nlerner

1 x 1 (between 60-70 gear inches) on a bunch of my old bikes.

Neal

wahoonc

Most of mine are still run what they brung. I have one 1x5 nondescript German? city bike, a 1990 Giant Iguana with 3x6 and my Giant Excursion is running 3x7. I also have a fair collection of other odd stuff that is still OEM. Schwinn Suburbans, Raleigh Sports/Superbe, etc.

Aaron

SJX426 

Not long after I bought my 72 Motobecane Le Champion, I converted to an Ultra 6 with 14-22 on a NR hub I bought used. Haven't changed it in 28 years.

grayloon

No plans to upgrade...if its an upgrade...to more gears on my 3X5, 2X12, or two 3X7 mtn bikes. Used to ride the Nishiki (3X5) all over the hills of E. Texas, also in Arkansas, and did quite well.





















x

650savag

I'm a 60 yr. old "Newbie" and my first road bike was a recent Ebay purchase, a late 80's or early 90's Raleigh Grand Prix. Someone had recently upgraded to all Shimanno 105 components, including the intergrated system which included an 8 speed derailer but kept the 6 speed freewheel cluster. It has the dual Shimanno crank and I leave it on the 53t sprocket and only use the top 3 or 4 gears. I've noticed a very slight hesitation and noise when I go to the two larger sprockets. My bike tech says he can order me an 8 speed freewheel cluster that will shift smoother but so far I'm very happy with my setup.

jeebusaurousrex

Original 2x6 on the old world sport. Mostly overkill for NYC, but it's nice having options for those days when you don't want to race the cabbies up Park Ave.

cheg

I run 3 x 7 but I have a very few duplicate gears because I have half-step + granny in the front. Range is 26 to 103 gear inches with 17 gears that I use.

grayloon

You must have better knees than me. I'm 59, but stopped using the 52 tooth chain ring, except when going downhill, back in my mid-20's after reading one of Eugene Sloan's bicycle books and deciding that was what made my knees hurt when I rode.

(BB)

1x5 on 1971 Schwinn Suburban - grocery getter
2x6 on 1980's Novara Randonee - rain bike and for longer trips on bad roads
3x10 on 2007 Trek 5000 - road bike

I lov'em all for what they are.

Saintly Loser

70-something ('74, I think) Raleigh Super Course. Non-original Shimano hubs with Shimano 14-28 6-cog freewheel, non-original Sugino 48-36-24 crank. Even my tired old knees (one artificial) can push the bike up any hill around here. 6 cogs are enough for me.

lmzimmer

It is a myth that more gears gets you more gear range, nor does it allow you to go faster. This is fostered by bike builders and bike shops out to sell new models. I ride a 3x6 trek that has a wider range than a newer bike with a nine speed rear.

RK1963

+1. I run 2 x 6s on my trek, peugeot and bianchi. I don't even use all 12. ----I end up using either the 9th speed (out of 12) or 10th speed, 95% of the time. ---and my 1st speed for the one "wall" I like to climb.

Bionicycle

I’m running a 2x6 with the original Suntour group, stem mounted friction shifters and all… on a 1985 Fuji Sagres Mixte. My backup bike is a 1x1 with coaster brake.

I don’t try to be “Retro”, I just don’t own anything new…

roccobike

My main rider had a 7 in the back until last year when I upgraded to 8. This year I upgraded to 9. My other bikes are currently 6 & 7 rear, but at least two will go to 8 when I install 8 X2 brifters.
On my main bike I currently have 9 X 3 and, between the two groups I ride with, I use every gear every week including all three on chainwheels.

USAZorro

I have a 1x5, two 2x5's, and a 2x6. I have taken to riding the modern 3x9 more, but I do still ride the others.

-holiday76

I run 3x7 on my main bike, i rarely use the granny, mainly just when I'm towing a trailer or going up a really steep hill after riding 60+ miles. I can't imagine needing anything else really.

the_tool_man

Up until a week ago, my Fuji had the original 3x6 gearing: (28-42-50)x(14-15-17-19-21-24). I just swapped the middle chainring and freewheel to an Ultra 7: (28-40-50)x(12-14-16-18-21-25-30). I like the new gearing much better. That's as wide as I can go without a new rear derailleur.

Regards,
John.

cizzlak

Still rolling a Shimano EX MF-6208 6sp (14-24) on my '84 Raleigh Prestige and a SunTour "Perfect" 5sp (14-34) freewheel on a '80 Motobecane Grand Jubile. All original setups (FD, RD, shifters) all running as good as day one. Until recently, the Jubile even had an original Sedis chain.

txvintage

Centurion Ironman Expert, currently set up 3X8
Cannondale Criterium, 2X6
Panasonic Sport 1000, 2X5
Miyata One Ten, 2X5
Condor. 2X8

I may set the Miyata up as a 7 speed since it came pretty much bare bones.

rat_factory

My daily trainer Miyata 310 is running 2x6 on a Sugino double with a Suntour Winner Pro 6 in the back. Couldn't ask for more.

jsmithepa

7-speed here. I don't mind a new hub/wheel (it needs it!), but I definitely wont try to spread the frame further apart. Take off my rear wheel often and can't put up with anything other than a quick (really mean quick) release.

650savag

My knees haven't bothered me yet but my "tailbone" still ain't liking this "skinny" seat yet! Ha! In all honesty, I will use the lower gears more, I'm sure, when I start putting in some longer rides. The few hills that I ride are really not that challenging either. I've been running since I was 43 and used to do 40 -50 miles a week (ran 2 marathons in 1993) but my back and knees are the reasons that I decided to start biking and swimming and start running less. I have slowly built up from 5 mile rides to my longest (today) was a 20 miler in 1 hr. and 40 min. I can do a 10 mile loop on my newly acquired Grand Prix in 41 min. (best time). I know that ain't TDF speed but for an old geezer who is just starting out, I think it's PDG, I'm shooting at doing some sprint triathalons this next Spring and Summer. (Shreveport/Bossier City La. area). I have been swimming here in NW Louisiana in a bayou (Dorcheat), trying to dodge the aligators and snakes. I've got my 1/2 mile swim time down to 31 min. (gotta work a lot more on the swim). Wish me luck! Dan

Kommisar89

Now that should give you some incentive to put in your best effort!

grayloon

650, there's a real conditioning advantage in learning to spin in lower gears. You may want to try it. I try for an 80-90 cadence, even helps when I move up to higher gears.

CharlesC

3X5 on my 1976 custom framed bike. Rear is a 14-24 and the front is a Shimano 600EX BioPace triple. Don't remember what size cogs is has but I never lack for a gear that I need. My 1987 Fisher mountain bike also has a triple BioPace up front and a 6 speed 14-34 in the rear. That said I ride my 3 speed Sturmey Archer AW bike a lot and don't remember needing more gears very often.