MTBs DO have these silly lows, BTW
If I was in such a place, there would be ZERO chance I would ride DeFaileurs anyway. LOL... Rohloff all the way.
Regardless, 48/38/28 has the MOST ever useless duplicates, like 11 or 12 so. LOL That is why they went to 50/39/30 that I had on a hybrid. I did find such hills in Vancouver BC, Calgary, Seattle, Tacoma on my tour, and SF. A bunch of these hills I wouldn't ride even on an empty bike and could only barely just push the loaded bike. Must have been 16 - 18%. WTF There are a few here too going up the 200 foot river cliffs. Expecting bike companies to cater to such extremes is laughable. . So is saying you can't push the TOP gear on FLAT land.... If I can't go 4 mph I likely PUSH.
Otherwise, 90% of cities only need a 3 speed. I took a 12,000 mile drive last summer with my 3 speed on top.
In Canada I only found 1 or 2 steep hills in each city, easily avoided. No problem in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City. Any IGH 8 would do.
Look at any video of west Europe and you will maybe find 1% defailleurs. LOL
Actually on my tour with 21 to 115 GI Rohloff14, The top was used far more than 2nd, 3rd and 13th. And I DID use 14th on a flat freeway with a 20 mph tail wind. I was doing 27 to 30 mph.
Last edited by GamblerGORD53; 04-05-20 at 09:25 AM.