Dear Marketing Victim, speeds Is a hardware count.. Gear Ratios is what actually turns the wheel..
think about the range of ratios, not the Parts colunt.
a nice triple crank 9 speed saves a pile of $.. and works fine..
my triple : 50, 40, 24t.. i found a 95" gear high enough.. 50:14
low , the 24:34 turning a 700- 32 tire ,took me many thousands of touring KM..
bringing camping gear ..
With out, gear aboard the 24:28 worked fine.. climbing mountains..
Last edited by fietsbob; 02-04-13 at 12:46 PM.