How many gears do you need on a bicycle?

[RichTheDude]

Yes, the Sturmey Archer gears were crap, and three is no where enough for a bicycle.

Low gear is too high for steep hills, and high gear too low for any kind of speed - really pretty naff all together.

Mind you, I used to have a Rudge single gear bike in my teens, and I used to get round pretty well OK - including some VERY, VERY steep hills (I still have the scars from getting knocked off by a car on one VERY, VERY steep hill - but I did take the wing mirror off with my head - it was a Ford Granada).

I never had a problem with the 3 Speed Sturmey Archer hub I retrofitted to my Raleigh BMX as a kid. I was given a 20 inch folding bike, so I stripped it for the back wheel, gear change selector and cable. I could outrun any of my friends on that bike . Did all BMX's exhibit the dreaded front wheel wobble at speed?

 

[Val Gretchev]

my next bike, with Shimano Nexus 8-speed internally-geared rear hub ...

Thanks for pointing out the MEC Desire bicycle with the Shimano Nexus 8-speed hub. I am glad to see that you can still get a bike with internal gears.

My Raleigh cost me $60 in 1955. That was a lot of money back then when you could buy a loaf of bread for 10 cents.

 

[Mr RB]

Grip shifts rule.

**broken link removed**

21 gears is fine, especially when you can change gears instantly with no effort, not even having to lift your thumbs off the bars.

 

[Val Gretchev]

That’s me bringing up the rear on my brother’s 50 acre farm. The dirt bikes are fun to ride especially on the grass.

 

[HiTech]

Being a former professional bike mechanic from many years back, too many gears present numerous problems and challenges regarding the physics of gearing and lateral movement of a forward rotating chain. It's far better for a cyclist to strengthen themselves to handle larger gaps between gear ratios than it is to cluster together a bunch of close ratio cogs and while having the chain try to efficiently and reliably negotiate each one of them. Certain gear ratios just do not synchronize well.