[Closed] Who still runs a triple up front?

Me, no other way of doing 25+ mph without going mental.

My bikes get used both on and off road, sometimes pulling a trailer or carrying bags of shopping, sometimes not. I have no intention of throwing a load of cash on a drive train which will give little or no benefit over what I have now, spinning at 120rpm in order to make decent headway on downhill road sections isn't a good look either imo.

Think of it as a 3x 1x.

3x9 on my xc race bike - for me theres no other way to get the ratios I need..

I still have a triple on my Soul. Don't see any need to change it as it still functions perfectly. I have a double and bash on my Alpine, primarily as I tend to use it in rockier situations; otherwise it would still be triple as well.

overlaps that aren't really overlaps unless you are clumsy enough to change a front ring and then crank the chain back 5-6 sprockets.

+1 its a poor argument used to justify the latest 1X.

Interesting to read the posts about catching and bending/breaking the big ring on rocks and logs. Never, in over 25 years of riding, have I ever once damaged a chainring in this way.

not for a long time.

Never, in over 25 years of riding, have I ever once damaged a chainring in this way.

but surely it's not beyond your imagination to think that this might be an issue for other folk, though.

Personally As soon as I learned that I was carrying more gears than I could use, your carrying 27 on a 3x9 and 30 on the 3x10!! But only something like 14 are unique, and gears that I couldn't actually use on a traditional 3 ring chainring set up (at the extremes), I got rid of it as soon as I could!

#TRIPLE4LYF
Get to keep up in the slipstream of cars on roads downhill in 44-11 #winning

3x10 - Race in the winter on the 32, use the big ring on tarmac and climb long Chilterns climbs in the mud after 50miles in the granny. Weighs a bit more, clatters a bit more but gives me versatility.

One thing people rarely mention is the negative effect of large cadence changes on steep climbs when you're tired. Using the granny and not being right at the top of the cassette allows you to spin and change without leg sapping drops in cadence.

2x11. Highly unfashionable, almost frowned on, but it is so much more versatile for heavily mixed terrain. I enjoy riding/slogging up horrendous stuff and pedalling back down. 1x11 just leaves it a bit short of the desired range for me. I don't get confused by all the levers and wouldn't exactly say the bars are cluttered thanks to ispec etc. Ride what suits you, and ignore the fashion police.

3x9. Why would I replace a load of perfectly functioning kit just to be on trend?

Yep I still have 3x9 (all XT) on my 29er hardtail, for the simple reason that I've not run out of spares for it yet.

Neanderthals, all of you ^. Opposable left thumb is for the dropper.

This is a great thread and a real tonic to the endless narrow minded '1x is the answer to everything, anything else is rubbish and used by stupid heads' threads that pop up daily.

My current bikes are three 3x7, one 3x9 (Wife's) and one 3x10. My main bike is 3x because it came that way.

I rarely use the big ring but have and will again. I have some vouchers hanging about so I might replace the big ring with a bash but this will be because I can get one in Hope blue that will match my other blue Hope bits. Saying that, I've been threatening to do it for a year or so and just have not been bothered.

Neanderthals can only use Opposable left thumb for the dropper.

3 x 10 on my 26'er MTB

So 2011.....

3 x 10 on my Fargo works btilliantly. I moved to 2x on my mountain bikes as I had a tendency to catch my big ring on rocks somewhat regularly. I was never a big user of the big ring so haven't really missed it. 😀

Each to their own though. My Fargo wouldn't be as good if it was a 2 x se up.

chestrockwell - Member
This is a great thread and a real tonic to the endless narrow minded '1x is the answer to everything, anything else is rubbish and used by stupid heads' threads that pop up daily.

Pop up daily in your mind, that would be...
😀

A lot of riders use different setups on their bicycles.I must have missed these threads where anyone can be bothered to scrape the bottom of the annoyance barrel and summon up enough passion about a bicycle drivetrain to actively insult those who don't share their setup. Except maybe a few on this one... 😉

I forgot another good reason not to leave 3x9.

Rapid Rise is the win. 8)

"As i said before, a 32/11 gives you 20mph at 70-80 rpm. So 23-24 mph is perfectly pedallable. So why the need for 3x?"

I like to be still cranking at 35mph hoping to go faster! Still trying to beat my personal record of 50mph off road.

On my Spesh Pitch I have a double with 38t large ring, but 38/11 isn't high enough, i have considered going back to a triple to get higher gears but not gone for it yet as I haven't ridden much recently due to injury.

Ah. It wouldn't be STW if, rather than just saying "Yeah, that's how I have my bike set up" people didn't defend their choices by mocking others.
I don't run more than 1 front ring on my mtb. I don't find I miss the others on the South Downs. I run my dropper where the front shifter used to be as it makes sense.
I do have 2 rings on my road/fire track/whatever drop bar bike as it gives me the gears I need.
I don't give 2 figs what anyone else does, moreover I don't feel the need to belittle them for making their choices or think that their circumstances may be the same as mine.

I've got 3x10 on the Solaris and 3x9 on the 26er Soul.

