Originally Posted by
Waltsmith
One other thing I'll mention. While all the companies pretty much use the same gear set, which gear set you get at a price will vary. A lot of 21 speed gear sets have a freewheel. While they work fine, I personally avoid them. In fact, I avoid all 21 speed gear sets. The reason is your road gear. All the 21 speed gear sets I have seen have the smallest cog at "14". The eight speed (24 gear) cassettes most often have an "11".
Buying new, this is right. I'm not aware of anyone who uses a 7-speed cassette anymore (7-speeds are usually freewheels), but if you do come across a 7-speed cassette (especially used), its smallest sprocket will most likely be an 11-tooth sprocket. I have a number of 7-speed bikes in the house. About half use freewheels with have the 14-tooth small sprocket. The others are cassettes, usually 11-28. One of them is an 11-30.