Originally Posted by MichaelW
Depends on your terrain, and how much of a load you carry. When I had to carry a shopping load up a 20% grade, then low gears were not a luxury.
I probably use about 9 of my 21 combinations, and never use the top gear.
For flatlanders, a 1x8 makes sense. It's used by couriers, but rarely on shop or factory bikes.
Hmmmm.....From this response it sounds like ,at minimum,
5 speeds would be enough with 7 or 8 a bit of a luxury for
general purpose riding. I know that a 3 speed hub is fine
for town only riding ,but, I'm considering building/buying
a "better" bike so I want the gearing to be actually useful
and not a brain test as to which gear of 21 to be in at any
given moment. My first impression is that an internal hub
is best but ,price wise, derailers are more common.
Bikes are supposed to be both useful and fun. The issue of
which gear to be in muddies to water for me a bit.