Query on chainset upgrades

Steve Hodgson said:

I have an Orange P7 with Shimano 105 gears but the front chainset is a
Suntour Superbe (52-42-30) and I have never been completely happy with
this as it seems to require frequent adjustment. I have wondered about
a possible upgrade to a Shimano FC-R700 50-34 compact double. Assuming
that even fits, my reasoning is that I won't have to change often and
the front mechanism will be simplified.

I used to front-shift /more/ often when I used a compact double than I do
with my triples now. Except on very undulating roads, the chainline and
choice of gears should be good enough to enable you to stay in the middle
ring for most of the time.

Maybe you would be happier with a double (I couldn't possibly know because
there are so many variables), but maybe give some alternative chainrings and
sprockets a try first, and improve the front mech if you can. Would be a
shame to loose some range/gears unnecessarily.

~PB

In article <[email hidden]>

Steve Hodgson said:

I was wondering about changing the front chainset on my city commuting
bike and wondered what are the pros and cons of going from two rings
down to three.

Presumably you mean going from triple to double?

Quoted message said:

I have an Orange P7 with Shimano 105 gears but the front chainset is a
Suntour Superbe (52-42-30) and I have never been completely happy with
this as it seems to require frequent adjustment.

Strange - are you sure that it's not slipping on the frame?

Quoted message said:

I have wondered about
a possible upgrade to a Shimano FC-R700 50-34 compact double. Assuming
that even fits, my reasoning is that I won't have to change often and
the front mechanism will be simplified.

Any thoughts?

I ran 32-44 with 12-26 on my hack bike and that's a useful spread of
ratios - 50 sounds a bit high to me. Having said that my Holdsworth had
32-52 with 14-28 and that was good too, but required a lot of double-
shifting (pushing both levers forward or back at the same time) when
moving around the middle of the range.

in message <[email hidden]>, Steve Hodgson

(') said:

I was wondering about changing the front chainset on my city commuting
bike and wondered what are the pros and cons of going from two rings
down to three.

I have an Orange P7 with Shimano 105 gears but the front chainset is a
Suntour Superbe (52-42-30) and I have never been completely happy with
this as it seems to require frequent adjustment. I have wondered about
a possible upgrade to a Shimano FC-R700 50-34 compact double. Assuming
that even fits, my reasoning is that I won't have to change often and
the front mechanism will be simplified.

Any thoughts?

Good idea. Will work, but you'll almost certainly need a new bottom
bracket as well to get the chainline right.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
;; Drivers in the UK kill more people every single year than
;; Al Qaeda have ever killed worldwide in any single year.