Originally Posted by
PeteHski
The fact that there are still masses of cheap Wally bikes on 3x drivetrains is driven by Shimano not making a cheap enough ultra-low end 1x12 drivetrain. They are probably better off being 3x8 than 1x8 and 24 speed sounds better than 8 speed. More respectable entry level mountain bikes are usually 2x with a reasonably wide range cassette. I see those at around the £500 mark. Everything above that price point goes 1x.
That's a good summary. I don't think anyone can reasonably disagree... unless they just want to quarrel.
BITD there were lots of nice bikes spec'ed with 3x drivetrains... mountain bikes and touring bikes, mostly. Market forces and development of alternative systems have relegated the 3x mostly to cheap, bike shaped objects. That's not to say they're "dead" in the overall biking world, just way out of favor for those who want a good, new production bike.