Ok, so I’ve just updated my DeRosa with Ultegra 6800, which is as everyone said, is miles apart from the 6700 it’s replaced..
So, I want to upgrade my Vaya to the same, but want to run a triple, but seems they don’t make the STIs in triple?
Or am I missing something…

Well you can have a 32t cassette out back and a 50/34 upfront .

Do you need a triple ?

i thought the same pete how ever when i loaded up my bike with my touring gear and tried to climb out of kylerhea i wanted a triple.

also i didnt like the wide jumps between gears at the back or the front. often i was in the too easy a gear spinning a maddy and the next one up was too hard.

for touring and/or offroad he might, 34/32 isn’t that low with 4 panniers and a trailer up a hill, and it’s annoying if you’re denied 105/Ultegra if you want it.

OP, 4700 Tiagra is the only current under-bar routed STI set I’ve seen listed, but I’ll confess I haven’t checked Shimano/Madison directly, however the 4700 although 10 speed it is based on the 5800/6800 stuff NOT 5700/6700 and it is very very good and the hood and lever shape is the same or at least very very close to 5800 and 6800 so potential there for either going 10speed at the STI, or mix and match front and rear setup?

Do you need a triple?

Yup, for lugging kit around then very much so..

I’ve only done a bit of touring so far, but plan on a lot more so a triple is very much required..

i wanted a triple.

Even with a 32T cassette on? There’s very little difference between 34F/32R and 30F/28R.

Even with a 32T cassette on? There’s very little difference between 34F/32R and 30F/28R.

34/32 is actually minutely lower than 30/28. But then touring triples have a 28t or even 26t small ring so are lower again.

I don’t think anyone has asked whether a compact double would do the job, after all you don’t know what you want. Have you considered a double? You can go to pretty low gears with that you know.

Seriously though, if you can’t make Tiagra 3x front shifter work, could you go to a (friction?) bar end or down tube shifter?

Fair enough, I didn’t know a touring triple was smaller than a ‘regulalr’ triple.

philjunior – Member

I don’t think anyone has asked whether a compact double would do the job, after all you don’t know what you want. Have you considered a double? You can go to pretty low gears with that you know.

I actually have a 42/28 mtb double on my disc CX bike (135mm dropouts). I got it after Brant specced one on the PX Picknflick and we all questioned it. Happy to say the ratio extremes are actually very good combined with an 11-32 10s out back, jumps are a bit big but acceptable (for a cx bike).

What is irritating tho is the noise cross-chaining. With a road double you can use the whole cassette in the outer ring but the chainline on the mtb chainset combined with short chainstays means it makes a fair bit of noise in big-big. Dropping to the inner ring is the obvious solution but the drop 42 down to 28 is pretty big. Might be ok on a longer chainstay touring bike but much prefer the 28-38-50 triple I have on there.

If you want a triple, why not just get a 4703 (Tiagra), effectively all the benefits of the latest 11 speed tech, in a 10 speed package.

For 11 speed triple, Shimano have never offered this, although Campagnolo does

30T minimum on Ultegra 6700 IIRC?

Completely ignoring the fact that the gear jumps at the rear are much bigger.

I dont subscribe to the get rid of the front rings in lieu of sticking massive gaps between the gears at the back…..the top and bottom gears may be suitable but i rarely spend time in those.

No one forces you to use an ultegra front mech though……so the 30t min is probably moot especially as thats probably a 30t limit on a double.

Im very much a double kinda guy – a standard 39/53 double on my road and tt bikes but i want a triple on my tourer.

I also use the 28/42 set up on my Pickenflick but its no substitute for a triple. The gaps in a 11-32 are a right pain and whilst running this cassette with a the above chainset gives me fairly low gears they are not enough for dragging up the Bealach na Ba with a full load on into the wind. At the other end it spins out far too eaily. A triple offers much nice changing as the gaps are less and you have a wider range.
The OP could go Campag. Triple Athena exists and 11 speed cassettes are to all intents and purpose interchangeable so how about Athena Ergos with a Shimano type hub/cassette which gives you as low as you want.
Chainsets are easy. MTB, road or triple compact even. Look at Spa Cycles . Or Sugino sets

Spa are now doing super compact touring chainsets (basically a triple with outer ring replaced by a chainguard) in different versions from 46/30 to 40/24, whch might help the OP out for touring duties, but would obviously lose out at the top end (if that’s an issue).

I run a 160mm. crank 48 36 26 triple Spa Cycles own brand. It works well for me with Campag Centaur 9 speed groupset. The Cassette is 13 – 26 which is perfect most of the time, and only need the granny when i am loaded.For really hilly loaded i have a 14-28 cassette, but prefer the spacing of the 13 – 26 most of the time.
The great thing about the Campag STi was that you could run either a double or a triple on it. I don’t think that is the case with later groupsets

Campagnolo Ergo still available in triple. For loaded touring, particulary if offroad or high altitude then a 30 inner ring is a bit too tall IMO.

Older Campag Ergo front shifters were ratcheted (not indexed) so could work with any front derailleur. Is this still the case?

I use a 22/32/44 chainset and a wide 9 speed cassette to get me up anything .It`s very handy when knackered on the Dartmoor Devil Audax or when touring .My cx bike is set up the same for the 3 peaks .I cant get the gear range otherwise

You used to be able to get a thingie that sat inline in your gear outer to change the length. One position would do inner/middle the other would do middle/outer. Not seen one for probably 20 years. Was common for tourers who wanted to use STis, but D-A only came in double.

Just wondering what the travel on a shimano inline brake QR is, and if that would get you anywhere near. Or if it could simply be used to dump the front mech onto the inner ring and rest against the bottom stop. (So not indexed. But useable.) Closing the QR would just put you back into “normal” gear range, middle/outer.

Pickers – Member

Older Campag Ergo front shifters were ratcheted (not indexed) so could work with any front derailleur. Is this still the case?

No they changed the mechanism is the lower range models so you have to buy the triple specifically, and 11 speed top end stuff is now also limited to double front.