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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   2634 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for September 19, 2025

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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3x systems are really more of a vestige of "More Speeds!" marketing that was devilishly effective against consumers. Secondarily, there were the engineering reasons:

  • A desire to reduce chainwear through cross-chaining
  • Limitations in derailleur reliability on the front chainring: To get to a small front chainring you needed a useless one with duplicate gearing in the middle

1x is all the rage right now for many of the reasons you've stated, and because the cycling industry has to reinvent what's popular to sell more. 2x Drivetrains have the same-or-greater ranges than the 3x systems of old. Note that 6/7/8-speed bikes all use the same chain size, and 8 is the most ubiquitous gearing out there. Once you get to 11/12/13 every drivetrain component is more expensive and proprietary.

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