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

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.

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.

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

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.

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)

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.

Whatever on the back, always 1x upfront!

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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. .

Living in (extremely) hilly Colorado Springs, I'm very thankful to have a bike with a lot of gears, especially on the low end.

3:34 My city of Lausanne in Switzerland has particularly steep climbs everywhere. Good luck to anyone who wants to daily commute with a fixie. You'll end up with weedy little arms and thighs like the hulk while your work suit will be soaked in sweat when you eventually make it to the office. Just hope you have a shower at the workplace. Yes, I agree with the 3 speed gear hub.

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.

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.

I commuted in Boston 25 years, after experimenting with other setups, I always came back to the Sturmey Archer AW 3 speed hub. They are extremely reliable even in the winter weather, and give you plenty of gear range for a fairly flat area. Every time my bike got stolen, I'd find another old road bike and convert it to an SA 3 speed setup. Now I live in a place with major hills and I ride with an 8x3 derailleur setup (no real winters here to destroy it either).

I'd say the amount of gears you need depends on how many bikes you want to have. i'd love to lose my front derailleur for everyday urban biking. But i use my hybrid bike for everything, including exercising and roadtrips.

I've got a seven speed internal shimano. Love it. I usually don't go below fifth, but when my legs are all done in I'm really glad this bottom four are there.

Big nope from me! I can't stand having to cycle out of my normal range of cadence, and since the wind constantly changes, combine that with any number of gradients and that means you need a fair few gears to account for all the different speeds you might cycle at. And if you're dealing with a hub-gears, the vast majority of normal urban cyclists aren't going to bother to take that apart & maintain that themselves anyway, regardless of how many gears there are inside. So apart from weight (which in the context of a bike, rider & luggage, isn't significant) why not have 8-11 gears in a hub if you just let the bike shop do the service on the hub every few years. The regular maintenance requirements are basically identical.

I really enjoyed this, I'm just getting back, after over a decade off, I built a very fine, much better than best bike when young, 20 speed, sort of accidentally. All those parts were cheap, plentiful, and never knew they existed, and ran across a really great deal on an extraordinary frame and fork set. That said, my heart perfectly satisfied with a beautiful white plain bike, I've got this great, forty year old Sturmey Archer hub, in perfect shape, am looking at 26 or 650B rims, Rene Herse tires, and a generator front hub, to commute to the town, four miles away for minor shopping and such, exercise while doing errands, or not riding my other. I'd just concluded three was the perfect number myself, a few months ago, and ran across this video, after seeing a couple others regarding changes in the last decades. Thanks for a very fine video, very well done and rational.

I have four bikes, including a velomobile, and my favorite bike to ride in the city is my all carbon fiber humming bird folding bike with carbon wheels and ONE gear. I think I am also able to go the fastest, accelerate the fastest and navigate all of the traffic lights, etc. There is no question that it is faster than all of my other bikes, and probably more enjoyable to ride. To get the bike started, I stand while pedaling (the weight of my body and small 20" light weight wheels makes acceleration easy), then sit and pedal once I'm moving. For a hill, I can also just stand and pedal. Again, because the whole bike is only 6.8kg, that is what makes all of this work so well. There is no shifting to mess with, and nothing goes wrong with the bike. No irritating grinding, ever. The only irritating thing is the loud noise its 'high quality' wheel makes when not pedaling. It seems a lot of high quality wheels make a loud noise when not pedaling, and it is super annoying especially for anyone within 10 feet of me.

Brighton & Hove city, where I live in the UK is very hilly so alas three gears is not really enough. I used to ride a bike with the four speed Shimano hub and that was the absolute minimum that I could use. I think I agree with eight being optimal actually. Just before the summer I bought a new and extremely lovely Moulton SST with an eleven speed Alfine hub. I really like the eleven speed hub, but I think I would have been okay with an eight speed Alfine.

I see the logic behind 3 and 8, and I like it. That said, all my bikes are single speed.

In the early '70s I rode a 3-speed hub everywhere. I loved riding. On one 100 mile ride I tried someone's 10 speed road bike and felt I was effortlessly flying. That's the feeling I want out of cycling, so I got a road bike. I have commuted by bike for many decades now, using a '90s hybrid with lots of gears, as well as fenders and carrying capacity. Most of the maintenance needed has been from winter riding in salted snow. The derailleurs have worked fine with a slight adjustment every now and then. All the mechanism is simple and visible. For me, this has been the perfect city bike, as the gears I'm not using don't get in the way, and are available for when they might be helpful. I still like to fly on a lighter bike, but my 50 year old road bike is good for that, depending on terrain.

