Crankset Considerations compact vs standard

Crankset Considerations
 
"Unless you're in the market for a new crankset, component group or road bike, you may be unaware that a longstanding technical tussle is being decided. It's apparent in what Campagnolo and SRAM are offering in their component groups this year, and in the way many new road rigs are equipped.
 
The relatively new "compact" double-chainring crankset has supplanted the triple. It's now the most popular lower-gear option for sport road bikes.
 
Don't get me wrong. Three-chainring cranksets are still available. Shimano offers the option for all their road groups. And triples will never go away. They're needed for loaded touring and by most mountain bikers.
 
But consider that SRAM offers compact doubles throughout its road line, and it recently introduced the high-end "XX "off-road group with a double-chainring crankset. It has quickly become popular.
 
Campy, which only a few years ago offered triples in almost every group, has also gone all double. It's your choice -- standard or compact rings. (You can still purchase a Campy triple as a separate component.)
 
Because spring is a big bike-buying season and you may soon be faced with a crankset decision, let's look at the options.
 
A standard double crankset has chainrings of 39 and 53 teeth, while the most common compact has 34/50 rings, with 36/50 also available. A typical road triple has rings of 30, 39 and 52 (or 50) teeth.
 
You want a crankset that provides the appropriate gearing for your terrain and fitness. It should help you make it over the toughest hills, keep up with your friends and be able to cover the distances you like -- all efficiently and comfortably.
 
Triples are losing favor because, while the third chainring provides very low gears for steep climbs, it comes at the cost of a more complicated and slower shifting sequence. A triple also adds weight and complexity. Special equipment is often necessary -- bottom bracket, front and rear derailleurs, front shift lever -- and a longer chain. Given equal quality, a triple crankset is more expensive than a compact or standard double.
 
The compact crankset solves all the triple issues. With rings of 34/50 teeth it allows simple and fast shifting. It provides gears almost as low (easy) for climbing. It saves weight even compared to a standard double. Usually, no special parts are required to switch from a standard double to a compact (or back again).
 
Using a cassette with an 11-28 tooth range, a low gear of 34x28 will make climbing easy for most riders and a 50x11 high gear is plenty for fast descents. Keep in mind that today's bikes are lighter than ever, which helps against gravity.
 
So, who would want a standard 39/53 double? Mostly performance-oriented riders that are strong enough or have terrain flat enough not to need the low gears coming off a 34-tooth chainring. For them, it's more important to have smaller differences in effort with each shift.
 
On a standard double, the smaller tooth difference between the small and large chainrings lets the rider shift mostly on the cassette to fine-tune the gearing. Chainring shifts are made only when a large change in the gear range is needed.
 
To these strong riders, smaller chainrings are a disadvantage because they don't need the lower gearing. But for most other riders, a compact makes lots of sense, and particularly so compared to a triple."  Source- Road Biker Review

 

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