[rufus]

i bought the frame with the intent of makig it a double, pretty similar build to my EL-OS. but in the weeks since i picked it up, i've been wondering.

first, some day, when i have the money, i want to do a riding tour in Italy. and while there, I want to visit the Mondonicos and have them sign this frame, as they did my EL-OS. and i know that with my fitness level and Italian hills, i'll need a triple.

also figuring that some day, if i get the weight down and keep it there consistently, i might want to give Mt. Washington a try, and that will definitely call for a triple.

i could set it up now as a double, and then buy the parts to convert to a triple as needed at some future date. or, i could set it up right now as a triple from the beginning.

what would you guys do?

 

[Kerry Irons]

Some day?

some day, when i have the money, i want to do a riding tour in Italy. also figuring that some day, if i get the weight down and keep it there consistently, i might want to give Mt. Washington a try

Is "some day" later this season, later this decade, or later this century? That just might have an influence on whether you should do the triple now or wait.

 

[The Carlster]

39x27 should be plenty of gear for 99.9% of all riding you'll do. Keep it double

 

[High Cadence]

Compact?

Whatever you do...keep that bike a double!!!

 

[HeronTodd]

Don't listen to them. There is no shame in a triple. It makes the bike that much more versatile. Of course, I work a lot with guys who do brevets. While you might normally make a given hill in a 39x27, that doesn't mean that you can do it after mile 600!

 

[rufus]

"some day" is maybe three or four years from now. and i'm not a light guy, and not an incredibly strong rider, so on the extended 7% grades i do ride around here, i'm in my 39/29 on the EL-OS. steeper than that, on an extended tour, and i'll need all the gear i can get.

plus, i'm not getting any younger.

now, if i was to manage losing about fifty pounds, and keeping it off, and doing the 5 mile, 7% climb without stopping, with bigger gears, i might consider staying with the double.

but a couple of complicating factors are: totalcycling has leftover 2003 chorus double cranks at a really good price, i already have a double FD, and Campy is said to be changing their cranks/BB over to a system similar to Shimano's for 2007. that probably doesn't make that much of a difference since i'd need new cranks/BB for a triple anyway, but if i bought them now, i wouldn't need to switch everything over later.

 

[jd3]

I am older, bigger and slower than most of the guys I ride with. I do well to just hang on to their draft. But when we hit the hills, they slow down, stand on the pedals and grind up the hill. I drop down into my granny and spin right past them while still seated.

 

[Pepe]

Keeping the EL-OS? Are the components still in good shape? If so I'd get the triple. I've got one bike set up with a Record double (11-23) and the other with a triple. I can ride all day on the 11-23 as long as there are no monster climbs, and I love the tight cassette!!. However, each year there's usually a trip to Brasstown Bald and a couple of mountainous centures. One finishes with a 2200 ft climb in 3 miles. I've made that climb on the double with the 11-23 but not after 97 miles!! So I take the triple.

If after riding the new bike for a while you wish it were the double, swap components on your bikes. The triple will be there for you to swap back when you go to Europe.

With your current set-up with a 13-29, you've got a gear range of 36-109". Triple with 12-25 gives you 32-118" (one more gear at each end, with the low 90% of your current low). Put on a 13-29 and you'll have 28-109", or a gear which is 77% of your current low and the same high. You should be able to climb walls with that!!

 

[rufus]

the EL-OS would still be my main bike, so there's no way i'm making that a triple. the new bike would be for travelling with, or rides when the weather looks iffy(the EL-OS will not see rain )

i've been thinking of going with the triple and a 13-26 in back. but the other thing is i've been thinking that in a few years anyway of buying a Waterford and equipping that as a rain bike/tourer with a triple, fenders, etc, so i might just keep the Mondonico a double, and then just swap parts around if i ever did take it on a ride, like back to it's home country Italy, that would require a triple. the only extra part i'd need would be an Italian threaded triple BB.

 

[Coolhand]

I would look into a compact crankset- a 34-27 should get you up anything. And if you ride Campy, you can go for the stumping pulling low gear of a 34-29 !!

Plus it's much, much cheaper to retrofit a compact crank then to do a full triple conversion.

 

[MerckxMad]

I would look into a compact crankset- a 34-27 should get you up anything. And if you ride Campy, you can go for the stumping pulling low gear of a 34-29 !!

Plus it's much, much cheaper to retrofit a compact crank then to do a full triple conversion.

+1 If you take your beautiful Mondonico to Italy with a triple, you will be pelted with eggplants and roasted peppers. Make it a Campy compact carbon crankset and keep Tullio and Mauro happy.