I just took the first ride on my new 3-speed Brilliant Cooper. I live in Sarasota and it works great here. This bike has the additional benefit of a carbon belt drive. Very quiet, and it couldn’t be easier! No fuss … no muss.

3 works, but I find 5 to be the best. At 3 I often find myself at 2nd and then needing to shift up, but 3 is too much. So I have the choice of just going a little slower than I want, or shift to 3 and have to put more work into it than I prefer. I do keep my 3 speed wheel as a backup for when I need to bring my 5 speed in for work. These IGHs are bomb proof and once you integrate a drum brake are the perfect commuter wheel. I used to commute with a derailleur and simply got tired of the maintenance and weekly adjusting they required.

Friction shifters reduce the hassle of tuning the shifters. The classic 3x9 or 3x8 still makes a versatile bike. 2x8 or 2x9 works as well. Not everyone have strong legs.

Just took a 12 mile ride on a 3 speed Sturmey Archer equipped bike and yes it was perfect. Easy carefree riding.

I have a Montague Paratrooper that I converted to an E-MTB. I mainly pedal on bike path's/canal pathways (we have like 140 miles of canal's in NJ, doubt I will travel all of it this summer but want to see what I can) My bike came with 24 gears, removing the pedal assembly for my Mid drive dropped me down to 8 Gears. 3 or 4 would work for me...one for crazy steep hills, one for regular hills, one for mixed terrain, and the last for straightrun's. I had a severe spinal cord injury so I have limitations but I love going out looking for wild life to smile at, and generally I am in pedal assist 1 or 2, 3 if it's really steep hills or the mud is kind of deep. I do this for exercise as well as pleasure. Had a double bypass at 53 in december, had no idea I had a heart problem and when I woke up the surgeon asked me if I was an athlete because he noticed how muscular my calves are and my heart was pretty muscular and a good size for my age. So I told him last 4 months was riding my e-mtb 5 or 6 miles a day and as many days a week as I could do it. After 2 month recovery he released me back to regular duty so I can take my bike out on nice days (sorry I am a baby, when it's under 40' and not sunny the fun factor isn't there...although I am thinking of getting a dog that would be interested in jogging alongside me at 12-15mph...I think my neighbor's siberian husky would love to come with me lol. I know a lot of biker's hate ebikes, I think they are good options for people with health issues or maybe too overweight to start riding a regular bike.

a 2 X 9 is perfect for me, my city has frequent climbs and having more "in between" gears makes it easier to transition from one gear to the next. Gears are not meant to be approached as a "speed/force" relationship, but as a means to sustain your preferred cadence, more gears allow you to keep that cadence in different terrains, making your ride more comfortable as a consequence.

I totally agree, Tom. Three is best.

Just matched onto your channel and subscribed! I'm in a much different situation. I'm 67, and am a prostate cancer survivor (so far) also Sith a bad knee. The two years of treatment for the cancer took away much of my strength and stamina, and the knee isn't helping much. I can still ride, but hills are tough on me. My bikd , which I bought maybe three years before my health problems is a cheapo single speed flat bar road bike with a flip flop hub to make it a fixed. I leave it as a single speed so the pedals can freewheel. I am riding a 2.5 mile course each day and timing it. Also talk a walk (with my cane), and right after the walk I do some weights and square. Trying to help my knee and build up some strength and stamina. I will keep my single speed bike. It is so light and basic and easy to work on. But, I am wanting to do some longer rides like I used to on that bike. Thinking of getting a second bike with some gears. Don't really want the added complexity of a front derailer. The direct selection of bikes like this seem to have 7 gears. I like your suggestion of bikes with 3 gears, if that would work for me. At this point, I can't seem o stand up and pedal, so I am sure there will be "walks of shame". But, there doesn't seem to be very many 3 speed bikes, and those that are have the transmission inside the rear hub, and seem to cost quite a bit more too. My daily 2.5 mile course, in the last 3/4 of a mile, have a series of hills, with one that is the hardest, that I can just make it over. My times are starting to improve, so maybe it's helping. Being an old retired geezer, I don't have a lot to spend. Do you have any 3 speed bikes you might suggest? I will be looking through your videos. Thank you!

