[COLOR= #0000ff]Hey, Y'all![/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]If you've seen any of my posts, you know what a biking ignoramus I am, so here's another question that most people would probably be ashamed to admit they didn't know, lol.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]The bike I rode as a kid had no gears -- at least, it didn't change any, lol. I knew people then who had bikes with lots of gears, and several friends let me try theirs. But you had to kick back on the pedals/chain or something while you messed with a lever on the handlebars. I could never make it work, got made fun of frequently, lol, and just gave up and rode my own bike, having developed the mindset that gears were too hard to use.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Since July, when I started riding again, my beach cruiser has 3 gears in what I guess is called an internal gear hub. I've actually never used third gear, even; maybe that will come when I can go faster than I am able to, now? Anyway, I change from first to second by simply turning a little rotating thing on my handlebar. No kicking backward and jerking things, just an easy twist of the knob. I like it. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]In my bike shopping, I'm seeing bikes with what looks like a bajillion chains and sprockets; they evidently use what's called a derailleur. (Even the name is scary, lol.) Probably as a result of my childhood experiences with gears, they scare me to death. I don't know how they work, and am afraid I would never be able to figure out how to MAKE then work, or even which gears to use. I have also seen bikes with almost no scary-looking chain tangles, and what I am told is called an internal gear hub. It looks much easier to use, but when I ask about them, it has been inferred that 'real' cyclists sneer at those. Sigh....[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Two things you need to know before the question: I cannot imagine being the kind of person who would EVER change a chain or derail one or whatever you do with those things. I grew up in the South at a time when women were cossetted and protected from "men's work", and taught that 'real women don't pump gas.' (I'm laughing as I envision some of the serious women bikers I've seen rolling their eyes in horror at me.) /img/vbsmilies/smilies/redface.gif My idea of the ideal thing to do if something on the bike quits working is to call a cab and get it to take me and my bike home or to the repair shop. Also, my husband has a bike with a "shimano 7-speed internal gear hub," (I just emailed him and asked, lol), and if there were to be work done on my bike at home, he would be the one doing it. (And at the risk of being disloyal to the man I love, I do love him -- but he's not much of a mechanic.) [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]That being said, the question is: For my upcoming purchase of a bike to take on easy 30-miles-a-day tours, would you suggest derailleurs or internal hub gear thingies? I do fine right now on my simple 3-speed beach cruiser, but that may be because I haven't yet managed to get up to 15 mph, even, and there are no hills here to worry about, though there may be mild ones on the tour. Do higher speeds -- which I assume I will eventually get to -- require lots more gears? If so, does it have to be the scary derailleur thing? Do you still have to kick back on the pedal and be coordinated enough to do things on the handlebars at the same time? Is one type easier/less expensive to fix than the other type? Will 'serious' cyclists sneer at me for having a hub gear? Should I just give up and hire a chauffeur, LOL?[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]I'm now becoming confident that the sweet guys here will help me to see at least another small portion of the light. Thanks in advance for doing so.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Sierra[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]If you've seen any of my posts, you know what a biking ignoramus I am, so here's another question that most people would probably be ashamed to admit they didn't know, lol.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]The bike I rode as a kid had no gears -- at least, it didn't change any, lol. I knew people then who had bikes with lots of gears, and several friends let me try theirs. But you had to kick back on the pedals/chain or something while you messed with a lever on the handlebars. I could never make it work, got made fun of frequently, lol, and just gave up and rode my own bike, having developed the mindset that gears were too hard to use.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Since July, when I started riding again, my beach cruiser has 3 gears in what I guess is called an internal gear hub. I've actually never used third gear, even; maybe that will come when I can go faster than I am able to, now? Anyway, I change from first to second by simply turning a little rotating thing on my handlebar. No kicking backward and jerking things, just an easy twist of the knob. I like it. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]In my bike shopping, I'm seeing bikes with what looks like a bajillion chains and sprockets; they evidently use what's called a derailleur. (Even the name is scary, lol.) Probably as a result of my childhood experiences with gears, they scare me to death. I don't know how they work, and am afraid I would never be able to figure out how to MAKE then work, or even which gears to use. I have also seen bikes with almost no scary-looking chain tangles, and what I am told is called an internal gear hub. It looks much easier to use, but when I ask about them, it has been inferred that 'real' cyclists sneer at those. Sigh....[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Two things you need to know before the question: I cannot imagine being the kind of person who would EVER change a chain or derail one or whatever you do with those things. I grew up in the South at a time when women were cossetted and protected from "men's work", and taught that 'real women don't pump gas.' (I'm laughing as I envision some of the serious women bikers I've seen rolling their eyes in horror at me.) /img/vbsmilies/smilies/redface.gif My idea of the ideal thing to do if something on the bike quits working is to call a cab and get it to take me and my bike home or to the repair shop. Also, my husband has a bike with a "shimano 7-speed internal gear hub," (I just emailed him and asked, lol), and if there were to be work done on my bike at home, he would be the one doing it. (And at the risk of being disloyal to the man I love, I do love him -- but he's not much of a mechanic.) [/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]That being said, the question is: For my upcoming purchase of a bike to take on easy 30-miles-a-day tours, would you suggest derailleurs or internal hub gear thingies? I do fine right now on my simple 3-speed beach cruiser, but that may be because I haven't yet managed to get up to 15 mph, even, and there are no hills here to worry about, though there may be mild ones on the tour. Do higher speeds -- which I assume I will eventually get to -- require lots more gears? If so, does it have to be the scary derailleur thing? Do you still have to kick back on the pedal and be coordinated enough to do things on the handlebars at the same time? Is one type easier/less expensive to fix than the other type? Will 'serious' cyclists sneer at me for having a hub gear? Should I just give up and hire a chauffeur, LOL?[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]I'm now becoming confident that the sweet guys here will help me to see at least another small portion of the light. Thanks in advance for doing so.[/COLOR]
[COLOR= #0000ff]Sierra[/COLOR]