I had decided right from the off to have as least gears as possible for a comfortable city bike ride. In my head it was eight gears at the back, with a single crank at the front. A few friends asked why I didn’t want a single-speed or fixed gear set up if I was so into the minimal apprached regarding gears. Well, as ever, YouTube covers these things quite adequately. Besides regarding the single-speed bike around town as the natural successor to the Hoxton Fin and the bike that the modern day Nathan Barley would ride, I still want a range of gears. I just wanted to cover that range with the least gears. One gear doesn’t do that. So, a Shimano HG70 7-speed 12T to 28T:
Lovely jubbly. Coupled with a sugino 48T single crank:
And with a standard Shimano HG 7-9 speed chain I’m getting a nice ratio. I can whizz up hills, cruise down hills, fly through the flats and always be safe in the knowledge that a red light or idiot taxi driver will prevent me from needing any further ratios either side of this set up.
Last but not least, I’ve fitted a Shimano 105 rear derailleur. It states that the 105 won’t take a gear with any more than 27T, but it does have a range of 17T. So my 12T-28T is within the range but could potentially have a tooth too many at 28T. The main concern here is can the derailleur pass underneath the gear without hitting it. Yes it can, and coupled with the fact I’ve only a single crank at the front, the variables are far less complicated:
