Originally Posted by
mountaindave
Wow, you have had some bad luck with bikes recently. They're all great builds. Regarding the 3 speed with brifters, how did it work? I've though that a S/A 3 speed would be the way to go instead of a SS build. Just a little lower for the hills, just a little higher for the descents. I love the clean look of a fixie or SS.
Glad the bikes are the only things being harmed in your accidents!
It seems like I have a notable crash every six months or so! The 3-speed with the brifter works surprisingly well (and was surprisingly easy to set up). Basically, you just set it up like normal, with the middle gear on the hub aligned with the middle gear of the brifter. One quirk, though: the Shimano left-hand brifters have trimming positions between the main ones, and while it's between 2 and 3 on my derailleur-equipped Bianchi Volpe, this one has it between 1 and 2 instead, which means it lines up with the neutral position between 2 and 3 on the older SA hubs. It works, but you have to be aware of this when shifting, and make sure to shift all the way before putting weight into the pedals.
I have it geared with a 43t chainring and 16t cog on 700Cx35 tires and 170mm crank arms, for ~73 gear inches in the middle gear, which is where I like a singlespeed. The low gear is almost identical to what I use as my "starting" gear on my Bianchi, and the high gear sees relatively infrequent use, unless I'm feeling particularly energetic or going downhill.