Originally Posted by
70sSanO
This is an interesting question and one I have always wanted to try...
A friend rides a SS mountain bike, but there are times he would like more top end when riding to a trailhead and occasionally a climb where he would like a lower gear. He does not want a cassette full of gears.
I suggested that he "might" be able to run 3 gears in the back... 11, 21, 32. There are two potential issues.
Can a RD limit screws be set that close together?
Is an 11 to 21 jump possible?
With only 3 gears you would not need index shifting, so it would be pretty easy to run a thumb shifter like a Suntour Powershifter and just leave it in the middle cog 90% of the time. He hasn't pursued it, but I'm anxious to test it out.
John
An 11, 21, 32 would probably suit me well. I am riding a heavy long wheel based recumbent so there is no standing up to pedal up a hill for me. Then I pull my cargo trailer which is not light even empty.
There are times I need to pull the trailer and go on a new MUP trail that has a bridge that goes over 8 railroad tracks and jumps right up there. It's not a problem when I'm riding just the bike but about a half mile down the road I encounter another hill that longer and also jumps right up there. On that one, even in my lowest gear, I end up walking the bike and the trailer to the top because there's nothing else for it.
I've had the same chain and rear cassette on the bike for 16 years now and I'm betting the LBS will say they both need to be replaced and the bike has been sitting there for a week now since they said they are 2 weeks behind.