Changing a bike from double to triple crank - Munich

Hi everyone! I'm new here - I am moving to Munich for 3 months this summer (for work). I'll be arriving May 1. I am bringing my road bike with me. Question for you experienced cyclists out there: Should I change out my double crank to a triple? I currently live in Texas, which is VERY FLAT, however, I'd love to do some hills while in Europe... (mind, I may change that statement after my first time out)!!!

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated!

Looking forward to meeting some of you TT'ers soon!

Kumabear

Not much of a biking expert, but the foothills of the Alps start about 25-30km from the center of Munich, where things start to get hilly. Another 20-30 km south of that you can say you're in the Alps.

Like Genie says, Munich is also very flat. It only gets steep when you get near the Alps, at which point it gets really steep.

Quite agree. Look at this map to see the local topography. Munich is quite flat. I don't have my road bike here; I just have a hybrid. But with that I hardly ever use the tiniest ring. It's particularly useless when doing long distances. I could easily do without it.

If you mean proper hills, and there are some good ones a bit further to the south, then either a triple or a compact double wouldn't be a bad thing. I have a triple. On rides round Munich itself, I never use the granny ring, but once we head towards the alps, then I'm very happy to have it, especially at the beginning of the season. Mr Bron is also thinking of tweaking his bike a bit this year (he gets up most things with a standard double, but would like a friendlier gear ratio for some climbs).

There are some older threads on here which give details of a few nice hilly routes and I am sure that once the season gets going more cyclists will post here.

Thanks everyone. I may just go ahead and do it since I would really like to do some riding in the mountains and my Texas legs probably won't be able to make it on just a double!

Just fix it at 36:18 and enjoy the pain man.