3 gears and 7 gears?

[flecc]

People have lots of gears because people buy numbers, thinking more is better. It's why we have six and even seven gear cars on the market.

I've got six gears on my current bike but only use three of them most of the time, and I'm in the hilly North Downs. The gear range is more important than the number of gears.

Bella's choice is the Nexus 3 with almost 200% range or the Nexus 7 with 244% range, so not much gain with the latter.

Bella has said this:

"I will be mostly using the bike on relatively flat ground."

and she has also said it will be steady riding and mainly for exercise. Therefore she may well be ok with three gears covering 200% range, just so long as her riding doesn't include a particularly steep hill.
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[Deleted member 4366]

I think you're a bunch of hypocrites. If 3-speed was good, we'd all have them, but people that do have them on their regular bike on this forum are virtually non-existant.

It's nothing to do with numbers or marketing. There's a real benefit to having lots of gears. Humans have a very narrow power band for pedalling, which is why you need lots of gears, especially if you're unfit. If you can't keep the correct cadence, it will put a lot of strain on your knees, which would spoil the enjoyment of your cycling.

 

[trex]

the point is should Bella spend more for 7-speed instead of 3? in the case of the D-Cycle, it's not worth the extra money.

 

[oldtom]

All advice will be appreciated.

Bella, the best bit of advice out of the responses is that you ought to get along to the seller and take the bike for a test-ride. While you're at it, you should also test-ride something dissimilar, preferably from a different maker and with a few more gears because you will want to cycle more than you think for exercise and some hilly bits are inevitable.

Even in the flattest parts of the country, headwinds can prove as difficult as hills so there are occasions when with only three gears, you may become dispirited and you'll give it all up. A better range of gears makes the difference between pushing the bike bike up some slopes and riding it, albeit slowly.

Although I haven't seen these bikes up close, the pictures and the accompanying spec suggests they will be adequate for Holland. In the UK, I'd be hesitant to buy one of these 3-speeders over some of the multi-geared competition, still within the budget end of the EAPC market.

There are sellers on the forum who can provide tried and tested models with great back-up, should it be needed, at prices a little higher than the D-Cycle. My inclination would be to look closer at those sellers. Of course, budgetary restraint often figures highly and these D-Cycles are very cheap right now.

An EAPC for the price of a Kalkhoff battery!

Tom

 

[flecc]

Humans have a very narrow power band for pedalling, which is why you need lots of gears

Very true for unpowered cycling over a wide range of road speeds.

But Bella will have e-power and will be riding in a moderate fashion on relatively flat roads. The Dutch ride something like that on largely flat territory and their bikes are often single speed, they even have single speed e-bikes.
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[Alan Quay]

I think you're a bunch of hypocrites. If 3-speed was good, we'd all have them, but people that do have them on their regular bike on this forum are virtually non-existant.

It's nothing to do with numbers or marketing. There's a real benefit to having lots of gears. Humans have a very narrow power band for pedalling, which is why you need lots of gears, especially if you're unfit. If you can't keep the correct cadence, it will put a lot of strain on your knees, which would spoil the enjoyment of your cycling.

I have 3 speed hub (actually it's the old 4 speed, but 1 and 4 are the same as the modern 1 and 3 ratios)

Its fine. In fact, it my favourite bike. My wife Has a 3 speed too.

On my electric MTB I have 24. I really only use 2.

On my un-powered bike I have 21, and use all of them.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Yeah, everybody has an old three speed in the shed, me too, but nobody uses them. I wonder why?

Bella is trying to decide which bike to spend her hard-earned cash on. Think about the implications of your suggestions. It's not just about scoring points in a forum debate.

 

[Croxden]

I wouldn't want a three speed car or bike but I have had them and had enjoyment in their use. The three speed Sturmey Archer replaced a single speed on the same bike. I can't remember being able to go where I couldn't before but would not want to go back to single speed, one gets used to having such things.

I appreciate more what I now have, but the best product by far in these modern times is the current range of lavatory paper.
Who would want to go back to rough/shiny stuff of yesteryear?

 

[Alan Quay]

Yeah, everybody has an old three speed in the shed, me too, but nobody uses them. I wonder why?

Bella is trying to decide which bike to spend her hard-earned cash on. Think about the implications of your suggestions. It's not just about scoring points in a forum debate.

Both my 3/4 speed hubs are on electric bikes, and in daily use. If you are not bothered about high top speed pedalling (above 15mph) then they are fine.

