What's the best number of gears?

[swee'pea99]

Chatting to a (younger) friend over a pint, and he insisted that if I insisted that going from ten to 14 had been a great move, having 27 (as he does) must be better. I disagreed.

Admittedly I've never tried 27 gears.

Going from 10-speed to 14 made a big difference. With a five speed rear block, you have one so low it's only of use going up hills, one so high you hardly ever use it (much less need it) leaving effectively only three for regular riding. Going up to seven increases those 'riding' gears from three to five, which importantly means you get genuinely good progression from one to the next in that crucial mid-range, not big gaps that make it difficult to maintain cadence.

So surely going to 9 - ie, seven 'riding gears' - at the back would be better still?

I'm not so sure. Seems to me that just means smaller increments, and the one time I did ride a bike with one tooth increments, I found the gaps just too small. I think two-tooth increments gives you just the right gap for any kind of 'normal' riding. Hence a 7-speed block is the mummy bear solution - 'just right'.

Needless to say, I'm talking racers here - I guess off-road is a whole different thing, granny rings and all.

 

[Will1985]

The old boys usually say to me that they coped with a 5 sprocket cluster in the back and still maintain that this is all most people need.

Where is Jimbo??

 

[Mr Pig]

For a MTB I'd say 24. That was a noticeable upgrade from 21 but 27 is too many, I double-shift a lot of the time.

 

[Arch]

I reckon having one or two more than you use generally on that bike is fine. I dunno if that makes sense - I just mean it depends on what sort of riding you do. My winter hack has 7, or is it 8, in a hub, and I use 3 or 4 of them normally. My more out and about bikes are 21 speed, and unless I'm somewhere very hilly, I have one or two in reserve at the bottom and a whole chainring in reserve at the top....

Surely it all comes down to what sprockets and chain rings you have - either you'll have a wide range or small jumps or maybe both depending on the tooth differences between some gears.

 

[MacB]

pootling about I use a 3 speed hub, low and middle are fine but high is too high. Range currently approx 50/70/90 inches, may mess about to try and make it 30/50/70 ish.

my commuter is a 9 speed hub - 34/39/45/53/62/73/85/100/114 - I have only gone above gear 7 to try them and I rarely go below gear 4. so useage is 4 gears range 53 to 85 inches.

weekend bike is 9 speed triple 30/42/52 12-26 giving ranges - granny 31-67 inches, middle 43-94 and large 53-116. I have only used the large ring in anger once and haven't used the granny ring since Ditchling Beacon, though expect it will get some service Saturday on the hilly ride. Most riding is covered by 5 -6 gears of the middle ring.

I can see the appeal of a single chain ring with 7 or 9 speed cassette, maybe 12-34 range for the 9 speed. But even better I'd go for a double chainring, say 30/44 and align so that the cassette was available from the big ring and have the inner ring as an overdrive for hills.

 

[John the Monkey]

I have 27 on both my bikes - the Surly has a cassette with a wider range (because it hauls me + luggage) and the Giant has a more closely spaced cassette.

The plus seems to me to be having more chance of finding a comfortable gear for virtually any conditions (i.e. not one where you spin out, or one where you grind away uncomfortably).

 

[Ian H]

I like close ratio gears to maintain cadence, so more sprockets is good because it means smaller gaps. And a triple on the front.

Except that I also have a road bike with a double, and my faithful old fixed with...er...just the one.

Last year I did more miles on the fixed than all the others.

 

[PaulB]

3,647.

 

[MacB]

yep, most variable system I've used is my legs

 

[PaulB]

yep, most variable system I've used is my legs

I can testify to that. One time when I was knackered, I used MacB's legs and they were great!

 

[MacB]

I can testify to that. One time when I was knackered, I used MacB's legs and they were great!

not getting them again though, you laddered my tights!

 

[tyred]

I've rode 1200 miles with just one gear this year but I've picked my routes to avoid very steep hills. I'd say three is all most people actually need for road use. A normal gear, something higher and a crawler.

 

[gaz]

i got 21 on my hybrid which i only use on the road. and i would say it's pointless. the spacing between the gears is to large due to it having mega range, and i only use around 5 or 6 combinations of gears throughout my journeys.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

I commute on an MTB with 24 gears, with all the usual ones to avoid 'cos of cross-chaining and the overlaps and so on implied by that.

I actually use 7-8 of them on the commute, leaving me a couple spare at the bottom and one at the top. For a lot of the journey, I'm on the middle ring and one of 3 to 6 at the back.

I was thinking of getting a bike with an 8 speed hub for the commute - especially when I realised that the ratios offered correspond more or less exactly to the ones I use on the commute. Circumstances mean that idea's gone on the back burner, but it just goes to show ..

 

[Velorum]

I dont need or want any more than 10.

I have

Single speed (Sparta)
3 speed (Brompton)
5 speed (Dawes Flambeau)
7 speed (Dahon)
10 speed (Dawes Galaxy)

The Galaxy will go anywhere with with just the 10