Maelochs

Oi!!!

Why do people have such a problem with other people having different Preferences??? !!! ???

Generally, I prefer to let my transmission do more work than my legs. I stay in a narrow range because I don't have much power or energy, and getting the most out of it is most enjoyable for me, ..... Generally.

Sometimes I just power up a climb or coast down a descent. Sometimes I spin up a climb and shift six times. Sometimes I power down descents. Sometimes I don't even ride my bike. Whatever is my Preference on that day.

Some people prefer other things than you. Sorry, but you had best get used to it.

Also, nobody said it was not possible to ride a wide-spaced cassette, or that it was bad. people said they Preferred narrow spacing.

The Only time I recall someone saying that they almost had to have narrow spacing is @indyfabz, talking specifically about fully loaded touring and long climbs. And as someone who has done that (and also gone hard into a 20+ mph headwind while riding all-day rolling hills) I can say that in that case, where you cannot just stop and rest because you need to get to your campsite in time to set up before dark, and where you need enough energy to finish the day's mileage or you might end up camping in the breakdown lane or in a cactus forest full of scorpions or something ..... yeah, in that case, having the right ratio is really important.

That is where triples shine---you can have a couple very low gears, a couple very high gears, and a whole ranges of very close gears so you can really fine-tune your energy output to the terrain and conditions.

Also .... it is about ten times harder to push a loaded touring bike up a hill as to ride it, however slowly. The bike wants to tip over all the time, and you spend half your energy trying to balance it. It is a lot easier to pedal at a steady 4 mph than to push a steady two .... which means an hour's climb might be three hour's push, and you will be twice as tired when you reach the crest .... and then still maybe have 50 miles to ride to your campsite.

Also .... you can mock racers if you like, but there is a reason they use the corncob block, and it is efficiency. In that case also close ratios make a difference, because the energy wasted turning the wrong gear might mean not being able to latch on when someone attacks the breakaway, meaning you busted your butt for three hours, only to get dropped thirty minutes from the finish.

So, yeah ... recreational cyclists Could all ride single-speeds ... after all, for years everyone did. but not a lot of riders Prefer to ride single-speed. Even the people here mocking people who like close ratios don't ride single-speed currently ....

it is all a matter of Preference. There is no right or wrong, beside the right of understanding that different folks like different strokes, and the wrong of failing to acknowledge that.