I only use the 2 smallest gear in the back, never touch the front. All I needed was a 2 speed. lol

Oh my god, that voice was fucking amazing lmao

I have a 3×7 set but actually never use the small crank, rarely use the three biggest gears on the cassette and only use the big crank when riding long downhills. I guess I should definitely trim that down to 2×8 or even 1×8.

I figured this out after noticing that I only used 3 gears on my 24 gear bike. I now have a dutch bike with a shimano nexus 3 internal hub for commuting. It's perfect

At 76 years old I have found that it depends on my strength and durability how many gears I use. Most of the time I only use 3 to 4 gears during a ride but on a different days I may choose lower gears or higher gears and sometimes skip some during speed gaining or windy conditions. I still love riding and encourage others to join the fun. You will feel better and be happier. Keep on biking on.

Many riders do not know or consider that they can switch the single rear cog to another with more or fewer teeth to finely customize the riding experience. The cogs are relatively easy to change.

I like simplicity. I used to ride fixed gear almost exclusively. I’ve recently changed to a single speed. But I am getting old. I’d like a simple 3 speed. I agree with you

Totally agree! I mainly ride a single speed mountain bike now and realized that you really don’t need more than 1 speed. However, to be able to shift down 1, for up hills and up 1, for flats & down hills would be awesome! Going to put a 3 speed internal geared hub on my SS mtb and see if it holds up 🤙

Indeed. That's why I put a tensioner on instead of a derailleur and just use the front derailleur. Lighter, more efficient, less maintenance and every gear is a bail out gear, that is, no need to downshift before stopping.

Thanks! That French accent impersonation was hilarious! :)

Completely agree, 3 is enough. My front shift is broken for years and never missed them. On my rear shift, I only use two out of five settings. Lesser options means less weight and if it isn't there, it cannot brake down.

I like this video and the one on Dutch bikes. I just don't “like" them because I don't need them to show up in my "videos I like". It's more like someone (an experienced urban cyclist) presents/confirms all the things I (another experienced urban cycler) have found out. (Now I'm interested in this channel's take on touring rurally.)

The ideal number of gears just depends on what you want to do. I've ridden 1-speed 3-speed 10-speed and 21-speed. They all have their place. I like to go up in the hills so the granny gear is welcome. In town, 3 speeds are fine and I could easily get by with one. I agree with Grant on 8 speeds being a reasonable number for most of us most of the time.

I've got recumbent trikes with a new world of gearing... 81 speeds! Triple up front,9 speed out back and 3 internal in the Sram Dual drive hub. Hub is over,direct, and under drive... So I have the choice of 60 rpm at 1mph or about 45mph and everything in-between. Can't easily and very slowly climb a 25 percent grade or blast down an 8 percent grade while still pushing for more speed... The nice thing is that there is always a perfect gear available. Big reasoning is that the trikes are a bit heavier than a road bike of anything you didn't aquire at Walmart and the benefit is that you can't lose your balance from going to slow... So if you want or need to go really really slow,you can... I can also take a break while climbing without getting off. I can set my parking brake and have a drink,or a snack and then just continue on... No worries about falling while trying to get rolling uphill. I know recumbent riders hauling trailers loaded for self sustained criss country trips that have a 14 speed Rolhohf hub in the rear, amid drive and a triple up front... Imagine trying to pick the perfect gear with 130 or so available.

for commuting 3 is absolutely fine, especially if live in relatively flat area and don't have to deal with snow or other hazards. I use my bike to climb and go down hills and to truck through several inches of snow if the plowdriver is late in the winter and for that reason I love my gears. Good quality stuff doesn't need that much looking after, even if it isn't as idiot-proof as a nice hubwheel.

I love the recent 1x11 and 1x12 gearsets. I have never needed to adjust a derailleur ever. And with tubeless tires, I have never had a flat since 2018.

I personally find that the front derailleur is good for dealing with traffic lights. If I need to come to a stop and want to set off quickly, it's much easier to shift down two gears than it is to shift down six.

On my bike I have 3 gears, but I almost only use 3rd gear. Especially since I'm Dutch and the worst enemy of my biking is wind rather than mountains 1st is for extreme headwind, 2nd is for steep inclines and 3rd is for everything else.

