defy 4 compact or triple

remington 700

my first bike which would be better

Cork24

Triple gives you more gears, but will u use the lower set of gears ?

Double would be lighter, plus will give you more gears on the Cassette where as the Triple u will lose some

Cee-Jay-Cee

I debated this before buying my first bike also and in the end up decided that a compact made more sense. Ok so the triple may have been more beneficial when starting off but as soon as you build up some miles on the bike and become fitter then you will use the smallest front cog less and less so i decided on a compact. So far i've only used the lowest/easiest gear a few times and i cant envisage anywhere that i would need anything lower/easier.

smacl

I've a triple, and as a middle aged 80kg bloke in only moderate shape, use the lower gears quite regularly. Going over the devils elbow last night for example, the granny ring and wide cassette were most welcome. The commonly quoted phrase for low gears is that its better to be looking at them then looking for them. My road set-up is 53-42-30 on the front, and 13-28 on the back, which gives me a super low gear of 30/28 for those 20% gradients scattered around the place, and 53/13 as a respectable top gear.

The main problem with triples I find is keeping them in adjustment, where the difference between smooth changes with no chain rub and dropping the chain is tiny. That and they're uncool, but I'm way beyond caring on that score.

Note that you can also get some very low geared cassettes for compacts, e.g. 30t sprocket on the new tiagra, and 32t on SRAM. This is actually going to leave you with a lower lowest gear than many triples. My bike came with an 11-23 cassette, and even with the granny ring, I found certain gradients to be hard going.

Rew

Just got my first road bike and got a compact but I have been cycling an MTB for the last year and a half

youtheman

I bought a bike with a triple, then took up cycling ('cart before the horse', or maybe even 'chicken and egg situation'. The second year I bought my second bike with a Compact Double. My advice, for those who wish to listen, is NEVER NEVER NEVER even consider a Triple (I'd go as far as even saying they should be banned).

smacl

youtheman wrote: »

My advice, for those who wish to listen, is NEVER NEVER NEVER even consider a Triple (I'd go as far as even saying they should be banned).

Why?

Zen0

I went for a triple myself, having had knee problems in the past, but if I was buying again I'd consider the option of a compact with a wide ratio cassette on the back. That said, I've no major regrets about the triple. Where you do most of your cycling might also have a bearing.

youtheman

FOR
1. my compact double has EXACTLY the same lowest gear ratio as the TRIPLE, so I can cycle up hills just as fast.
2. my compact double has a higher top gear, so I can cycle down hills faster.
3. It is lighter as there is less metal hanging off the bike.
4. It is easier to clean as there is less parts involved.
5. There is less 'frigging around' with the gears as there are less permutations involved.

AGAINST
1. The Compact has less gears combinations (2x10=20) compared with the Triple (3x9=27) however this is more than compensated by the fact that all the 27 gears are not in a natural sequence or row (niether is the Compact, but it's not as bad).

When I bought the bike I thought : More (gears) are better; and a triple will get my fat ass up the hills better. I was wrong on both counts.

If you are thinking of getting a triple then I would urge you to at least speak directly to someone who has experience of both.

mcgratheoin

Zen0 wrote: »

Where you do most of your cycling might also have a bearing.

+1 - if you're riding around S Dublin/N Wicklow, then a triple can be nice to have up by the Blue Light or Cruagh or the Wall or Enniskerry. I had somebody laugh at my triple at the bottom of Seskin Hill on the Sean Kelly once - I've no idea whether he was laughing at the top though, cos I didn't wait for him to walk up

smacl

youtheman wrote: »

The Compact has less gears combinations (2x10=20) compared with the Triple (3x9=27) however this is more than compensated by the fact that all the 27 gears are not in a natural sequence or row (niether is the Compact, but it's not as bad).

Whether you run a 9 or 10 speed cassette at the back has nothing to do with whether you've a double or triple up front. I find the 42t middle ring to be a good option for many conditions, I suspect if I had a compact I'd possibly be changing gears at the front more often. On a triple with a 53t big ring, for the same cassette, you will have a higher high gear and lower low gear than a compact.

You're best of figuring out the specific gain ratios you'll achieve for the crankset and cassette you're considering. If you can get the range you need in a compact, and the layout doesn't leave you constantly moving from big to small ring, it's a better option.

NeedMoreGears

Looking at the specs it seems that you have a choice between 30/42/52 and 34/50 on the front with 11-28 on the rear cassette for both.

At the front thats only a 4% difference (52 vs. 50) and you'll have plentty of scope to scare the bejaysus out of yourself with both - 100rpm on the big ring/smallest gear gives you 57-59kph.

At the other the difference in ratios is 13% (34 vs 30) which is more substantial. About four years ago, I had an earlier giant with 12-27 on the back and found the 34/27 not really enough for some of the very steep hills. I put on an 11-30 and it was a lot easier. This gave a ratio of 34/30 or 1.13 which is a bit higher than the lowest on the triple of 1.07 at 30/28. Today I have 11-28 on the back and I find its fine.

I also have a triple on a mountain bike. The front derailleur works just fine although I rarely use the small ring as there is only one short climb (500m at about 6% - relatively tiddly compared to say Sally Gap).

All in all a long winded way of saying "up to you really". If you could get an 11-30 on the back (or even a 12-30) you might get the best of both worlds. Is there any way you could try out these bikes?

triggermortis

I have a compact and a triple and like them both. My first road bike was the triple and coming from a mountain bike, this seemed a logical move. Meath isn't too hilly (where I lived when I got it) and I never used the granny ring, but I now have that bike out in Switzerland and have already been grateful for there being more gears on the bike.
I've yet to meet a hill in Monaghan/Louth/Cavan that I can't get up (painfully slowly, in fairness) on my compact, so I'm happy enough with that