Light weight Triple Crankset

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Ritterview
Posts: 557
Joined: Mon Oct 23, 2006 2:28 am
Location: Northern California

by Ritterview

A Lightning should be the lightest. That's what we have on our tandem. It is a light crank in a double, and the triple is only about 100 grams more. With Campy the new Athena, you can make use of 11-speed, for a total of 33 speeds. Wide spread of gears, but tight

The Lightning triple spider should fit on an S-Works crank. Thus if you have BB30, the S-Works is an option too.

I use a Praxis 53t outer chainring (for a double), and it shifts better than the TA that preceded it.

by Weenie


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KB
Posts: 3967
Joined: Mon Jan 12, 2004 12:32 pm
Location: HULL UK

by KB

pow216 wrote:The question was about weights of various triple cranksets. Not about peoples preferences to compacts or triples!

look online. most of the manufacturers disclose the weights.

RussellS
Posts: 916
Joined: Wed Feb 03, 2010 1:31 am

by RussellS

tantra wrote:As a former triple user and someone who mainly rides in the mountains, let me suggest one other option. Get a compact crankset and replace the 34t ring with a 33t ring (available from TA Specialites). Pair that with an 11-28 rear cassette and you very nearly have the same low gearing and gear range as a triple.


It always amazes me people seem to take pride in advertising to the world that they know absolutely nothing about bicycle mechanics. Triple cranksets using a 74mm bcd inner chainring can take a 24 tooth inner chainring. 24 teeth results in much lower gearing than 33 teeth. Much lower. How big the cassette you use does not depend on the crankset at all. So the rear cassette can be identical whether using a 110mm bcd compact or a 130/74mm bcd triple. The triple will give you much lower gearing than a compact.

rjfrzb
Posts: 29
Joined: Wed Aug 17, 2011 8:32 pm
Location: Reims, France

by rjfrzb

Exactly! Rightly stated.

RussellS wrote:
tantra wrote:As a former triple user and someone who mainly rides in the mountains, let me suggest one other option. Get a compact crankset and replace the 34t ring with a 33t ring (available from TA Specialites). Pair that with an 11-28 rear cassette and you very nearly have the same low gearing and gear range as a triple.


It always amazes me people seem to take pride in advertising to the world that they know absolutely nothing about bicycle mechanics. Triple cranksets using a 74mm bcd inner chainring can take a 24 tooth inner chainring. 24 teeth results in much lower gearing than 33 teeth. Much lower. How big the cassette you use does not depend on the crankset at all. So the rear cassette can be identical whether using a 110mm bcd compact or a 130/74mm bcd triple. The triple will give you much lower gearing than a compact.

Valbrona
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Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2011 3:25 am
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

by Valbrona

Well said. And can I join the triple love-in and say the following?

I don't just use a triple for the gear ratios. No. Using something like a 26t chainring like I do means I can cycle with 'normal' cadences even on the steepest of hills. No more low-cadence-crawling up steep hills.

tantra
Posts: 92
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 12:19 am

by tantra

RussellS wrote:
tantra wrote:As a former triple user and someone who mainly rides in the mountains, let me suggest one other option. Get a compact crankset and replace the 34t ring with a 33t ring (available from TA Specialites). Pair that with an 11-28 rear cassette and you very nearly have the same low gearing and gear range as a triple.


It always amazes me people seem to take pride in advertising to the world that they know absolutely nothing about bicycle mechanics. Triple cranksets using a 74mm bcd inner chainring can take a 24 tooth inner chainring. 24 teeth results in much lower gearing than 33 teeth. Much lower. How big the cassette you use does not depend on the crankset at all. So the rear cassette can be identical whether using a 110mm bcd compact or a 130/74mm bcd triple. The triple will give you much lower gearing than a compact.


Certainly, you can put MTB components on a road bike and get still lower gearing. The small ring on most road triples is 30t. Since this is a weight weenie forum, I was suggesting a way to get a very decent low gear for climbing (33tx28t) without weight penalty or the fiddliness of a triple. There is no reason for rudeness. And yes, I do know a little about bicycle mechanics.

KLabs
Posts: 380
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 4:29 am

by KLabs

tantra wrote:
tantra wrote:As a former triple user and someone who mainly rides in the mountains, let me suggest one other option. Get a compact crankset and replace the 34t ring with a 33t ring (available from TA Specialites). Pair that with an 11-28 rear cassette and you very nearly have the same low gearing and gear range as a triple.

Certainly, you can put MTB components on a road bike and get still lower gearing. The small ring on most road triples is 30t. Since this is a weight weenie forum, I was suggesting a way to get a very decent low gear for climbing (33tx28t) without weight penalty or the fiddliness of a triple. There is no reason for rudeness. And yes, I do know a little about bicycle mechanics.


Hi tantra, what you have written is 100% correct. Using an MTB 11-34 10spd cassette, compact 50/33 crankset, and a MTB M772/M972 SGS RD will give you low gearing of 33-34. Which is very low. Yes, a triple can run a smaller chainring then a 28T, as suggested even a 24T, which will allow one to use a closer ranged cassette, such as an 11-25, 11-28, or even an 11-32. A closer ranged cassette, like 11-25T, will provide closer cadence between RD changes.

A triple is usually heavier and we are talking road not off-road. A compact has a better Q and is a little easier to setup. Road RD's usually come in S or GS not SGS, where the GS form will allow an 11-32 and have a max total of usually 37T for Cassette and Crankset combination.
Eg. an 11-32 cassette = 21T, which will allow a max Crankset range of 16T. That is 21 + 16 = 37T.