The Soul trans is shagged and needs replacing. I very, very rarely use the big ring (only if I find myself on tarmac) so wouldn't miss it. My mate just got a Soul275 with 1x11 (on Cy's recommendation mainly) and I'm keen to see how that goes. It's certainly easier to clean! Bearing in mind that I have a boxed XT groupset (bought in a fit 'forward thinking/planning' when Merlin started doing them sub £300 a couple years ago) I suspect that'll go on it next. But then again the 6-7 yo stans 355 hope wheels have also seen better days so it's getting to the stage of working out whether to throw the towel in on it and go 27.5. Which then beggars the question of two hardtails why not a full sus and, oo, that Giant Trance is around the same price as a new Soul....

Sorry, what was the question again?

Ah. It wouldn't be STW if, rather than just saying "Yeah, that's how I have my bike set up" people didn't defend their choices by mocking others.

well quite, as some one* said once on here: "Pick a side and be a dick about it"

*can't remember who

"I don't give 2 figs what anyone else does, moreover I don't feel the need to belittle them for making their choices or think that their circumstances may be the same as mine."

WOW U R AMAZIN.

Went from 3x9, to 3x10 for the clutch mech. Sram X9.

Works beautifully, there's many hills which are just too steep around here and go on for too long, cat 3+4's. Its nice to spin up them with a good cadence and keep the legs fresh for the rest of the ride.

Any road work linking the trails up, the big ring gets used every ride.

Although I can see why people run 2x10, 1x11 etc, some ride trail centres, less elevation, don't ride road, like the simplicity on the bar, less weight etc etc

I like this thread

Nice to see that we are not all sheep

Boardman pro ht 2010 with a triple , have to admit that a 1x10 looks real tidy but id be lost without a 42t .
As for weight saving 'what a load of bull' .

Nice to see that we are not all sheep

Chaps, there's no need to get so upset about your bicycle parts. It was just a light-hearted tease.

3x9 or 3x10 here...

I might have missed something here, was 1x or 2x the brainchild of sram & co? Reason being Shimano were still getting front mechs specced on bikes as their's are betterer?

Pop up daily in your mind, that would be...

A lot of riders use different setups on their bicycles.I must have missed these threads where anyone can be bothered to scrape the bottom of the annoyance barrel and summon up enough passion about a bicycle drivetrain to actively insult those who don't share their setup. Except maybe a few on this one...

Really? I guarantee MikeS is literally dying to post up his interesting chart about gear range for the 350th time this week. 😉

Also interesting to see people who want to defend 1x seeking out a thread about people who still run 3x so they can get upset that people are being mean to them. 😉

Lol its a good chart 🙂 it actually tells you what the numbers are as most people seem to think it's all a bit magic...

1x10 with a range extender on the 29+, 2x10 on the Scandal I use for MTBO - because the 3x9 wore out and I decided to try something different, 3x9 on everything else until it wears out.

Also interesting to see people who want to defend 1x seeking out a thread about people who still run 3x so they can get upset that people are being mean to them.

I wasn't seeking a thread out, or looking to defend anyone, merely doing a bit of light reading about bikes. Just find it interesting that folks quite often belittle others on their choices... 😉

It wasn't necessarily directed at you mate. 😉 😉 😮

3x8 on my old Scott Reflex and 1x10 on Kona Honzo. Waitng for the snow melt here to get more rides with Honzo to see how I like that 1x10 setup.

Mostly ride on 3x7 and 8 but the modern bike has 9 🙂

Everyone's legs are different. Some super fast riders might generate all their power within a very narrow cadence range whilst some slower riders might be able to generate their power across a much wider range of pedal speeds. If your legs are happiest going at the same speed you'll appreciate a wide gearing range whilst if you're happy to spin very fast and stomp very slowly then you'll be fine with getting rid of lots of gears (the extreme being going singlespeed).

Running 1x10 without an expander my legs run out of push at about 40mph or at the end of a long day on long and steep climbs, so it works fine for me and my riding. For epic multi-day XC rides I suspect I'd still want 3x.

3X10 here. I have no intention of replacing it, if parts wear I'll replace them with 3X parts.
I run pretty close ratio blocks and I like the smooth transition I get. Plus I've really needed all the gears a 3X could give on some events, where I've gone from hunkered down on the bar ends and in big/small to hitting super steep slimy climbs.

3x8, 3x9 and 3x10 (given the hills and my tendency to poke about looking over hedges). I seem to prefer the location of the gaps in the 8spd stuff over the 9spd.

The 3x10 is indexed (as it was bought as a complete groupset, thus intended to work together), everything else is friction shifted, given the often rather odd mix of components used. (Ah, everything else that is, that hasn't been single speed'd).

I'm still 3x9 and Octalink to boot (it just won't wear out).

Whether I stick to a triple when I'm forced to go Hollowtech 2 I'm not so sure as it won't offer much over a double. All the 10 speed triples (like their dual counterparts) only have 40 tooth big rings which strikes me as odd when you can pretty much extend your low gears ad-infinitum with expander cogs.

When 2* can give me the same range as the equivalent 3* system, at the same cost, I'll switch.
No reason not too.

I'd be happy to sacrifice a couple of higher gears, but nothing off the bottom, ta.

Until then, I'll keep what I've got.

I don't use the big ring every ride, but on rolling road sections when the wind's behind you, you can save a lot of time getting to the next bit of trail.