How many gears do you use?
#27
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Occasionally my highest; occasionally my lowest; and most of the ones in between. Except for big-big and little-little.
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Only one at a time. I have tried to use more than one, but I keep throwing the chain.
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Originally Posted by MattP.
I have 27.
I generally stay only in my middle chainring. I sometime go into my highest chainring, but never into my lowest.
I generally stay only in my middle chainring. I sometime go into my highest chainring, but never into my lowest.
#31
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On the road I use all 9 rear cogs with the middle chainring. Very rarely use the smaller chainring "granny gears", and never the large one. Really I think a double woulld be fine for me.
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#32
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one: 39 x 15 - when I take my racer 3 or 4, I forget I have gears!
#33
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Have 27 and use 3 regularly. No hill climbing on my rides all flats. My front dr cable broke a few weeks ago and I didn't even bother fixing it since I never use it
#34
What icy wind?
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After reading all the posts from those of you who don't use more than a couple of gears, I'm thinking either there is no wind or hills or changing terrain where you live, or you are really killing your knees (with apologies to fixies!).
Gears are there for a reason and although you probably have way more subtle changes between gears than you need, using more of them can make the most efficient machine (the body) make better use of the 2nd most efficient machine (the bike).
Or maybe someone should just invent (another) "automatic" bike so we don't have to bother with gears. And hey, why not add two more wheels for stability. And while we are at it, cover the thing to protect us from the elements. And, you know, we can get kinda tired, so maybe add an engine to give the rider a break. That engine can't use batteries, they are not practical. I know, make it run on ancient disolved vegetation and dinosaur bones. What a great idea! That will make a better environment!
Gears are there for a reason and although you probably have way more subtle changes between gears than you need, using more of them can make the most efficient machine (the body) make better use of the 2nd most efficient machine (the bike).
Or maybe someone should just invent (another) "automatic" bike so we don't have to bother with gears. And hey, why not add two more wheels for stability. And while we are at it, cover the thing to protect us from the elements. And, you know, we can get kinda tired, so maybe add an engine to give the rider a break. That engine can't use batteries, they are not practical. I know, make it run on ancient disolved vegetation and dinosaur bones. What a great idea! That will make a better environment!
#35
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Killing your knees? Ive never had that problem cept on a bike that wasnt setup properly. I use one and only one gear.To climb you stand up and climb, its pretty simple really.
#36
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My road bike has 18 gears and I use 16 of them on most rides.
My commuter has 27 gears and I only have to resort to 18 so far. The granny gear is "just in case".
My commuter has 27 gears and I only have to resort to 18 so far. The granny gear is "just in case".
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#37
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Originally Posted by Wind 'N Snow
After reading all the posts from those of you who don't use more than a couple of gears, I'm thinking either there is no wind or hills or changing terrain where you live, or you are really killing your knees (with apologies to fixies!).
Gears are there for a reason and although you probably have way more subtle changes between gears than you need, using more of them can make the most efficient machine (the body) make better use of the 2nd most efficient machine (the bike).
Gears are there for a reason and although you probably have way more subtle changes between gears than you need, using more of them can make the most efficient machine (the body) make better use of the 2nd most efficient machine (the bike).
#38
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Originally Posted by ViciousCycle
I rarely use more than one gear, and am thinking of having my shifters and derailleur removed. Having all of those extra gears means that when the cables stretch a bit, I suddenly find my bike slipping between gears. And so I finally have come to the conclusion: why go to all of the bother of doing maintenance on a gearing system that benefits me not at all when it's working correctly, but annoys the heck out of me when it's not working?
#39
What icy wind?
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Originally Posted by pedex
Killing your knees? Ive never had that problem cept on a bike that wasnt setup properly. I use one and only one gear.To climb you stand up and climb, its pretty simple really.
For me, when I grind too big a gear, my knees hurt.
#40
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I use all 27 gears on my road bike, and about 5 of 21 on my commuter bike.
#41
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49/16, 52/17, and 52/16 gears tween my three bikes
Starting from a dead stop isnt much of a struggle if you stand up and pedal, 2-3 turns of the cranks and your moving.
Starting from a dead stop isnt much of a struggle if you stand up and pedal, 2-3 turns of the cranks and your moving.
#42
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I use all the gears except the cross chaining ones. Most of my riding is in the middle chainring and on the smaller sprockets. I shift to the other chainrings when I want a wide ratio shift, usually fro a sudden change in road gradient.
I only use one gear at a time, but the more gears you have the more likely you are to find the right one for the road, wind and body conditions. I dont have the resources for changing the bike set-up for every ride.
I only use one gear at a time, but the more gears you have the more likely you are to find the right one for the road, wind and body conditions. I dont have the resources for changing the bike set-up for every ride.
#43
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On my relaxed but hilly 5 km commute, I use all 21 gears. A few years back, I was happy with using only the 3 internal gears (Sachs 3x7), but now I can't imagine why I'd not shift to the most suitable gear.
#44
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Originally Posted by Wind 'N Snow
I can't believe that it is a struggle starting at a stop sign or, conversly if you are using a really easy gear, you must bounce or spin like a wild person on downhills.
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#45
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Too Many Gears=Too Much Complexity In My Ride. I have been going for the simple bike these past 6 and a half years and do not need or miss derailleurs.
#46
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I have a triple with a 10 speed cassette. 30 theoretical speeds.
I use 10 speeds against the middle chainring = 10
5 lowest on the granny gear = 5
5 highest on the large chainring = 5
Total = 20
There's just a tad of overlap on the gears I use. Despite the 10 "wasted" gears I think this is a great setup, as most of the time I'm in the middle chainring shifting up and down the rear sprockets.
I use 10 speeds against the middle chainring = 10
5 lowest on the granny gear = 5
5 highest on the large chainring = 5
Total = 20
There's just a tad of overlap on the gears I use. Despite the 10 "wasted" gears I think this is a great setup, as most of the time I'm in the middle chainring shifting up and down the rear sprockets.
#47
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Originally Posted by pedex
To climb you stand up and climb, its pretty simple really.
#48
What icy wind?
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Originally Posted by bkrownd
Downhills were made for coasting. HTH
I'd rather add my own kinetic energy, thanks.