5 gears sounds great to me. Like you I have a couple SS bikes and had a couple FG bikes before that. Once you appreciate how much riding you can do with one gear 12 or 14 or 20 seems silly and a wide range 5 gear drivetrain seems logical.
That said in ShRAMano's defence the 11speed XT and 12 speed GX Eagle drivetrains I have on two mountain bikes are working well with good durability and reliable shifting. Riding in Coastal BC most days I use the lowest 5 gears and ignore the rest of the cassette since I don't have high speed pedalling sections of trail on my menu often.
Oct. 23, 2019, 6:13 a.m. - Vik Banerjee
5 gears sounds great to me. Like you I have a couple SS bikes and had a couple FG bikes before that. Once you appreciate how much riding you can do with one gear 12 or 14 or 20 seems silly and a wide range 5 gear drivetrain seems logical. That said in ShRAMano's defence the 11speed XT and 12 speed GX Eagle drivetrains I have on two mountain bikes are working well with good durability and reliable shifting. Riding in Coastal BC most days I use the lowest 5 gears and ignore the rest of the cassette since I don't have high speed pedalling sections of trail on my menu often.