In this article, I will talk about my experience in using a triple crankset on a road bike. First of all, what is a triple crankset? A triple crankset has - of course - three chainrings. This offers another small chainring (a "granny" ring as others would call it) in addition to the usual two of typical road cranksets. By doing so, the range your road bike has increased and it is now easier to tackle steep climbs. The downside is having more weight (additional chainring, triple-specific derailleurs) and having a slighty more complicated system (a triple front shifter). However, the rise of the
compact chainrings in recent years has made the triple seem "obsolete" - easy gear for climbing using the "normal" double front shifter and derailleurs. The triple has then faded into obscurity and nowadays, people are surprised to see road-specific triple setups.
Nonetheless, this article is about triple setups.
Gearing. The gearing of a triple is typically a standard (53/39, 52/39, 52/42, 50/39) plus a little 30t small ring. 50/39/30t is the most common ratio available today. On the other hand, the rarest is a 53/39/30t - this combination is what I consider the best of all. It has a "true" standard 53t instead of an "almost-there" 52t. In the middle, one might still be able to find 52/39/30t and 52/42/30t ratios around.
This is my steel road bike set up as a triple. The comfort of a steel frame and the wide range of a triple crankset makes a wonderful combination for long rides.
