Originally Posted by
rydabent
As they say ------------ times they are a-changin. Not all that long ago everyone was arguing for 11 and 12 speed rear sprocket with two and 3 chain rings up front so they would have enough gears. On some bike that would mean as many as 36 gears.
Now strangely enough 1x11 seem to be all the rage. Just one more than the old 10 speed bikes of yore.
I don't think it's strange at all. When you could only have 5 or six cogs in back, a double or triple crankset was pretty useful to give a wide enough gearing range without huge gaps between gears; now that you can have 11 or 12 cogs in back, a single chainring can give an adequate gearing range with manageable gaps.