I've been an avowed triple rider (road bike) for years, and I'm converting it to 50/34. I put the 50/34 on the tri bike (FSA Carbon) and will get one for the roadie when the aluminum ones are available.

The double front ring will shift better, and the whole thing is less trouble mechanically. I've finally gotten a bit more fit, and haven't reached for anything beyond the 23 and the granny ring for a while. I will run either a 12-23 or 12-27 cassette, depending on terrain. If I were to head to France and ride a few passes per day on a multi-day tour, I'd probably get my hands on a 12-32 XTR cassette.

I would recommend the 50/34 to any semi-serious recreational (or higher) cyclist. The newbie tourist or self-supported tourer still would want a triple.


add: For an IM race, I think the triple (ie, 30x27 low gear) comes into play for the rider going about 6:45+ on a hilly course. Otherwise, a 34x27 low gear ought to work for most.

I'm with Julian, go with the 34/50 unless you'll be toting 60 pounds of gear.

In addition to the better shifting, it will be lighter and have a narrower Q factor (most people prefer a small "Q" to a large one). The only real downside to a compact crank is the lack of current manufacturers and relative high cost when compared to a triple.

Normally I would agree with Julian's description, but you are talking about some major hills. I did a seriously hilly ride at the Six Gap Century ride one day with a 30/27, and I was seriously overgeared.

Unless those TdF hills are way easier than I think, or you are an animal on the bike, I suggest getting the lowest gears you can on your bike.

Have a great trip.

here is what i would do - put a friction shifter lever on the left side downtube boss of your bike. get a cheap-a$$ triple mtn bike crank, and put it on for the trip. i bet your local lbs has one laying around and would flow it to you for nothing if you ask nice. there you go. as art has said those roads are freaking steep. you do not need sti or the latest hooha to tour. certainly you do not need some overpriced trendy no-overlap crank.

when you get home give the crank back and put your bike back the way it was.

He'll also probably need to change the bottom bracket if he does what you propose.

But my vote is still for a 34-50 with a 32 tooth cassette in back.

yes, you are right there, john. however - as i say if our man goes into the backroom of nearly any decent lbs he will find no end of crappy old rockhoppers and the like lying there in a pile. maybe a few old sport touring miyata's and such, unless the fixed gear fiends have scalped them all away. these bikes - billions of them - all had 110 BCD diameter cranks. what ho ! , trendy and "compact" long before tyler broke that collarbone and singlehandedly set the bicycle industry marketing machine into overdrive. thus, our man can whip out his trusty park crank remover and help himself to a sweet cold forged "compact" crank of his choosing. or, steal one off his brother in law's out in the garage, whatever. coincidentaly, most old school mtn bike cranks already HAVE a 34 ring as the middle. possibly a 36. leaving the granny on costs all of 35 grams and we are set for anything the pyrenes can dish out. worst case here is that he has to buy a biger ring than what is on there - but again most early mtn cranks had 48's and really that should do.

as you say, he will likely need a new bb. 22 bucks will net him a nice shiny shimano un72. a a venerable 22 dollar un72 will see our man thru this tour and something like 100 more just like it. that is, 22 bucks vs what again for that trendo-"compact" ?

that left side downtube shifter can also be sourced easily for free.

just sayin . . . . .. .

Go with the FSA 34/50, they are not that much money... I run a 11-23 cassett on my bike with mine and like this set up very much. Then if you slap an 21-27 on with the 34/50 you can climb anything....

GO WITH THE FSA 34/50 YOU WILL BE HAPPY YOU DID>>>

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"You're guaranteed to miss 100% of the shots you never take" - Wayne Gretzky

yes, well there i go trying to help a brother out. dude lives in the midwest - what good is a (expensive) dumba$$ 34 inner ring crank gonna be to him when he gets home from this tour? answer - none at all. 110 BCD is 110, why lay out for an overhyped old school crank marketed at top dollar for a vacation trip? seems to me he would be better off using that coin to buy wine and cheese in a bistro overlooking le alpe.

if you cain't swing a borrowed 110 BCD crank from the LBS for the trip ,

www.aebike.com

has some 110 BCD's for 30 dollars.

Regarding those Dimension cranks, they basically are 110mm mountain cranks. They just don't have the holes drilled for the 74mm rings. Accordingly, they tend to have a pretty wide Q-factor ( I have a set). You might be able to get them "tighter" wth a 103 mm Dura-Ace bttom bracket, but the BB would cost more than the cranks. There might also be some chainstay clearance issues.

Plus the $30 doesn't include chainrings - those will run you another $30 at least.

It's true that you may not need a 34 on the flats of the midwest, but then again when is the last time you heard someone complain that their gearing was too low/easy?

Doc Scott, good luck on your quest for gearing. I'll be riding in the Swiss and French Alpes myself this summer and plan to be in Bourg L'Oisan for the uphill TT to Alpe d'Huez (likely along with the other 1 M screaming fans, the devil and all the Dutchmen in their campers). I'm planning on going with a my existing 50/39 up front with a 12/27 in the back on a 700c bike. I am hoping that this works, but given that the pros use 23's, I may actually break down and get one of those overpriced 50/34 things despite TTN's recommendations (and they are great recommendations). Also planning to head for Izouard, Galibier, Madeleine and a ride to Sestriere out of Briancon after Alpe D'Huez and then on to Ventoux after that.

okeedokee there, john - fair enuf. i guess we can say that the 300 dollar crank holds several advantages over the free one, or the 30 dollar one. seeing as the need is for a what, 2 week(?) trip i just thought the friction downtube/nice old borrowed touring/mtn crank would make sense. if we are going to worry about mm's of q-factor i guess you have different things on your mind while riding in europe than do i. altho - really lots of early mtn bike cranks were low q . . . . . . . . . speaking of which - we can still get that 20 dolar un72 in a 107mm. if you can feel the difference to that DA 104mm good on ya. as a guy with two rivendells in the house and a reformed q-worrying retro-grouch i can tell you that simply forgetting about q makes life a lot easier and really doesn't seem to make any difference to riding or life in general. but i digress.

as for the long term use/desirabilty of the 34 in the midwest . . . . . . i use a bigger ring than that on my singlespeed mtn bike in the midwest, and i am old and fat. too low ? how would he know if it is too low - he will spin it out in his driveway.

thanks for the conversation tho - back to the bike lab!

Speaking of downtube shifting, I still us 8 speed ultegra downtube shifters. They are light and functional and I have never heard of them jamming like all the nightmares that my buddies have with their bar end shifters. Hey, if it works for Lance for shifting from big to small, who am I to argue. I'll eventually break down and upgrade to 9 speed STI when all my buddies are upgrading to the eventual 11 speed, but for the moment, what I have works and it is good enough for a half ironman 2:23 bike split :-)

I think you'll do fine with a 39/27 low. I road in southern France last year and rode the vast majority of the climbs in 39/24 (700C) and only went down to the 39/28 for Ventoux.