Originally Posted by
Dirtdrop
Three speed hubs are heavy, even aluminum-shelled ones like mine.
I'd say that steel shell 3-speeds are not much heavier than corresponding aluminum 5-speed hubs with freewheel and typical derailleur. I weighed a Normandy HF 120mm hub, quick release, Atom 5-speed freewheel and Shimano 600 long cage derailleur and got a total of 2.1 lbs. I weighed a Shimano 333 3-speed (steel shell) including sprocket and bell crank and got 2.4 lbs, which is a difference of 0.3 lbs. Your aluminum shelled 3-speed will be lighter, so it might actually be lighter than a derailleur system. So, I think it is not unreasonable to get a relatively lightweight 3-speed in comparison with a derailleur setup on a similar frame.