powers@noscvax.UUCP (William J. Powers) (05/22/85)
I have found that all rear derailleurs designed to accomodate the large span in gear sizes required by touring are not only slow, but, more importantly, because of the large drop of the lower jockey wheel, tend to wear out rather quickly and develope a noticeable slop. It has occured to me, though I have not tried to work it out carefully, that the solution may reside in using a triple crank. With a triple crank one could get away with using a smaller tooth spread on the rear sprocket; consequently, a shorter reach and faster rear derailleur could be used. In doing this you lose gearing at the low end; however, with a triple crank the low end is often so low that it is almost never used. If ones intent is only to get about the same, or perhaps a little more, spread in gearing than one has with a double crank, it might even be worth while using a triple crank with a narrower spread than is commonly used. Has anyone tried to work this out or have any experience with trying this idea or similar ones out?