If you're not racing, get hub-gears. They shift quicker, are much more reliable and don't require any maintenance, though they do add a little bit of friction. Also, I think it's nice to have a little bit more than 3 gears, so you can pedal at your preferred speed. 5 would be all the gears I want.

Great tip. I have done 3-gears for eight years for every day urban ciommute and I just ordered a new bike today where I asked the shop to change the gears from 8 to 3. I save around 1.5kg (>3lbs) and some money and get a more clean looking bike and less gears to fiddle with. One gear for climbing, one for flat road and also when you have on-coming wind and one for downhill and flat roads with wind in your back.

The answer is 1. Bikes without gear changers are way more reliable. If you need gears though because you live in a place with lots of hills, I'd say 3 to 5 gears is plenty -- depending on how steep your local hills are. The only real reason to get more, is if you want to go mountain biking or racing.

I would have said 8 too, although with much less thought put into it. Having bikes of 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 gears, I have just found 8 to have the best usability; not changing constantly, but a good selection of gears for the terrain.

I almost never use my front derailer, I max it and forget it so my 21 speed is effectively a 7 speed. Of those 7 gears I spend 90% of my time in the top 2. 7 for downhill or if I'm really hauling ass, 6 for mild incline or I'm just takeing it easy. I drop it down to 1-2 for hill climbing or if I have to come to a stop just so its easier to get moveing agian. all the gears in between are just for geting me from one end of the casset to the other. It takes a real monster of a hill for me to want to shift down further and touch the front chainrings. I could see a valid argument for 5 just so you have a couple middle of the road options between monster hill, coasting, and downhill but ya can get away with 3 for basic commuting on fairly flat routs.

I wish I don’t, but I truly need lots of gears for commuting. Honestly, the local mountain bike trails are flatter than some of the hills in both my college city and hometown. Both are very hilly. My college town is a hilly city on a river in tornado alley. Lots of very steep hills and less steep but long hills that I regularly have to climb. Very frequently I have to go up hills with a 8-15mph headwind. You better believe I’m shifting way, way down. I also have to shift way down to start on the hills (sometimes your destination is built into a hill and it’s inevitable), lugging things up the hills, etc. I have a 27 gear (3 and 9) and regularly use 18 of them. I could go as low as having 12 gears probably, but no fewer. Fewer would result in me walking my bike up far too many of the hills far too often. The first mile of my usual commute is uphill with grades as high as 6-7.5% in parts of it. No bike lanes or sidewalk so I’m sharing the road with 55mph and 45mph traffic that often doesn’t see me, forcing me to pull over and stop, killing my momentum. The low gears are very necessary for those parts, especially on the high-traffic and windy days. There’s another hill I can commute up instead and sometimes do and that one is 7.4% average with bits that are 18%. I don’t often take that one even though it actually has a bike lane since it’s just tiring with my school stuff.

Really depends on where you live/ride. On my road bike when I ride around where I live in Long Beach, I probably only use 3 gears, but I do take that bike into the mountains and elsewhere with hills so the other gears are helpful. On my commuter bike I had a 1x8 and that was perfect, maybe even still too many for my town but it was always good to have those lower gears for hills and headwinds. If you're commuting I would definitely suggest a 1x just for simplicity sake and either 3 or 8 in the back depending where you ride.

I've been thinking about this, and I came to the conclusion there isn't any such thing as "right" number of gears. It depends on where you live. City I live in was built in the medieval times, on the side of a hill. Not with bicycles in mind, but siege defenses and stuff. I end up riding up and down hill a lot, so I do make use of my 21 gears. I was thinking a lot about ditching my front derailleur, but really... I don't want to work for those climbs. MTB rider might want to, but I just wanna get places and not get sweaty. And also there's a bike shop always around a corner, I don't really worry that much about maintenance. Of course if I lived in North America, in a city built for cars on a flat terrain, and maybe finding a bike mechanic was something I needed to worry about, I'd probably opted for a simpler gearing. It all comes down to the city.

I got 9 gears, and it is amazing. I have all the control I want and it conserves my chain.

