andrewtclarkson

Wow.. awesome responses. It sounds like I can probably get by with 3 for my purposes, and def 7 or less!

himespau 

Heck, Sheldon wrote about making a bike a single speed in the rear and a triple up front (leaving on the RD for a tensioner) if I remember correctly. If you could figure out the gearing you want, that seems like it'd be easy enough to try. Probably be hard to pull off though while getting gearing tight enough that you'd be happy with.

wolfchild

All I need is one gear. I do change my gear ratio for winter, much lower then in summer time, but I still only need one gear. I think there is no need for gears unless somebody lives in the mountains.

Steely Dan

^ there's a difference between need and want. i live in one of the flattest places on the planet; i technically don't "need" multiple gears, but lake michigan winds can be downright silly at times. on those days when i have 14 miles of 30 knot headwinds on my way into work and then 14 miles of 30 knot tailwinds on the ride home, it sure is marvelous to have the ability to change into different gear ratios to appropriately battle or take advantage of that wind.

Nozzle

He also wrote about his 63-speed unit with the 3 chain rings, 7 cogs and 3 speed IGH. That should cover most people

no1mad 

I mainly use the 5 highest out of my 24, and most of the time on the 3rd highest of that. Of course, my bike is geared low enough it could pass as a mountain goat- 42/34/24 x 11-32 on 26" wheels.

I was trying an experiment to see if I could handle converting to SS by leaving it on the one gear I use the most failed after about 2 weeks...

Drew Eckhardt 

Whatever it takes to get one tooth jumps up to the 19 cog and reasonable overlap between rings. 50-34x13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23 works fine for me but could use more overlap and lower gears for hills while fat. I'll do 50-39-28x13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21-23-26 next time.

HardyWeinberg

40-100 is just about exactly what I wound up at converting my fixie back to a 1x9. I think it will be back to fixed for the winter and the gears will come back out again when the weather clears up next... well, could be spring or summer depending on la niña.

gmt13

+1 I get by with a 73 gear inch single speed setup. A few hills but I just get out of the saddle. Spin-out going down hills though.

-G

nashcommguy

How 'bout 3 sp IGH fixed? https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...kilott_s3x.htm or maybe 5 sp IGH? https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...kilott_wt5.htm The possibilities are endless!

Btw, I only need one...well 2. A front one and a rear one connected by a chain. Wish I knew how to ride a unicycle... But, I use 18 sometimes and 1 fixed most of the time.

Mithrandir

Depends on the terrain and the distance.

On my commuter I had 3x7, 22/32/44 12-21, and found that it was "mostly" enough. But there's one hill that if I hit it on a day when I'm really tired and it's really hot, I needed something lower that 22x21, so I upgraded to 3x9 and put on a 12-27. 22x24 turns out to be enough for the hill on bad days, so 22x27 is nice for those occasions when I am not commuting and I take up even bigger hills.

On the high end, I usually do not hit 44x12 unless I've got a nice tailwind.

Now, do I *need* all these gears? Nah. But since my commute is 19 miles, I like to get there as fast as possible (using high gears on downhills), but also as non-exhausted as possible (using low gears on uphills).

Also consider that due to cross-chaining, I'm already out 6 of my 27 gears, bringing it down to about 21 total.

SouthFLpix

The number of gears doesn't mean much, it's the gear range that's important. I can get by just fine with a low of around 30 up to a high of 90 (gear inches), but I prefer having a little bit of extra leeway on both ends 'just in case' I feel really good, or really bad.

joejack951

I've climbed a mountain using a 42/25 as my low gear (on a geared bike) but I'd give myself a hernia trying to use that gear for my daily commute (assuming I didn't care about my limited top speed). For me, I can climb long, steady grades using a considerably higher gear than shorter but quite steep climbs like those I ride daily. My commuter is equipped with a 52/42/30 triple and a 12/27 cassette. I don't use every gear (aside from the extremes) every day but I have used every gear commuting. Actually, in the snow I ride my MTB with a 42/32/22 triple and an 11/32 cassette. 15% max grades covered in snow aren't so bad with a 22/32 low gear.

andrewtclarkson

Wow, cool stuff guys. A lot more info than I expected! I love my current bike, but am excited to get something different in the spring too, and now i have lots to think about.

dcrowell

Hmmm... I have four bikes, and commute on all of them. Here they are in order of use for commuting:

#1 Raleigh Record single-speed conversion: one gear, about 65 gear-inches.
#2 Surly LHT widely space 3x9 setup - for commuting purposes I'm always in the middle chain ring.
#3 Bacchetta Agio recumbent 3x9 - for commuting always in the middle chain ring.
#4 Dahon folding bike 1x7 - I use 1-6, 7th gear skips and is unusable.

