Originally Posted by
Atlas Shrugged
This is exactly why 3X drivetrains have become extinct. This convoluted process of working front and rear derailleurs avoiding the numerous duplicate gears as well as big/big, small/small makes no sense whatsoever.
Whatever are you going on about? I’ve used triples for almost 50 years now and have never felt that the front and rear derailers needed any “working” nor do I worry too much about duplicate gears since we don’t shift bicycles sequentially with
any multiple gear crankset. 1x is, of course, sequential but they have range limitations
Look at the gearing chart for a 2X GRX 48/31 and 11-40 11 speed systems and notice how few redundancies there are.
Done! Here’s a comparison of a 3x 11 speed (11-340 system to the 2x system 11 speed (11-40) system. We can kind of ignore the smallest ring for now. The way
I would shift the system would be to shift from the middle to the big (and the reverse) when needed. It’s a 14.7” jump at the 19 tooth cog which really isn’t all that large and there wouldn’t be a need for any change in cadence. If I needed to upshift or downshift, I can go in either direction on the middle ring which would be sufficient without any significant change in cadence. The second gear chart compares a 3x9 to the 11 speed and it has a slightly smaller jump on a similar combination. The 3x11 is a little overkill but it could still be used.
The 2x system has a 22” jump when shifting from the outer ring to the inner ring at the 21 tooth cog. That’s a pretty big jump and will require a significant increase in cadence to keep up.The same holds true once the you are in the lower ring. Because of the big jump in the chainrings, the system encourages the rider to stay in one chainring and use the 31/11 combination rather than change to the larger chainring more frequently and adjust for effort and cadence.
Back to the inner ring on the 3x. It offers a lower low for touring and for weaker riders or people who want to preserve their knees.
Plus with this you get reliable index shifting, easy access to parts and replacements. It’s so much easier to work with and on than a cobbled collection of vintage and outdated gear. Especially if you are using the system for touring or traveling.
I did 6 weeks of loaded touring on a single trip this summer with a 3x9 speed with components that are at least 20 years old. Oddly, it did just fine with being highly reliable…no issues over 1700 miles. I also used the same bike for a trip around Lake Michigan about 2 years ago and I didn’t do anything to the bike after I did that trip nor before this trip. That’s at least 3000 miles without any kind of adjustment. And, honestly, I don’t think I did anything to the bike in terms of adjustment nor even maintenance from the previous tour of 1500 miles in 2015. That could be 4500 miles over 9 years. All of my bikes are a “cobbled collection of vintage and outdated gear” which all work flawlessly. Frankly most of the new stuff would work on my bikes for one and, secondly, I’m not so sure the new stuff is any more reliable than the old stuff. The new “touring bikes” aren’t nearly as capable nor as well designed for touring as my old (2010) touring bike is.