I have a 7 speed, and the shifter broke a while ago. Fiddled with it a bit until the gear was in a gear that I was sorta comfortable with most of the time. Haven't really felt the need to fix the gear. Sometimes when I'm going downhill i can't go superduper fast, and sometimes when I'm going uphill i have to put a bit of effort in it, but 99% of the time it works perfectly fine. Though I do agree that having a gear would make it just a bit easier for some of the ride some times. So I agree that 3 speeds is a good number. I'd have a sort-of default gear that you'd be cruising in most of the time, a lower gear that you could use for getting started and going up hills, and a high gear you could use to get a bit of extra speed when going downhill.

Back in the 80's I used to ride a five gear racer.The type with the gear change lever on the frame. More than enough gears for your average commute.

I live in San Francisco and I can tell you that three gears in most neighborhoods is woefully inadequate, 8+ gears is the most ideal!😅

Hey yeah, you're right. 3 gears. The rat fink by electra bikes has 3 gears. My 1960's chopper also had 3 gears. It was a T-Bar shifter too. They knew a lot back then. But more gears is all about finer adjustment. That's also what watches are about. Getting to adjust more in the same time. You're not adding to the time. You're getting more opportunity within the minute. You get more opportunity to adjust going around a corner. But with endurance bikes you're getting less opportunity to adjust going around corners BUT the bike bends your perception of time. You're brain is focused on when you adjust stuff and that distracts you from noticing time has passed. More gears allow for fine tuning within the same time. Endurance allows you to STOP living the life of numbers and allows you to live YOUR life not always chasing measurements. The measurements are YOUR actions not centimetres or inches. You're measuring your actions. You're metering your performance. Its not a race of centimetres\Inches. Its a race of how and when you apply yourself.

I'm 68, have all sorts of bikes with all sorts of drivetrains, have been riding for over 60 years. For the past ten years, one bike has taken me on 90% of my rides: a 1973 Raleigh Sport, 3spd Sturmey-Archer hub, Brooks B73 saddle (3 coil springs, no waiting!) My little town is about 4,500' ASL, surrounded by mountains up to 6,500'; unless I go more than 5miles outside the city limits, I'm taking English gentleman's conveyance! Happy trails!😊

I agree as well, even though I ride in single speed. But also 3 speed set ups are morr expensive than 7-12 gear setups because they're internal, like sturmey archer and Shimano Nexus

I associate Calgary with the nearby mountains and always forget that the city is mainly flat! - signed Born in Montreal.

About 40 years ago I rode a 3 speed. It had that little chain for shifting which occasionally broke. After almost 40 years of riding dereaullier bikes I've gone back to a Shimano Nexus 3 speed. I'm totally with you.

I do urban bike riding for pleasure, exercise, or transportation. I use 5 gears and only use the smallest sprocket on the front. One gear for average riding with no hills up or down, no wind in front or back, and then 2 easier pedaling gears for going uphill or against the wind, 2 harder pedaling for going downhill or with the wind at my back. It works perfect and easy for me.

For simplicity I choose to have a 3 speed internal gear hub Brompton. There is a 6-speed version but it is a 2x3 and seems to need more maintenance work. Although need more effort on climbing, I found single hub still work fine.

Love the thought provoking video. On my YYC rides have settled on a unique 3 speed as well. Dingle speed with a get off and walk. Keep enjoying ride and making great videos!

Minimal gears, 3. Completely agree.. 👍

In the early 1990s, I had a 3-speed Dahon folder, and I went EVERYWHERE with that little thing. But these days with tendinitis in my knees and ankles as well as arthritis in my hips, I use a 7-speed Electra Townie as my main bike. The step-through frame is easier on my hips, too. But even here in Hayward, California, where I do most of my living on the flat west side, there are still railroad crossings which for me are fairly steep and need low gears. But, I'm an old lady now.

I live in São Paulo and we have too many hills to climb. Here, gears are necessary

Uphill, on the flat, downhill: Sturmey Archer 3 speeds are the best

I had a 3x8 mountain bike and I COULD NOT max out the gearing even on a downhill, my third cog on my front derailleur got no use, I now have a 1x10 and love it

🐌🚴🏽thanks … I’m a Chicago Schwinn vintage riding senior coming from a need to ride in a bad road, hilly environment (St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands) and I have to go from Sturmy Archer 3 speed into the 21st century. This video will help me buy a modern hybrid bike that will take me riding into my 80s in a few years.

