Originally Posted by
ratell
So, this is probably a stupid question, but does 3 gears in front and 1 in back not work?
You see lots of single speeds and some people do the 1x9. Most of my commute I'm happy to sit in one gear. Every now and again I go on the big ring and go fast for fun, and sometimes I take on the huge hill and drop down into my granny. I'd be happy with three gears if the range was good. Is that not possible with 3 x1?
I have a dual front chain ring 36x39 and dual rear cog two speed ( White Industries 16-19) with a 15 inch spread 50 & 65 inch, which works fine for me. Any combo of three teeth apart works without a long rear dropout and is fine on standard horizontal drop outs with no change in axle position. This gives me a modest roller/flat gear and a lower gear for headwinds and hillier sections. On my commute it works perfectly. I do spin out the 65 often but I can cruise at 15-18 mph with ease and have hit 25 mph in a sprint through intersection light changes. No need for a tensioner. A Rivendell Quickbeam is another real nice deraileurless bike with the option of a 28 inch spread in gearing when using a two speed freewheel and another gear on the flip side. The long rear dropouts allow easy chain tension without a tensioning device.
