Supposing you had an audax type bike but in the back of your mind you were thinking about some lightweight touring in the future – B&Bs rather than camping, so just changes of clothes, not full camping kit.

Would you keep it with compact gearing or would you swap over to a triple set up? I reckon a 12-28 cassette at the back and you could get away with the compact rather than have the fiddlier triple set up.

Feel free to disagree and prove me wrong!

I think you would be OK with a compact with a 12-28 at the back for the kind of touring you describe – providing you are not planning to go anywhere with really steep hills.

i reckon you’d be ok with 34 x 28 lowest. so long as you were going light.

I went through this when building the Amazon and opted for a compact with a 12-28. It was all fine until my ambitions took off, I wanted to carry more weight and I found some hillier roads. I’ve since swapped to a triple – more at the top, easier at the bottom and for no real down-side. I actually don’t find a triple any more “fiddly”.

I asked the same a few weeks ago: http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/compact-vs-triple-for-touringcommuting-bike

Went for a triple in the end. Thou that was for loaded touring and still wasnt enough with a 12-25 in Scotland. I understand now why people use MTB groupsets on tourers!

Triple every time ! It’s not like it adds that much to the weight, on the scale of things. You don’t have to use it.

Depends where you plan on going and how fit you are – anywhere with long steep hills and if you are less than ultra-fit then you’ll probably appreciate a triple.

Triple will be more versitile but will have grown men ( who should know better) rolling their eyes at you for not being in their gang

Important bit is a wide block at the back – up to a 28 I’d say.

If you go compact, I’d say even a MTB block (11-32) and MTB mech at the back.

But otherwise, a closer block (up to 28) at the back and a tripple up front… as said, there’s no real disadvantage at the front.

Sram Apex 11-32 10sp cassette will work with shimano 10sp sti (shimano 10sp mtb cassettes DO NOT work) giving 34-32 which is pretty low.Have swapped to 1×10 on the cx with a 38 up front.

If you go compact, I’d say even a MTB block (11-32) and MTB mech at the back.

It’s a good point, if it’s just for the occasional trip, you could just have a cheap 11-34 MTB cassette and derailleur and probably a longer chain, then just swap them over when you needed them. Assuming you already have a compact up front, then a 34-34 should be low enough for most anything. You could even just take the stuff off your existing MTB. This is all assuming you are using Shimano or Sram…

I’ve done some light touring on my Cross Check which still has its CX-type gearing, so fairly low. I still could have done with a triple on some of the steeper hills. I made it, but it wasn’t particularly pleasant.

So I’d say triple, even though it’s not “cool”, as if that should make a difference.

Sram Apex 11-32 10sp cassette will work with shimano 10sp sti (shimano 10sp mtb cassettes DO NOT work)

10 speed Shimano MTB cassettes work fine. It is 10 speed MTB rear mechs that have issues.

depends where you are going, anywhere with hills then triple all the way, i have a standard CX triple for lightweight not too hilly touring (with an 11-32 block) and stick a 24 on the front when i know the going is likely to be tougher, i forgot to do this for the pyrenees and nearly exploded my knees as a consequence. If you can fit smaller front rings and a roadie block then you get a better choice of ratios, the wife has this set up and it works well

if you are touring with others then it’s good to know you have a ratio you can twiddle uphill in at the same speed, in the pyrenees i struggled to climb at the same pace as my wife as she had a lower gear allowing her to climb at half the speed i was comfortable at

Bike aint going to be much slower with just some clothes, but the point is, how long/hilly will the riding be? (as said above).

Triple for me – doesn’t exactly slow you down and winds up plenty tools on here/in bunches.

Triple.

I have that on my winter/commuter/light tourer. It’s got me and panniers up the Koppenberg (22% and cobbled).

As it so happens, I have a nice Ultegra triple and matching mech available at a very reasonable price….

I decided a 50/39/30 triple was worth the extra weight (about 200g ). The middle ring is ideal for pootling, stop-start and general riding, the big ring for cracking on and time trials and the granny is there for the steep climbs that crop up during my rides around Shropshire.

I felt the downside of a 50/34 compact is the big jump between chainrings. Also on middling rides I’d be right at the top end of the cassette with the 34T front ring.

However, in the end it’s personal choice and I’m sure if I had bought a bike with compact setup I’d manage just fine.

Comparison graph on flickr, rustled up when I had a 52T chainring.

Surely this is normally the point in a compact/triple thread where some ‘man’ comes along and categorically says there is no need for anything less than a 52t front chainring and 11-21 cassette on the back. And just MTFU.

I’ve been running a Campag triple 30/40/50. To be honest I am tempted to just remove the 50t chainring as it never gets any usage.

What shifters are you using? SRAM don’t do triple shifters (though I suppose if you just wanted the inner and middle rings of a triple it would work) and IIRC Shimano are double/triple specific (assuming roadie style STIs here mind..) so it gets expensive to swap them.

If you’ve got compact at the moment I’d suggest just keeping it. Maybe try a hilly test route out and see if you need the lower gearing. If you’re choosing now betwixt them I’d err on the triple side.

I fitted a triple to my tourer and paired with an 11-34 cassette. My bike is fitted with an XT chainset and cassette with dura ace shifters.

It’s always better to have an easy option, especially when you’re not adding too much weight.

No point trying to take on the hills with too high a gear when your touring.

Far better to knock it into an easier gear, and enjoy the view 8)

If you can’t fit a triple and don’t like the jump from 50 to 34T you could get a ‘cross double (36/46) and MTB cassette. 46×11 is the same as 50×12, while 36×34 will be at least as low as 30×25. SJS sell a Stronglight Impact in 34/48 and 36/50 for £70.