You will need an SGS RD, which generally allow a max total of 43T to 45T, to extend the range of the crankset.
Eg. an 11-32 cassette = 21T, which will allow a max Crankset range of 22T to 24T. That is 21 + 22 = 43T or 21 + 24 = 45T.

Anyhow, both will work, and there are pro and cons for each arrangement.
As tantra mentioned the compact setup should be lighter and a little easier to setup and maintain.
This is why hi-end MTB's now run dual cranksets with an 11-36 cassette.

istigatrice
Posts: 849
Joined: Sat May 12, 2012 8:32 am
Location: Australia

by istigatrice

Valbrona wrote:Yes Campag triples are good, but they are not 110/74 BCD. Mr Campagnolo has not kind of worked out that triple uses generally want small chainrings.

:lol: :lol: :lol: Funniest thing I've read today. I had a triple once, so I could run a 55/42/39 (or something like that) then I realised I was being an idiot :?
I write the weightweenies blog, hope you like it :)

Disclosure: I'm sponsored by Velocite, but I do give my honest opinion about them (I'm endorsed to race their bikes, not say nice things about them)

roca rule
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Joined: Sun Sep 28, 2008 2:23 am
Location: so. cal.

by roca rule

The biggest problem for people that use triples is that most of the current groups do not support a triple configuration.

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

UpFromOne
Posts: 1181
Joined: Wed Apr 08, 2009 5:23 am
Location: Olympic Nat'l Park, WA

by UpFromOne

I'm not the sharpest of the weight weenies, but if you're interested in a light triple, and are willing to live with either a 34 or 36t as the middle ring, IRD offers a "triple-lizer" chainring that allows a 74bcd ring to be bolted to the 110bcd triplelizer ring.

http://www.interlocracing.com/triplizer.htm

So you can use any lightweight road compact double crank that uses a separate BB axle (BSA, ISIS, Cannondale, etc.). Because you'd have to use a slightly wider BB to get the middle ring to line up with the middle of the cassette (i.e. triple spacing).
The only cranks that might be off limits are ones with an integrated axle (with a fixed crank arm width). But even then, you might be able to live with the added 74bcd ring lining up with the 2nd or 3rd biggest cog on the cassette, assuming (a) your front derailleur could handle it,and (b) it doesn't rub the chainstay. That's where you'd be using that small ring anyway.
Otherwise just go with a variable BB crank.

Hey just suggestin'...

AdsH
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu May 03, 2012 2:18 pm

by AdsH

Old style centaur triple with royce ti bottom bracket was said by my mechanic to weigh no more than veloce ultraorque compact with cups even after large chunks had been torn from the veloce due to the rubbish ultratorque puller.

ericoschmitt
Posts: 186
Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2017 7:47 pm

by ericoschmitt

I know this is an old thread, but I´m still into triples, still riding Athena 3x11. Climber bikes must have climbing gears you know.

I was able to find an NOS FSA carbon triple with 24/34/46 on ebay and 11-25 edco cassette to go with it. Still waiting for that crank to arrive. It could be "light" at 600 but uses octalink v2 spindle that adds another 265, so 865g. Still the athena triple, with bb cups, weight about 980g. EDCO cassette saves me 130g over 12-29 chorus., so thats some 250g less already, lighter gearing, not much lighter top gear.

Then I asked to Fairwheel if I could get Lightning with triple spider, and they offer 130/74, sou you can get something like 24/38/48. I don´t thing that, for me, it is necessary to have anything bigger than 48x11 anyway. Unless I change to a 12-25 cassette, then a 50t chainring would be ok.
This Lightning Triple should be at around 500g+chainrings, and I guess that could mean 650-700g with chainrings, but not sure.

I just dont understand how people got so hooked by all this compact-double marketing. I hate wide gaps. I have another bike with 2x10 50/34 x 12-36, and the gaps suck. I do climb very steep walls and even stand up with those gears, let alone the 39x25 I once rode.

I´ve also been considering using bar-end shifters, sram der, and some very light brake levers. Athena shifters are 390g. Microshift 2/3x11 are 145g, and I don´t mind using some flatbar levers and give up the hoods - I never use them anyway, eighter drops or tops! That, with the lighter RD, could save me some 200g too. So thats about 650g less from the bike, total, going from full Athena 3x11 to microshift+sram+ligthning+edco. Sounds great.

Another option is to get some FSA mtb x7 or x9 triples, 22/33/44 and 11-23 edco. Wider Q factor I guess, not sure how much. But should nearly as light as the Lightning road triple, easier to find spare rings, and much cheaper. With a 4:1 heavy gear one should be just fine. Eddy Merckx rode 52x13, same 4:1 ratio, I don´t think I need anything heavyer than him! Most people here don´t, too.

I appreciate more ideas. I´ll get back when I install the fsa 10s triple, though that won´t be very useful as I could only find the one I bought in Ebay...

ooo
Posts: 1590
Joined: Sat May 21, 2016 12:59 pm

by ooo

you can run road fd with hollowtech 2 mtb cranks (stock rings: 48(46)-36-26, 44(42)-32-24(22))
you need to use braze-on road fd and braze-on clamp adapter with shifted chainline

bar end shifters + separate brake levers works nice, especially front derailleur
for daily commuting I never have any problems, but after I tried them for 2 week tour (12hr daily shifting) - I got corporal syndrom on right hand
'

ericoschmitt
Posts: 186
Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2017 7:47 pm

by ericoschmitt

Thanks for the answer on the bar-end plus levers. I think I'll start a thread on it to see if anyone else has tried that with auxiliary (cross) brakes.

by Weenie


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