My rear gear cable snapped two miles away from work about a month ago, so got there and worried all day about riding home with just two gears - the snap meant the chain jumped in to the hardest gear at the back and all I had left was the front shifter: either 48-11 or 32-11 ratios. It was fine ... no issues at all once I treated the ride home as just transport and not a fitness session.

Having biked around Boston for years an an old 3 speed, I couldn't agree more. My only hassle was by the time I left, nobody was left that knew how to service them.

I agree 3 is all you need with one tweak, set it up so you mostly find yourself in the middle gear. I find I am mostly facing a headwind to and from work so I adjust the front ring and rear cog so i am mostly in the middle. I find all new bikes are geared to high. So to get the most out of your 3 speed you need to spend time in the setup.

You’re right, the best number of gears is 3! The best one being the 3-Speed Fixie hub that Sturmey Archer offers!

A 3 speed is perfectly fine for most casual/commuting use - if you're in a hilly area go with a 22-36 front - if you're in a flat area go with a 42-54 front. Definitely not more than a 5 speed (the 5/8 speed IGH are heavy as lead).

I live in a pretty hilly city and ride a bike with one gear. I prefer that because of how simple it is, easy to take apart and put back together, and generally how few things can go wrong when compared to a more complicated contraption. When I had a three gear bike, I noticed I don’t actually use the other two gears all that much. When going uphill, I find it much easier to just stand up and suffer for a little bit, but at least ride faster than had I been using a larger gear. On the other hand, it was fun to switch the other way when going downhill, but then going That fast was generally not a good idea, just because it isn’t safe. And so a single speed suits me just fine. In fact, I would probably recommend that to most people. Once you get used to it, it really is no big deal

I agree with 3. My Sachs internal Torpedo 3 speed has been great since 1984.

Three gears is great. One gear for riding on the flats, one for riding down slight slopes and one for climbing shallow grades. Basically, if your route is pretty flat, three speeds will take care of normal terrain contours. God help you if you have actual hills, but pushing is still an option. And yes, Monsieur Desgrange, I passed 45 a few lustrum hence. My current bike has a 3x7 rear hub, which gives me 14 effective gears. I rarely use the bottom range. the ability to downshift after a sudden stop is really useful.

It all comes down to how versatile you want your bike to be... & the type of terrain you ride will dictate that.

My uncommon preference is a road bike with a mountain triple crankset (42-32-22 3x8). I don't care at all about the number of gears that I have, only the total range and that the steps hopefully aren't too giant. I mostly stay in the center up front (and near center in the back) but anytime I want to go faster or climb hills I can shift the front derailleur and have a couple very high or very low gears with a straight chain line until I move back to the center. The road bike has non-agressive geometry and fit which makes it comfortable for me while still performing well and helping me duck out of some wind. Personally, I assume anybody who rides a bike regularly will need to learn some bike maintenance (tires, tubes, spoke tension, lubrication, brake pads, fit adjustments, etc) and adjusting derailleurs is simple unless you don't understand it yet. I love simplicity and I love seeing people discover how bikes can easily fit into their life so I'm happy to see simple bikes being encouraged. From my perspective, the learning curve is tiny and I really appreciate the option to shift if I'm out riding and I intuitively feel like I would enjoy an easier/harder gear.

Dude, sooo right. been sayin this for years. The front derailer also acts as a keeper, but if you limit the rear derailer to say like "the middle" sprockets and get the chain tension right, the chain will stay on.

Ahh.sigh of relief for me. Thanks for a briliant video. Learnt a lot .👍👍👍

I use a single speed. Multiple gears just give me a headache rather than an easy ride. But I do have a 3 speed hub I might checkout.

can you do a setup like this: Extremely high: for flats and high speed Just right: for flats and slight inlcine Extremely low: for those long ass climbs thinking of building a single speed bike but I do like the idea of a "Functional" bike so to speak.

As a kid I did well with 3 speed bikes. I love them. I'm 76 years old and I'm thinking of one more bike. ..CRAZY!! Now I live in Arizona. :). I'm from a hill area near Seattle but not as bad as Seattle for hills.

Riding happily on my single speed 34 yr old bike. I am able to match speeds of most of the multi geared hybrids and MTBs. Never felt so far like changing my bike.

I've thought about this a lot and ultimately went with a 3-speed internal hub (Classic Plus Gotham from Priority specifically). No/low maintenance is freeing.