The perfect number of gears for your urban bike is three. Here's why.

One? Three? Eight? Twenty-seven? Have you ever wondered what the perfect number of gears is for your urban or commuter bike? Well, I'm here to convince you that three is the perfect number.

#bikes #bikecommuting #cycling

Mondays by Joakim Karud @joakimkarud

Follow Tom Babin on:

[obviouslyblack]

This is my secret gear combo-it's pretty complicated so you might want to take notes.. For flats and downhills, I use a big cog in front and a small one in the back. And for uphills, I use the walk of shame.

[brown-wizard]

if your city is entirely flat even fixed gears work great.
if your city is in the mountains you'll need at least 7 gears.
it all depends on what type of "urban" area you live in.

[wakeawaken]

I have 3 gears on my single speed:
Pedal
Push
Swear

[Hdtjdjbszh]

I live in a hilly place. So long as I have around a 300% ratio overall I am happy. Afline 7 or 8 is best for me.

[PaynesPrairie]

For years I rode a three speed (closed hub) bike in Miami, which is almost totally flat. Loved it. Then moved to a location with steep hills, and found myself dismounting and pushing the bike up too many slopes. I'm now riding a seven speed. The number of gears surely must depend on your terrain.

[OldSloGuy]

My first bike 70 years ago was a 3 speed Schwinn. Internal gear hub with a little chain that came out of the shaft, transitioned to a wire. snaked over some pulleys and through a Boden wire to the selector lever on the handlebar. It wasn't a fat tire bike by modern standards, but it was a lot fatter than the foreign bikes with derailleurs and racing tires. Today, the latest thing is belt drive with internal gear hub. An updated idea from 70 years ago. Bikes seem to be like my wife's wardrobe. If she keeps her clothes long enough they will come back in style. Fashion is cyclic. (pun intended)

[ElMAGNATE]

If you live somewhere where it's flat, with a single speed you can manage perfectly. Otherwise, I agree that 3 is better.

[Matt-uwrb]

Whatever on the back, always 1x upfront!

[strawhatguy]

Yes, 3-speed internally geared hubs are the best for urban biking. Internally geared hubs provide one massive advantage that derailleurs can't provide: the ability to change gears while completely stopped.
In Metro Manila where I used to commute every day you don't normally get the luxury of a bike lane (and where there were bike lanes there were still A-hole motorcyclists that you have to deal with). Being able to weave through traffic and quickly hit the brakes then rapidly accellerate even from a track stand is a major benefit.

Yeah I rode a mamachari with a 3-speed and a fully loaded backpack 30-40km a day but I'd leave road and mountain bikers in the dust on the daily, and it's all because of the 3-speed. In the hostile riding environment of this city it's not about top speed or maintaining an ideal cadence, it's about maximizing accelleration in stop and go situations.

[Teetuetenmogli]

As I am living in Stuttgart, Germany and there's basically no flat road around, only three gears would be hell...
Especially as I have knee problems and need to paddle at a certain frequency to not destroy them. And for this I regularly use 16 of my 27 gears...
With this same bike I go on longer tours as well, where I also need the upper part of the gears, therefore using all the 27 gears.

Needing and using obviously are something different.

Another interesting factor: if your three gears are as close to each other as three of mine then good luck. If the highest and lowest are as far apart as on mine that sounds good!
So it's not the amount of in between steps but the range that is covered.

[TheSJCieply]

I'd agree with 8 speed. There are plenty of internally-geared hubs that go to 8.

[arturothecook]

Thank you again! Shortly after getting my first bike (ever at 16 yo) “adult BMX bikes” appeared in stores. My bike was a single speed tourism bike. So, when I saw gears in these new mountain Bikes, I decided I wanted gears in mine. My bike shop install the back cog with 5 gears. For years I kept feeling and telling most people we didn’t need that many gears. Most people only use 3-4 gears in most situations. Your video validated all of that for me more than 40 years later.

[ahoneyman]

These are all 1930's design cues. Raleigh made a bazillion of them after WW2 for people to commute to work. The sealed 3 speed gearset is underrated. The chain never falls off, it needs lubrication maybe once a year, and it's well nigh weatherproof.

[johntheroux]

I am 78 and commute on my old 3 speed Phillips (1957) or Raleigh (1970). I live in a flat area of MI and agree a 3 speed is best, easpecially an SA. Being old, I usually start in 1 and then switch to 2. I only use 3rd occasionally. I even ride my bikes in the snow, it makes me feel young and keeps the youngsters wondering. I have 12 other bikes with lots of gears, hardly ever use them. Ride your bike often or always.

[bennetthasty]

I totally agree but with less extreme, so I’d say 5 - a low, mid low, mid, mid high & high. Makes sense to me at least

[gabithemagyar]

All my bikes for the city (Toronto) have been 3 gear, enclosed hub models, with fenders, rear rack, , handlebars for upright riding etc. That was the norm for city riding when I was growing up in the 60's. "Racing bikes" had 10 gears and were a bit of a status symbol although many people, like me, stayed away from them because they had too much maintenance involved. To be honest, 90 percent of the time I just stay in second gear. Later it seemed that people started equating more gears with "better" and the bike manufacturers got into a competition rather like the megapixel wars in the camera world. Of course if I lived in a really hilly area like San Francisco or something I would probably want a different kind of bike i.e. how many gears are ideal depends on the terrain in which you live and whether you commute at casual pace (like in Holland) or bomb along as if in a race (like many of the lycra wearing crowd here do even on city streets). I don't think there is a "one size fits all" answer. .

[bikelad]

I have a lovely 70s old-timer with a 3-speed hub, and have climbed hills on it, no problem. It's not the most efficient bike but wonderful to ride. It's what I use to commute around my hometown and absolutely love it. It attracts lots of eyeballs as well.

I also have a high end road bike with 2×11 setup that I use for long fast rides. But for casual commuting, nothing beats a hub gear city bike.

[Dee.Cee]

I spent the past few months on Toronto (hilly city) on city bikes w/3 gears which made me convinced I needed a 7 gear when I finally bought. Now that I’m using it, I’m thinking maybe the issue was more how insanely heavy the bikes are, not the gears.

[LacticAcid]

I spend about 95% of the time on my bike in one of two gears (and I never touch my front derailleur either - and have thought about ditching it too) - but I think 5 would be the perfect range for me - because I'd like to have a little extra padding for big hills, long rides or the (seemingly) omnipresent 20mph headwind whenever I ride.

[solentbum]

For many years Raleigh made a commuter bike, it had three speed Sturmy Archer hub gears with a hub dynamo, full chain case, mudguards and an upright riding position. Almost idiot proof, it was seen in its thousands in city streets in the UK, and around the world. It was designed for use not show.