Double Or Triple Chainring.. Which One?

A triple chainring gives you a wider range of gears, with the extra gears typically added on the low end for climbing/spinning. They are good for people that ride in very hilly areas or beginners that may just need those extra couple lower gears to make it home from a long ride.

Most veteran riders and racers will ride double chainrings because they are lighter and cooler (ie, less newbie). As you build leg strength, you don't typically need the extra 1-2 low end gears that a triple provides.

frenchyge said:

A triple chainring gives you a wider range of gears, with the extra gears typically added on the low end for climbing/spinning. They are good for people that ride in very hilly areas or beginners that may just need those extra couple lower gears to make it home from a long ride.

Most veteran riders and racers will ride double chainrings because they are lighter and cooler (ie, less newbie). As you build leg strength, you don't typically need the extra 1-2 low end gears that a triple provides.

hi frenchyge,
the place where i live has some really nice very sloping mountain roads not just hills. so if i go for the double chainring, perhaps a 12-27 cassette is better thatn the 12-25?

If you have any sort of hills, the triple is the go, the 12-27 casette is a good choice. If you still have problems on those hills, you can fit a smaller (than 30) chainring. Sheldon Brown recomends this method and sells 24-30 tooth 74mm BCD rings for as little as $20.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/chainrings/74.html

pinoybiker said:

hi frenchyge,
the place where i live has some really nice very sloping mountain roads not just hills. so if i go for the double chainring, perhaps a 12-27 cassette is better thatn the 12-25?

Sure. That would give you a comfort zone similar to having that third chainring. I'm considering switching to a 12-27 for my Colorado ride in July.

Without knowing your ability or the area you ride it's hard to say what will work best for you. All I can say is that a double chainring seems to be the more common setup, so I imagine that most riders can make due without those very low gears (although it's certainly nice to have them when you really need them because you've bonked or the climbing gets very steep).

You might ask around the local bikeshops to see what most people ride in your area and then guage from that.

good day frenchyge and gclark8,

okay i am actually on mountain bike right now and will shift to road bike. on my KHS Alite 4000 with i think 34 as the smallest ring, i use at times the granny and could just continue pedalling uphill for about 40 minutes. considering the lightness of the Alite 4000 frame 3.1 lbs it would almost be identical to a road bike. so it simply means that on a road bike 39/25 or 30/25 combination there would be no improvement on my climbing prowess then.

pinoybiker said:

What The Difference Between A Double And A Triple Chain Ring.
I Mean.. If I Have A Triple Chaining, Will It Make Some Advantage Over The Double?
Which One Is Better?

Newbie Question Indeed.
Tks

[font=Times New Roman]Sounds like you need to calculate the ‘gear inches’ for the different rings and cogs you are considering.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman]sheldonbrown.comgearsOpen ↗[/font]

[font=Times New Roman]I have a road bike with a triple 52/42/30 and a 12-25 9 speed cassette. The triple gives me only 4 more lower gears than the 42 x 25 gear. And if I had a double, the 39 ring (53/39) with a different cassette, like a 12-27, the double would cover the range of gears that the triple has, except for the 2 lowest gears.[/font]

bikeguy2004 said:

[font=Times New Roman]Sounds like you need to calculate the ‘gear inches’ for the different rings and cogs you are considering.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman]sheldonbrown.comgearsOpen ↗[/font]

[font=Times New Roman]I have a road bike with a triple 52/42/30 and a 12-25 9 speed cassette. The triple gives me only 4 more lower gears than the 42 x 25 gear. And if I had a double, the 39 ring (53/39) with a different cassette, like a 12-27, the double would cover the range of gears that the triple has, except for the 2 lowest gears.[/font]

good day bikeguy 2004.
tks for the info link and it will surely help me decide which one to have.
very informative site indeed.
will im you once i got which bike i decide to have.
kind regards

Don't let machoism decide for you. If you have hills and your new, go with the triple. You can always change to a double as your abilities improve. I have seen newbies try and spin doubles and get discouraged. The 27-30 rear will not provide the ratios of a 30-32 front ring. And by the way, for those that criticize triple shifting performance....I'd prefer the ability to climb over the fraction of a second it cost. Use your head not your ego before making the decision.😉

ouibyk said:

Don't let machoism decide for you. If you have hills and your new, go with the triple.

I couldn't agree more...

Plus if you ever decide to do some touring, you'll be able to lug all that gear up those hills. Here in Western Mass, I'd never be able to haul the camp up 15% 2 mile grades without my outrageously low 22X34 granny gear - that's right, a crawling 17 gear inches, that spins at about 3.3 mph.

Save the knees for future rides!

I agree with the 2 posters above.

I am about to replace my 12-25 (9) with a 13-23 and to not loose the climbing ability have ordered from Sheldon Brown (Harris) a 27t small ring to replace the standard 30.

If we had bigger hills to climb, I could have gone for a 26 or 24... When you are over 55, what's macho anyway??

gclark8 said:

When you are over 55

Not just 55, friend! Even when you're just cresting 40...

30 years of backpacking/jogging/riding has taught me one thing - take it slow and steady* and you can do the same thing tomorrow, and the next day, and the next....

It's not a race, it's an adventure. The one who has the most fun, WINS!

* that doesn't mean don't test yourself, but instead of putting the stress on that precious meniscus, why not offload to the cardiovascular system by learning how to comfortable spin at 100rpm? That's why you need at least one lower gear then you think you'll need (or is that kneed?)

Thanks to all the suggestions & all the help.

I finally made up my mind and bought a road bike. On my other post i seek for help with various brands and finally settled on th Orbea Onix ultegra 10 spd. the stock cassette was 11-23 so i changed it to 12-25 as the LBS has no 12-27 in stock. The crank is compact 50-34 so i think it will somehow help.
ill give the 12-25 a try on the hills and see if i need to go on a more smaller gears.
Again thanks a lot for all the replies.

Have a good day,