dura ace triple crank gearing question

Hi, I'm thinking about converting my road cranks

I mainly want a triple set up so that in the few hills I have (short and
sharp) I can spin rather than stand (my 35 year old knees!), but I also like
to put the hammer down on the flats when riding in a group and don't want to
be undergeared.

My question:

why does shimano offer ultegra in triple as 52/42/30t

but dura ace only in 53/39/30? campy record has a 52/42/30 combo as well
dont they?

does any one find that having a 39 middle ring with say a 12-23 seem to be
too easy to spin out on the flats?

Well, you could use an XT 11-37 rear, which should give you both the top and
the bottom with either.
--

Steve Juniper
"The problem with Texas Baptists is that they should have had their
heads held under longer."
-- Quoted by
Molly Ivins --

"Me" wrote in message ...
Hi, I'm thinking about converting my road cranks

I mainly want a triple set up so that in the few hills I have (short and
sharp) I can spin rather than stand (my 35 year old knees!), but I also like
to put the hammer down on the flats when riding in a group and don't want to
be undergeared.

My question:

why does shimano offer ultegra in triple as 52/42/30t

but dura ace only in 53/39/30? campy record has a 52/42/30 combo as well
dont they?

does any one find that having a 39 middle ring with say a 12-23 seem to be
too easy to spin out on the flats?

A shy person wrote:

Hi, I'm thinking about converting my road cranks

I mainly want a triple set up so that in the few hills I have (short and
sharp) I can spin rather than stand (my 35 year old knees!), but I also like
to put the hammer down on the flats when riding in a group and don't want to
be undergeared.

My question:

why does shimano offer ultegra in triple as 52/42/30t

but dura ace only in 53/39/30? campy record has a 52/42/30 combo as well
dont they?

does any one find that having a 39 middle ring with say a 12-23 seem to be
too easy to spin out on the flats?

My advice is to avoid the Dura-Ace triple in general, go for Ultegra.

The Dura-Ace uses special, dedicated chainrings for the 30 and 39, you
can't replace either of them with anything else.

The Ultegra is a very much better design, and you can replace the silly
30 tooth ring with something more reasonable. We commonly swap these
out for 26 or even 24 tooth rings.

This lets you use a tight cluster in back, and still have a decent
climbing gear.

Sheldon "Most Expensive Isn't Always Best" Brown
+--------------------------------------------------+
| What's not worth doing is not worth doing well. |
| --Don Hebb |
+--------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

"Me" wrote in message ...

Hi, I'm thinking about converting my road cranks

I mainly want a triple set up so that in the few hills I have (short and
sharp) I can spin rather than stand (my 35 year old knees!), but I also like
to put the hammer down on the flats when riding in a group and don't want to
be undergeared.

My question:

why does shimano offer ultegra in triple as 52/42/30t

but dura ace only in 53/39/30? campy record has a 52/42/30 combo as well
dont they?

does any one find that having a 39 middle ring with say a 12-23 seem to be
too easy to spin out on the flats?

Why not shift up to the big ring?

Seriously, after riding the stock Ultegra triple awhile, I like it a lot.
There's a smaller gap in the front shifts, so you can use them more often. For
big shifts use the front, and little ones use the rear.

The Dura Ace setup seems to be for people who only need the inner ring
occasionally, and don't want to change from the 53-39 that they're used to. But
if you're going to have a triple, you might as well have one that's optimized as
a triple, rather than a double-plus-granny. The Ultegra probably gives you
better chainlines in use, too.

Matt O.

Me- why does shimano offer ultegra in triple as 52/42/30t

but dura ace only in 53/39/30? campy record has a 52/42/30 combo as well
dont they?

does any one find that having a 39 middle ring with say a 12-23 seem to be
too easy to spin out on the flats? BRBR

I think a well set up triple, where the middle ring can be used for the entire
rear cogset, chainline-wise, a 42 middle is a much better idea.

Gotta ask shimano about their DA triple quirks, like a triple only left lever
and no way to change the middle to a 42 or anything else for that matter.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

What do you mean by a optimized triple rather than a double + granny? I ask
because I've only used doubles on road bikes, and as I age I'm considering
going with a triple on my next road setup. My natural inclination is to
think about a triple as a double with a bail-out granny addition. With an
optimized triple do you think about your gearing in a different way?

The other triple I thought was interesting is the more difficult to find
(but apparently available) Campy 50-40-30. To Sheldon's point, a third
party chainring could always be substituted for the 30 to make a more
effective granny and still stay close to the 23 tooth max differential for
the front.


Seriously, after riding the stock Ultegra triple awhile, I like it a lot.
There's a smaller gap in the front shifts, so you can use them more often.
For
big shifts use the front, and little ones use the rear.

The Dura Ace setup seems to be for people who only need the inner ring
occasionally, and don't want to change from the 53-39 that they're used
to. But
if you're going to have a triple, you might as well have one that's
optimized as
a triple, rather than a double-plus-granny. The Ultegra probably gives
you
better chainlines in use, too.

Matt O.

Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:

Gotta ask shimano about their DA triple quirks, like a triple only left lever

You've made this assertion before, and I still don't get it. How can
anybody make a "triple only" front shifter?

As far as I know, _all_ current Shimano front shifters (except Dura-Ace
10 sp) work with doubles or triples.

I must admit I haven't tried using a Dura-Ace triple shifter on a double
crankset (we hardly ever sell bikes with double cranksets) but I don't
see how it would be possible for any shifter to be able to work with
three rings, but not to work with two.

I asked you about this previously, but didn't see an answer.

Sheldon "Two Is Easier Than Three" Brown
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| Always listen to the experts. |
| They'll tell you what can't be done, and why. |
| Then do it. --Robert A. Heinlein |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

"Steve Juniper" wrote in message
newsIszb.294905$275.1015810@attbi_s53...
Well, you could use an XT 11-37 rear

Do those exist???

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

hmm, pehaps I've misunderstood, but shimano seems to charge about $80 more
for their triple stis than their double. The ultegra from my experience has
that extra click, but supposedly (I've never owned one) the sti dura ace is
specific to either a double or triple from the factory...

hopefully, someone will now write that the 9spd double da stis will shift
triples and if thats the case I'll save myself $80!

-cheers again...

"Sheldon Brown" wrote in message
...
Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:

Gotta ask shimano about their DA triple quirks, like a triple only left
lever

You've made this assertion before, and I still don't get it. How can
anybody make a "triple only" front shifter?

As far as I know, _all_ current Shimano front shifters (except Dura-Ace
10 sp) work with doubles or triples.

I must admit I haven't tried using a Dura-Ace triple shifter on a double
crankset (we hardly ever sell bikes with double cranksets) but I don't
see how it would be possible for any shifter to be able to work with
three rings, but not to work with two.

I asked you about this previously, but didn't see an answer.

Sheldon "Two Is Easier Than Three" Brown
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| Always listen to the experts. |
| They'll tell you what can't be done, and why. |
| Then do it. --Robert A. Heinlein |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

hopefully, someone will now write that the 9spd double da stis will shift
triples and if thats the case I'll save myself $80!


Someone probably will...as hope springs eternal.
They'd be wrong though.
Two different leftys they be...

PH