Author Topic: Double to Triple temporarily. Do you need to change the levers?  (Read 6165 times)

Seineseeker

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Some friends of mine are suggesting a ridiculous mountainous 1600km 10 day ride. I have a compact on my bike, but I am thinking as a one off I should get a triple for this.

It's all campag stuff (record as it happens), if I changed the front to a triple do I need to change one of the levers, and the front derailleur? Or can I get away with it as is.

Alternatively I suppose I could put a long mech on the back and get a 29 cassette.

Jacomus

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Re: Double to Triple temporarily. Do you need to change the levers?
« Reply #1 on: 29 March, 2008, 08:01:18 pm »
You would need a tripple shifter if you want to put a tripple ring on I'm pretty sure.

Personally tripples rule supreme, but then again, I am a rider who spins instead of tourques.
"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity." Amelia Earhart

simongjones

Re: Double to Triple temporarily. Do you need to change the levers?
« Reply #2 on: 29 March, 2008, 08:12:01 pm »
Lots of things to think about here in order to decide how low you need your gears to be.

Traditionally a touring bike would have a bottom of 1:1 or lower. 

But on the technical front, your Campag gear lever should accommodate a triple.  Not sure about the front mech tho.

Seems to me this would be an expensive option.  Personally I'd think about borrowing a more suitable bike, or putting slicks on a mountain bike. 

Re: Double to Triple temporarily. Do you need to change the levers?
« Reply #3 on: 29 March, 2008, 09:07:28 pm »
You would also need to change the bottom bracket and if you've got a rear mech with a short cage you may well need to change for one with a long cage to handle the greater range of gear ratios.

Definitely a very expensive option if only doing it temporarily.
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Re: Double to Triple temporarily. Do you need to change the levers?
« Reply #4 on: 29 March, 2008, 09:13:02 pm »
Certainly with Shimano one doesn't need a long cage rear mech for a triple chainset if one is careful about ones choice of gear.

Re: Double to Triple temporarily. Do you need to change the levers?
« Reply #5 on: 29 March, 2008, 09:37:52 pm »
it worked out cheaper buying a complete new groupset than upgrading just the bits needed to "go triple" when i did it a while ago. essentials were: l/h shifter, bb, front mech, rear mech, triple crankset. so i just upgraded to whole bike to tiagra, leaving me with a double sora/unbranded groupset that eventually went on another bike.
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gonzo

Re: Double to Triple temporarily. Do you need to change the levers?
« Reply #6 on: 30 March, 2008, 02:56:47 pm »
Heard someone say not too long ago that an advantage of campag was that one shifter did both double and triple set ups.

Re: Double to Triple temporarily. Do you need to change the levers?
« Reply #7 on: 30 March, 2008, 05:37:09 pm »
Heard someone say not too long ago that an advantage of campag was that one shifter did both double and triple set ups.

Same is or certainly was true of Shimano Ultegra, at least of the 1999 version it was.

Seineseeker

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Re: Double to Triple temporarily. Do you need to change the levers?
« Reply #8 on: 30 March, 2008, 05:45:07 pm »
Hmmmm, I'm thinking the easiest would be to put a long rear mech on the back and at least a 29 cassette. That would give me 34x29. I have ridden the Marmotte on 34x26, I just wanted an extra bail out gear or two for this expedition.

IanDG

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Re: Double to Triple temporarily. Do you need to change the levers?
« Reply #9 on: 30 March, 2008, 05:46:25 pm »
Heard someone say not too long ago that an advantage of campag was that one shifter did both double and triple set ups.

Same is or certainly was true of Shimano Ultegra, at least of the 1999 version it was.

my tiagras are handling triple ok - I bought them as a forum deal for a double project, and not sure if they were triples or doubles. This year tried them with triple and yippee they work

PH

Re: Double to Triple temporarily. Do you need to change the levers?
« Reply #10 on: 31 March, 2008, 11:34:35 pm »
Hmmmm, I'm thinking the easiest would be to put a long rear mech on the back and at least a 29 cassette. That would give me 34x29. I have ridden the Marmotte on 34x26, I just wanted an extra bail out gear or two for this expedition.

If they're 10 speed Ergos and you can get hold of a Shimano rear wheel and MTB mech you could use any size cassette in 8 or 9 speed.
Mix & match

Re: Double to Triple temporarily. Do you need to change the levers?
« Reply #11 on: 01 April, 2008, 07:53:25 am »
Hmmmm, I'm thinking the easiest would be to put a long rear mech on the back and at least a 29 cassette. That would give me 34x29. I have ridden the Marmotte on 34x26, I just wanted an extra bail out gear or two for this expedition.

I have a chorus compact on my blingiest bike and tried a 29 cassette 'just to see if it'd work' with the standard rear mech.  It does, as long as you dont use the 2 biggest cogs at the back when on the 50, or the smallest 4 or 5 cogs when on the 34.  You can certainly use 34 x 29.   It's not silent, but it works.

cc93

Re: Double to Triple temporarily. Do you need to change the levers?
« Reply #12 on: 01 April, 2008, 08:18:25 am »
You don't need to change the shifters with Campag - they work with double and triple chainsets (unlike Shimano which I believe are specific)

I doubt BB length will cause a real problem and the front mech should be OK. You might have issues with the rear mech's ability to handle the extra teeth difference, though with careful chain length and avoiding silly front/back combinations you'll probably get away with it.

Worth trying to borrow one and give it a try!

Seineseeker

  • Biting the cherry of existential delight
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Re: Double to Triple temporarily. Do you need to change the levers?
« Reply #13 on: 01 April, 2008, 08:33:46 am »
Thanks everyone. I have a friend who ran a 12-28 cassette with a 34-50 campag compact, so I may try something along those lines.

Re: Double to Triple temporarily. Do you need to change the levers?
« Reply #14 on: 01 April, 2008, 08:35:26 am »
You don't need to change the shifters with Campag - they work with double and triple chainsets (unlike Shimano which I believe are specific)

My STis worked with double and triple and they were intended to. My Shimano downtube levers do to.

cc93

Re: Double to Triple temporarily. Do you need to change the levers?
« Reply #15 on: 01 April, 2008, 09:11:59 am »
I stand corrected, some (new 105) are, though  Dura-ace & Ultegra 10sp are still listed as double or triple.

donpedro

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Re: Double to Triple temporarily. Do you need to change the levers?
« Reply #16 on: 01 April, 2008, 09:20:36 am »
You could custom build your own cassett:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/k7.html#custom
A short rear derailur should work with a 30t sprocket:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_ca-g.html#capacity
That should be low enough.
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