergoing upward isostatic adjustment as the hills certainly aren’t getting any easier, plus I’m beginning to feel my age, so I really like compact now, now that I’ve got with it.

To widen those gearing jumps further still 😉 , I run mine with an 8-spd, 11-32 cassette (up from 53/39 and 12-28). Taken together tho’, those gearing changes have made the ‘road’ bike 100x more enjoyable to ride, and much more comfortable on longer rides too.

compact = gay

proper rider uses a triple when needed, no shame in using the 30T at the end of a double century.

Same can’t be said for using mtb gearing on a road bike.

Gone from 53/39 – 12/27 to 50/34 – 11-27 (Took out the 14 and added an 11t mtb sprocket) I don’t really notice the jumps between gears on the same ring but when you swap front rings I have to shift 2 gears in the opposite direction on the back to get the next gear rather than just one when using a std chainset. Top end is actually a little faster/longer but the extra spinability really helps up the last climb of the day.

I have sh*t knees so have a 50/34 on a 11-30 cassette. The jump is more awkward going up than down in my experience.

I’d far rather have a triple than compact with what is essentially an MTB cassette.