I don't do serious hill climbing with them, but I almost never use first gear.

My wife uses the 3 speed to take the boy (just over 4 stone) to school.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Are you advising OP to spend her money on a seven speed or three speed then?

 

[trex]

Bella, you should tell us a bit about you and where you live, how tall you are, how much you weigh and your budget, we can then recommend the best bikes for you.

 

[Alan Quay]

Are you advising OP to spend her money on a seven speed or three speed then?

If she's not interested in significant hills or going fast, 3 speed should be fine.

 

[Kenny]

Last year I borrowed a friends 3 speed Kalkhoff for my daughter so we could do a longer trip together.
I took it out myself to check everything was working OK and to my surprise I found it a really enjoyable ride.
Apart from the steepest of hills I only used the two top gears and when your not shifting up and down the gears all the time it makes for a really relaxing ride.
As a cycling enthusiast changing gear is all part of my enjoyment when cycling but for someone who just wants uncomplicated transport from A to B the simplicity of the Nexus 3 could be quite attractive.

 

[flecc]

In July 2006 I bought a Quando single speed e-bike and rode it locally for around a year, mainly for utility journeys, shopping etc. It was really enjoyable, just pedal off the mark and then relax with nothing to do, easily handling the odd 10% and even one 12% and leaving me to admire the view and watch out for the traffic.

Then when I decided to use it more extensively over a wider area which meant handling 20% hills, I added a 6 speed derailleur to its rear hub motor. But I only used three of the gears most of the time, often flicking the twistgrip gearchange across two or three ratios at a time. That's why I say the gear range is the most important, the motor easily bridged the wider gaps between pairs of ratios, very different from unpowered cycling where closer ratios are important.

This isn't point scoring, just giving my experience of the pleasures of minimising gear changing when ambling around on a bike, none being the best of all if possible. i'm a firm believer that the simpler the cycling, the more enjoyable it is.
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[Deleted member 4366]

So, on behalf of OP , I ask again, which of the two should she get?

 

[Kenny]

If the OP doesn't want the hassle of doing a lot of gear changing, then the 3 speed would be the way to go.

I've driven an auto car for the last 12 years because I'm not interested in sporty driving and manual gear changing to me is a totally unnecessary flaff.

 

[Jimod]

First off, the OP needs a proper test of any bike she is thinking of buying. Next, I'd advise her to get lots of gears. I've got 24 on the Typhoon and use 16 of them most times I'm out.
Having lots of gears means you can make a slight ratio change when climbing a hill which keeps the cadence reasonably consistent. If you've only got 3 gears, changing from 2nd to 1st on a hill is a big change which can see your legs spinning way faster than your comfortable with. Likewise if the hill shallows out a bit, changing from 2nd to 3rd is also a big change which can make your work a lot harder.

Many gears means you can make small changes which is more comfortable.

 

[Jimod]

you only need more than 3 gears if you use a crank drive. The 3-peed Nexus has 0.733, 1.000, 1.364 ratios, the 7-speed from 0.632 to 1.545.
One of the reasons to buy a hub bike is you don't need to change gear to suit the gradient, so 3-speed is enough.

Are you serious? Have you ever ridden a hub bike?

 

[Kenny]

I totally agree that the OP should try to test ride different bikes but if your not doing long distances the large ratio changes are not such a big deal.

When I rode the 3 speed bike I didn't spin any faster than normal uphill, I just went up a little slower than I would on my 9 speed Kalkhoff.

IMHO If your not in a hurry a 3 speed is a nice relaxing ride.

 

[Chainring]

I totally agree that the OP should try to test ride different bikes but if your not doing long distances the large ratio changes are not such a big deal.

When I rode the 3 speed bike I didn't spin any faster than normal uphill, I just went up a little slower than I would on my 9 speed Kalkhoff.

IMHO If your not in a hurry a 3 speed is a nice relaxing ride.

This is a site I found when looking into 3-speed bikes:
https://societyofthreespeeds.wordpress.com/ After using my Santana for about a year, I realised I just did not need a lot of gears. A lady with a Freego I spoke to, who does more miles than me, said she uses just two gears. That decided it for me. If three speeds are good enough for the ODK cargo bike, which may pull a lot of weight, then surely there must be something in it? We are talking about bikes with electric motors, which do most of the work. At least, I thought that was the idea.