Changing from a Triple to a Double

Tim Trogdon in Cleveland, Ohio where he says he gets 4 seasons and very cold winters. He doesn’t think he needs the small chain ring on his triple chain set and wants to know if he will get away with only buying the chain set and saving money on the shifter and front derailleur.

Question:
Can I get by, by making adjustments without changing my brake shift lever hoods (expensive) if I switch from a triple ‘granny’ crank & bottom bracket to a Shimano Ultegra Double & matching bottom bracket. Derailleur components are Shimano also.
If I can make the switch please inform me of the adjustments I have to make and the best order to do them in to make the change-over successful. If possible I want to keep my 105 derailleur which has a longer pulley guide cage for the smaller granny chain ring to take up the slack when using that gear ratio for steep inclines.
Hopefully, I am strong enough now and can shed the extra weight of a triple crank and get more efficient spinning!
Tim in Cleveland, Ohio

Hi Tim.

Normally people are going the other way, changing from the double to the triple, but what you propose to do is possible, depending on a few things, but you might as well try it, if it doesn’t work then you will have time to save up for a new gear shifter and front derailleur.

First you should fit the new double chain set; you may find that you need to move the front derailleur up a little, depending on the size of the large chain ring on the old triple. Once you have fitted the chain set and adjusted the front derailleur so that it is just above the teeth of the large chain ring.

Then re-connect the left hand shifter to the front derailleur (to do all this you won’t have to remove the chain from the bike). Then you will need to adjust the front derailleur screws to stop the chain coming off the inside of the small chain ring and so that it goes far enough out but not so far that the chain comes off.

With a bit of adjustment you should manage it, your problems could be that the front derailleur will have too much of bend to the cage, this will cause the back of the cage to catch the large chain ring and be too far away from the top of the ring, if this happens you will need to replace the front derailleur.

The other problem could be the clicks on the lever not being the correct place for the double chain set. If this is a problem you will need to change this also, but give it a go it could work!

Tim, let us know how you get on?