I own a Trek 5200 that has 3 rings. I was interested in buying a p2k or p3 tri bike…can these bikes be modified for 3 rings?
Funny- I had the same EXACT question a few months ago. I have a 5200 with a triple, like you, and I was considering buying a P3. The debate over the compact double vs triple was raging at the time. I had asked on the forum if there were any P2K or P3 owners that were running triples and a few people indicated they they were doing so with little trouble, so I asked my LBS to make my P3 a triple when I bought it. Long story short, they tried and tried to make the triple work and couldn’t. I trust these folks- they’re not a bunch of hacks. I finally opted to take the bike as is (53/39 in front). I wasn’t keen on spending that much money on a bike that shifted poorly. I’d imagine that eventually I’ll be going to compact double route on it.
Forget about it. Get yourself a Stronglight compact crank. They come 50/36 or 48/34. I just bought two sets, one for my road bike and one for my tri bike.