cwfella

As a noob to cycling and not in very fit condition, I still find myself only using the highest three gears available. This includes any hills (long not steep) I have to climb.

I understand that terrain will play a part in ones gear selection, but how many does one really use/need?

Is it more marketing than necessity?

substructure

You'll need all of them.

tsohg

Let me guess.. you're riding a mountain bike on the road?

Daytrip

I have a 10-speed triple and I rarely get off the center ring, and then only to switch to the large ring for the higher gears. I'd say I really only "need" 8.

Point

Unless you're a racer (and maybe even if you are), then anything more than 8 in the back IMO, is a waste. All you get is duplicate gears. On my 10 speed triple, I use maybe 6 of the cogs in back, the middle and big rings, with only occasional use of the granny.

cwfella

Ahhh nope. Thanks for the helpful input anyway.

n00bL35

The best bike imaginable would have infinite gear ratios. That way, you could keep your power output at the maximum, while retaining the highest speed. That speed would vary wildly depending on conditions, but you would be most effective. So, the more gears the better. Now, if you're wondering what the least number you can use to ride your bike, the answer is one.

Homebrew01

You'll ride more efficiently (and faster), and do your knees a favor if you learn to "spin" so that your pedaling cadence is about 85-100 rpm. You can buy a computer to count for you, or look at your watch once in a while and count how many times your foot goes around in a minute.

As for the number of gears, it's personal preference mixed with terrain, riding style etc ....

recursive

You pedal at about 15 RPM then?

roy5000x2

I live in MA and there aren't any hills I can't tackle with enough time while riding my fixie. That being said, double infront, then perhaps a cassette with 11-26 that hits every single cog number (16 speed) would be awesome.

recursive

I can climb a lot of hills on my fix too, but it's geared a little lower than the third highest gear on a road bike, which is probably at least 53 x 15, or 94 gear inches.

Sixty Fiver

It is called a CVT (Constant Velocity Transmission) and they are being used on quite a number of bikes although they make the weight weenies twitch because of their weight.

I'd love to try one.

recursive

CVT is "continuously variable transmission".

z415

You need as many as you feel necessary based on your rides and riding style. I need maybe 4 for my regular ride - I ride a 1x9. Last Sunday I did a century charity ride thing and I used all 9 and would have begged for a 10th at 23 since my cassette is a tigher 11-19, or maybe 12-21, I don't really remember.

Sixty Fiver

Yes.

Have been working with cars too much... gotta stop that.

I need more coffee.

Daytrip

I needed a lot more when I embarked on my road biking career, some 2,000 miles ago. So expect to use fewer as you get stronger/smarter. One thing I started doing just recently is to climb steep hills in a higher gear standing up. For some reason I find it easier and it keeps seat-related discomfort to a minimum. I'm going to switch to a standard double pretty soon, as there's no point in carrying that embarrasing extra chainring around if I never use it.

recursive

FWIW, as another data point, this has not been my experience. I use higher gears, but not fewer gears. Well, as high as they can get on a girly-man compact crank anyway. But I use the full range of gears on my bike. IMO it's kind of pointless to have gears on your bike that you don't use.

liquefied

This all depends a lot on where you live. I use probably 12 of my 20 speeds with all the hills and wind around here. But I'm guessing the OP is just mashing because he thinks you go faster when you have to pedal harder.

RacerOne

I could get by with 4-5 of mine.

Daytrip

Like you, recursive, I use higher gears, but since I'm not using the granny ring or the lower gears on the middle ring as much, I'm using fewer gearing combinations on my rides.

Having only run a triple, I'm not quite sure how it would work on a compact or std. double, since there's greater potential for cross chaining on the 3x. As I understand it, there are some combinations you definitely don't want to use on a triple.

I really have to convert to a double asap.

BTW, I put a lot of miles on my old Viscount 10 speed getting around Madison back in the late '70s in college. Nice town for biking and a lot of other things. I get back there couple times a year--hopefully this summer with a bike.

ImaPoser

As a new rider myself, I use every gear I have available every time out. I've got a 52/42/30 with 12-23. I live at the top of a hill. My typical route has me going basically down hill for the first two miles, with quite a bit of that time using the 52/12 gearing. The loop I do is mostly flat, and I stick with the middle ring, and will use everything in back while doing the little bit of elevation changes on the loop. Once I'm headed back home, I'll be on the little ring for the entire time up the hill. I really would like something even lower for the last stretch leading up to my driveway. My debate is do I start messing with changing gearing on my bike, or just deal with it until I feel the need to step up to a new bike and get different gearing then. And to further my debate, should I go with another triple when I buy a new bike, or go to a compact double?

umd

It's not the number of gears per se, but the range. People manage to get by on single-speed/fixed-gear bikes, so only one is strictly necessary, but being able to select over a fairly wide range of gearing allows you to be more comfortable and efficient. Now what exactly that range is and how it is accomplished (double, compact, triple, etc.) can vary quite a bit between riders...

grolby

You're doing it wrong.

Yes there are. Come out a bit further west, and I'll show you several.

timster

Well considering the overlap that my 12-26 cassette and 39x53 has, I could probably get away with only 8 or 9 actual combinations.

The 39x12-19 are basically not needed since the same ratios can be achieved in the 53 ring.

Jynx

You need 10 in the back and two on front