Originally Posted by
wolfchild
The problem is the individual persons personal definition of what a "big hill" really is...Just because there are hills doesn't mean you need triple chain ring up front and a 9-10 speed cassette in the rear. Most areas with rolling terrain can be ridden with a single gear.
I've never ridden an IGH bike because I prefer FG/SS but I bet a 3 speed IGH with three gear ratios would be perfect for most situations. Do you really need 27 gears ??
I need a triple for my terrain. Usually 24 speeds is fine by me, and I'm okay with 21, but it has some gaps in the useful range. The Pacific Northwest is honestly quite hilly. And no, I can't run any local errands via flat routes. Glaciers scraped their way north to south through here, I have to cross multiple ridges just to get to the nearest coffee shop, much less the grocery store. In fact, when we go to the ferry terminal 4.7 miles to the west of us, we actually ride almost 15 miles
around our peninsula to avoid crossing all those steep ridges.
I get that it's flat some places and some people can run their errands easily on a beach cruiser or damn near any bike. Why can't some of you get that some of us actually do live in places where we actually really do need gears?