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Comment by blacksmith_tb | Hacker News Reader

There's a lot of range in internally-geared hubs though, from the crazy end with the $1500 Rohloff 14sp to the $80 Sturmey-Archer 3sp. I commute on a Shimano Alfine 11sp that's ~$200 which isn't exactly "a tenner" but if you add up the price of a derailleur, cassette, chainrings, etc. I don't think it's much different?

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One of the really weird things with bikes is that entry level bikes tend to be 3x7 which means that you have a lot of extra weight and complexity (a second shifter, shift cable, and front gears) for pretty much no benefit over a 1x9 system.

It's much easier to manage tension on 3x7 over 1x9

Well, 21 is like 12 better than 9, you see… (it’s frustrating how well stuff like that works).

The biggest reason we use 3x8 on all our bikes is because the spare parts are cheaper than all other ratios and we can switch around as we like between all bikes and can even keep some spare parts on the shelf for when the local stores are out. The first thing to go on my bike is the deraileur though, they keep a year or so even if taken care of. They can still be used a couple of years but the shifting isn't so exact as I would like it. The sport I do is very gear-shifting intense due to lots of stopping so I guess that eats away ant that poor thing. And I do buy the cheapest ones I can find for around 10-15 euro.

  >The first thing to go on my bike is the deraileur though, they keep a year or so even if taken care of

  >I do buy the cheapest ones I can find for around 10-15 euro

Related?

Ofcourse it is, I even said so :-) But my wife and kid has the same ones and they can go much longer since they don't stop/start so much as I do.

Customer benefit: Longevity. 3x7 chains and cassette last wayyy longer than 1x9 (and usually have a bigger ratio). 9s cassettes are not wider than 7s but instead each gears and spaces are narrower. The chain then need to be thinner resulting in faster elongation (=wearing).

Single speed and 3s chains last 5000km easily while 12/13s won’t last much more than 1000km.

i’d wager this becomes increasingly less likely. everything that isn’t the cheapest is 1x or 2x these days.

in some number of years, 3x parts will become less available and less common on cheap bikes.

A bottom bracket mounted Pinion C.12 transmission runs 12 gears (grip shift) and over 600% ratio from gear 1 to gear 12. I bought a reasonably priced Priority 600x mountain bike (now replaced by two newer models) with this system. No derailleur, no chain, no lube. Two cogs/sprockets, one at the pedals, one on the back wheel. A carbon fiber belt drive. Not an e-bike. Easy to maintain. The extra cost is worth it avoiding the hassle.

Drawback is of course way worse drivetrain efficiency, but for a all weather bike it seems awesome

This is one area where I've found that paying for quality up front can be a cost saving and certainly a time saver.

We have lots of bikes and have gone through even more (bought & sold). The most reliable drivetrain on any of them just turned 20 (2004 model). It was the highest end Shimano XT-R at the time. It is easy to align, always stays in alignment, all in all takes very little attention and always shifts perfectly.

The bikes with cheaper drivetrains are a lot fuzzier and take more frequent attention and even when freshly aligned don't quite shift as nicely.

The absolute worst is the cheapest one (a department store bike my partner insisted on buying as an exercise bike). It simply can't be aligned well no matter how many hours spent. When I get it to a good-enough state, it's misaligned after a few weeks. The amount of time wasted on that thing would easily buy at least an Ultegra set to replace it.

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