multimodal commuter
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: NJ, NYC, LI
Posts: 19,808
Bikes: 1940s Fothergill, 1959 Allegro Special, 1963? Claud Butler Olympic Sprint, Lambert 'Clubman', 1974 Fuji "the Ace", 1976 Holdsworth 650b conversion rando bike, 1983 Trek 720 tourer, 1984 Counterpoint Opus II, 1993 Basso Gap, 2010 Downtube 8h, and...
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A five speed CAN have a wider range than a three speed, but in most cases won't. Three speeds often come with the gears set a bit too high, and most of us who ride them recommend you lower the gears a bit, which is an easy modification that we can explain when the time comes. That said, I must also admit that it is usually the menfolk among us who want the gears lowered; for some reason women often prefer to leave well enough alone. Whatever, let's not get into that right now.
The beauty of the three speed hub, in my opinion, is that you can shift any time you want, including when you're stopped. They also have the advantage that in those years when they were popular (1950-1975) untold thousands of them were made. And they are virtually indestructible. So they remain fairly cheap even today. And they are often very elegant bikes. The ones you've shown us, on Craigslist, are trying to look like the bikes I'm talking about.