27 Speed Hybrid. How Many Useable Combinations? Is it really a 27 Speed?

[Lovacott]

3x7 here.
That day I climbed over 2400 meters.
I can use all 21 gears.
Clearly something wrong with my bike

My 3x7 hard tail MTB works in all 21 combinations as well apart from front mech rub on the crossover gears. However, I have found that over use of the small chainring shortens it's lifespan quite considerably. I'm now pretty disciplined with my gear choices and only use the small chainring for the steepest sections such as the 35% hill I live at the top of. Most hills I can do on the middle ring.

What I try and do is keep the line of the chain as straight as possible by only using about five cassette sprockets per chainring. It means a lot more front gear changes but I don't mind that at all.

 

[Lovacott]

Triple derailleurs/indexed shifters have a trimming mechanism which means that there are intermediate positions between large and middle, and middle and small. Use those and you can avoid the front cage rubbing. But those combos are best avoided because they result in a slightly reduced drivetrain efficiency and additional chain wear (latter surmised).

I have trim on the road bike which is a double at the front, but I don't have it on the Apollo MTB or the Hybrid which are both triples.

I've only used the trim function a few times on the road bike, mainly when I was first getting used to the brifters which I'd never used before. It's a handy thing to have if you've made a dodgy gear choice, but once you are used to a gear set up, I find it better to simply select a more appropriate combination (rather than crossing the chain).

 

[Blue Hills]

You must get some chain rub on the front mech when you are in big to big or small to small?

Not a big issue. Any bothersome rub issues i can sort with a trimmable rapidfire. I definitely don't get any slippage in any gear combination. My chain rub issue on that other bike is temporary and will be sorted when i get it in front of a proper tool-set.

 

[Blue Hills]

My 3x7 hard tail MTB works in all 21 combinations as well apart from front mech rub on the crossover gears. However, I have found that over use of the small chainring shortens it's lifespan quite considerably. I'm now pretty disciplined with my gear choices and only use the small chainring for the steepest sections such as the 35% hill I live at the top of. Most hills I can do on the middle ring.

What I try and do is keep the line of the chain as straight as possible by only using about five cassette sprockets per chainring. It means a lot more front gear changes but I don't mind that at all.

A 35 percent hill?
Where is this beast?

By the by, i use my small chainring a fair bit, no great problem.

 

[Lovacott]

A 35 percent hill?
Where is this beast?

In Bideford in Devon. My road was used in the Mars Bars advert they used to show in the 1980's where the postal worker stops at the top to eat the sugary snack. They used a bit of artistic licence though by filming the last bit in Clifton in Bristol.

From start to finish, it's a 25% hill which is steep enough, but the lower end is a lot steeper at 35%. It's basically the side of a river valley.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

You don’t see many roads with 1 in 3 signs on them. Impressive. Tried to find it but no double chevrons showing on OS maps.

 

[Lovacott]

I definitely don't get any slippage in any gear combination.

When I tune my gears, I pay particular attention to the crossovers because if they work, every other combination will work so much better.

On the road bike and the MTB, the crossovers work apart from the slight chain rub on the front mech.

On the Hybrid, the crossovers work until I put a load on them.

It could be that I have a dodgy cassette or chain but rather than spending money trying to fix it, I simply won't use those combinations.

A friend of mine who is an experienced racer at county level, told me that chains and cogs are not their best until they've got a few hundred miles behind them. Whether this is a fact or not, I don't know?

 

[Lovacott]

You don’t see many roads with 1 in 3 signs on them. Impressive. Tried to find it but no double chevrons showing on OS maps.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

View attachment 593692

Surprised they allow cars on such a narrow road

 

[Lovacott]

Surprised they allow cars on such a narrow road

It's one way only and they've put metal pinhead bollards on the pavements and a width restriction to keep lorries out. That said, most of the cars have gashes down their sides or smashed off wing mirrors.

There are sixty houses and 20 residents parking spaces which is why I cycle to work. Once you've found a parking spot, you never want to move your car.