Deand

thumpism 

I have sport bikes, touring bikes and good old English 3-speeds. I bought the 3-speed for city life and it works fine, but some are "overgeared" and I needed a larger rear cog to move the range of the three gears lower compared to stock, so all three would be easier to pedal than stock.

Any multispeed bike that you buy new will likely have all the gears you need in a suitable range for the use you will give it. Hills, road surface variations, winds and other things might dictate more gears or a wider range.

I personally like the look and character of 3-speed bikes (like old Raleighs) but newer hybrid-style bikes mimic the look and feel and generally feature many more gears and newer engineering. Tell us where you live and we might have specific recommendations.

Buying used is a risk if you do not know bikes because you might not know what to look for on a used machine, while buying new puts you at the mercy of a shop that might not have your best interests at heart. Ask around and talk to a couple of different shops and see what you think. If you buy new, "buy the shop, not the bike." There probably aren't many bad new bikes.

Good luck!

Obligatory Raleigh 3-speed photo. You are getting verrrry sleepy...

wolfchild

One

tyrion

Note there are 2 distinct concepts, number of gears, and gear range. Racers and high performance cyclists like a good number of gears (currently 22 is the usual), and old putzers like me want a wide gear range.

The gear range you need is mainly determined by how hilly the terrain is and by your fitness level.

avole

Go for 22, you won't regret it. Slogging into the wind on a fixed gear bike isn't fun, especially up a slight incline.

Deand

Iride01 

If you regularly find yourself having to put a lot of muscle into pedaling the bike then you probably need another gear. How many? Depends on you, the way you want to ride, the riding surface conditions you ride and lots of other stuff that may or may not matter to you or others.

You don't muscle a bike to ride. That just wears you out, gives you leg cramps and future knee problems. The more gears you have, the more you can find that ideal combination that lets you ride at the speed you want with a low level of muscle strain so you can ride all day long for 100 or even 200 miles instead of exhausting yourself in 30 minutes.

NomarsGirl

I used all of mine yesterday. (24)

curbtender

if you asked Mr owl...

Homebrew01

This....Different answers for different people.

It's much easier to not use gears you do have, than to use gears you don't have.

You might like a modern "Hybrid" style of bike.

backonblack

+ 1.

When I want to work out I ride my road bike with 44/16 ring and freewheel. My play bike has a 9 gear cassette with 3 rings on the crank.

CliffordK

Unless you're building a Penny Farthing, it is best to use at least TWO. One for the front, and one for the rear.

seamuis

Flip Flop Rider

4 to 5

Cl904

CliffordK

Keep in mind in the cycling world (as well as real life), there is the N+1 phenomena.

So, whatever you have N of, inevitably you will need N+1.

So, say you have 20 speeds (10 in rear x 2 in front), there is always that temptation to go to 22 speeds (11x2). Or, 12x2 (or 12x3???)

In your case, if everything is mostly flat, then you may not actually require much.

But, in general there are two main driving forces for more sprockets.

• Tight gearing and small steps is nice. Keep it in the best gear of the moment.
  
• Range of gearing. Best to keep power from fast shallow descents up to steep climbs.

In the past racers were forced to choose between either tight gearing or wide range gearing. They no longer are forced compromise as much between the two somewhat independent needs.

FlMTNdude

Ironfish653

If you like the 'Classic 3-Speed' like @thumpism ' s old Raleigh, there are lots of options. Just poking through Nashbar's 'City/Commuter' bikes shows us the Breezer Uptown/Downtown series, Fuji's Sagres, with 3- and 8-speed IGH, or 1x7 derailleur drivetrains. There's also Nashbar's own ($179) 3-Speed commuter.
Fenders, chainguards, and classic upright bars, with modern running gear, so none of the trials associated with owning and keeping up a truly vintage ride.

martianone

sail

I would probably still be riding my Raleigh 3 speed had it not been stolen. I see them on craigslist, most are women's which would be ok w/ me and most are the smaller of the two most common sizes which would be ok if your short. I agree most 3 speeds need lower gears which is a cheap easy fix.
I do appreciate my modern 3x9 hybrid that replaced it, thats not too many gears but three are enough.

Kapusta

jgwilliams

Doesn't this follow the n + 1 rule?

fietsbob

3, Sturmey Archer AW3_ IGH, 1 is 0.75. & 3 is 1.33,
2nd is your gear ratio consisting of of cog t : chainring t.

Deand

curbtender

20-22", 56-58cm, Large...