My commute is not only flat, but fairly short. I was sore today from my camping ride over the weekend. I rode my single-speed to work this morning at about 12mph because it hurt to put out much more power than that.

If you have a short flat commute you can commute on almost any bike with any gearing. It's when you have steep hills or long distance that you have to worry about it.

cooker

There is the overal range and there are the intervals between gears. If you are time-trialing, or just riding a long distance, it probably helps to have many gears so you can make fine adjustments with each slight change in wind speed or road grade. If you have a very hilly commute it probably helps to have a wide range, so you can pedal at a comfortable cadence whether going up a steep hill or down a long one.

Personally I like a 5-fold gear range - from 20 gear inches to 100 gear inches, so I can ride uphill carrying groceries, or sprint at close to 30 mph for a short stretch when the mood hits. But its also nice to have the fine tuning. So I have a triple chainset on all my bikes.

fuzz2050

How many gears? At least one.

andrewtclarkson

There's always one.

dahut

Ill take all the gears I can get.

You make a good point - I dont necessarily use them all. But boy, when I need one of the really low ones, Im glad to have it.
Im currently running 18 speeds on my old Hard Rock commuter, with the upper reaches a little too low. If I can find a 50-52 tooth large chain ring, Ill snag it.. As for the others, well.... Ill keep 'em.

Telly

@andrewtclarkson

As a newbie commuter, I've found out that the six gears (14-28) on my bike, as of lately are not enough; and the more I get in shape the worst the results are. Recently I had a chance to ride tour around my city with my riding buddy which was on a converted MT with road tires and 21-speed. We hit a descent size hill and up to a point I kept up with him, until the gradient started to get worse. Having reached my lowest gear (28), I was struggling to climb while he continued to drop three more gears. The end result, we both made it to the top... he kept his composure while I was out of breath and drenched.

Also, because of headwinds/tailwinds (typical this time of year where I live) and downhills, I've reached my highest gear (14) which was clearly not high enough for the situation. My next bike will definitely have more gears, whether or not I use them all--all the time (maybe I'll get a Rholoff if I can manage to rob a bank or two! )

rekmeyata

I trained and raced the mountains of So Calif with a 42/53 chainrings and a Suntour Winner Pro 6 speed cluster 13-18 range and never had a need for more gears in between, but the rear cluster was so close in ratios between gears why have more?

They use to tour all over the European continent on single speed and 3 speed bikes for years. So this crave for more gears I think has gotten out of hand. I'm not promoting single speed bikes, I really don't like them, but I'm also not big into 18, 20 and 21 speed bikes, just don't see the need. Then figure in that 18. 20 and 21 speed bikes require a narrow "jewelry" type of chain that lasts less the 2/3rds the life of the older wider chains (meaning I get about 15,000 miles on older chains vs about 6,000 on the newer), why bother? Yeah I know, I own a newer bike with the narrow chain because that's all your going to find today.

Monster Pete

If you believe all the hype, as many gears as you can possibly get on a bike, then add a few. Really though, it depends on the terrain and your fitness level. I get around quite happily with a 3-speed hub, and currently use same bike converted to a single while I replace the broken hub. On a relatively flat area with little wind, or if you're sufficiently fit, one may be all you need. For general commuting and town riding, a 1x7 setup will most likely be just fine.

tjspiel

I could get by with a single speed on my commute but I doubt I would like it. Lots of people around here do though and I'm not one to tell anyone else what they should like.

I probably use about 6 gears on my commute but will use nearly all of them (18) on a training ride if I incorporate a few hills.

Yes, I'm one of those guys who likes to maintain a certain cadence.

mjw16

Based on factors like: wind, fatigue, I've been reluctant to go to a single speed. As it is though, I only use 2 to 3 gears on my daily commute. I am toying with switching to a single speed setup for the Winter, less weight and no frozen derrailleurs when I ride in the snow. Plus, I love tinkering and constantly modifying my bike.

dahut

This is right, Just riding up to the store or downtown I only use a few gears. On my work commute, I pretty much use the full range. I have a few straightaways and more than a few steep climbs. My shifters work pretty hard.