Originally Posted by
jeisenbe
Do you use all those gears on your commute, or do you tend to use just a couple of cogs and the middle chainring? I'm wondering what sort of gain ratios are actually useful, and which are only used in extra-ordinary conditions. JanMM (above), for example, said he only used a couple, though I'm not sure the exact gears he was referring to.
I only use two gears right now, but I only have a 3-speed. ;-) I'm considered getting a large rear cog to make the higher speed more useful. But the 8-speed nexus will be a nice upgrade.
I primarily use the middle ring, with about four or five of the faster speeds on the rear cassette. There are two big climbs on my commute regardless of direction. (crossing a river/creek will do that) on the way down I sometimes shift up to the large ring up front and fly down the hills. On the climbs back up I'll admit to using the granny gear, usually in the morning when my wagon is dragging anyway.
I've only been back on a bike for a bit over a month after 12 or more years away. I'm not in great shape, and anticipate using fewer gears, while going faster overall as I keep riding. I got the bicycle with the wide range because it's my "do everything" bike. Including riding in the Indiana Hilly Hundred with it's 10,000' of climbing over two days and 100 miles. etc.
In my far from expert opinion, I suspect I could come up with a crank/cog combo on an 8 speed igh, that would work fine for my commute.