Is a 3-speed bike enough for hills?

3-speed bikes are great for commuters. They are rugged, need little maintenance, and are perfect for city riding. But is a 3-speed bike enough for hills? Let’s find out.

Is a 3-speed bike enough for hills?

A 3-speed bike is enough for the occasional hill but is better suited for flat city roads. While some riders get by (or even prefer) the rugged dependability of a 3-speed bike across terrains, most riders are better served by at least a 10-speed bike for hills.

If you live in a particularly hilly area with lots of ups and downs, you may want to opt for a 10-speed bike instead.

But keep in mind that a 10-speed bike is not automatically better than a 3-speed bike for hills.

What matters is to have a wider range of speeds: A 3-speed bike often has a gear range of about 1.8:1 or 180%. That means that the highest gear is 180% higher than the lowest gear.

A 7-speed bike often has a gear range of around 230% (2.28:1 on a 32t/14t) while a 10-speed bike can easily have a 300% gear range or higher (a 3:1 is equivalent to a 36t/12t).

That makes climbing hills a lot easier. Here’s why.

You will need an ultra-low gear (or two) for those steep climbs. 7-speed bikes usually don’t have them and 3-speeds never do.

You may also want an ultra-high gear when you have reached the top of the hill and it goes back down (and fast).

7-speeds top out downhill pretty fast, but some still manage to keep up. 3-speeds are usually not designed for downhill rides at all.

Only you can decide how low and high those extra gears need to be. And how many gears you need in the first place.

The gear range on most bikes can also be extended to give a 3-speed bike a gear range of 200% or more for instance.

Here is how:

How to make a 3-speed bike better for hills

A 3-speed bike has 3 different gear ratios or speeds.

The first speed is perfect for commuting without breaking a sweat and minor uphill parts.

The second speed is usually the all-around speed.

The third speed is for top speeds and downhill.

Most bikes have the second gear as a direct drive for flat grounds and cruising.

The first gear is about 25% lower for climbing and acceleration, and the highest 33% higher than the second for top-speeds and downhill.

That setup is perfect for cities.

The problem is that most 3-speed bikes are geared a little too high to climb hills.

Some 3-speed bikes, on the other hand, have the third gear as the direct drive, with the first gear about 50% lower and the second about 25% lower.

That’s generally a better setup for hills.

You can even add a larger rear sprocket to retrofit a 3-speed bike.

To do so, go to a bike shop and tell them about your plan.

Cruise around in the lowest gear on your bike and see how it feels. Ask them to install a rear sprocket with 2 to 4 additional teeth than what’s currently on your bike.

Give it another try.

If the lowest gear is still a little too high, repeat the same process until it feels just right.

Shift through all gears and make sure that the new setup is better for hills and flats.

Are 3-speed bikes enough for city hills?

3-speed bikes are perfect for city riding.

They have enough gear ratios to commute or social ride with friends. And they need very little maintenance.

But some inner-city hills can be quite steep.

If you live in a hilly city like San Francisco or a mountain town, you may want to look for at least a 10-speed bike.

If your city is mostly flat on the other hand, with maybe one or two small hills. Then a 3-speed bike is perfect for you.

It’s about the rider, too

More than on any other bike other than a single-speed, the 3-speed bike is about the fitness and proficiency of the rider.

A 3-speed bike gives you everything you need, and nothing you don’t.

If you are in shape.

Counterexample: Heinz Stücke

While I would highly suggest against a bike with 3-speeds for hills, it can totally be done.

And impressively so.

Take Heinz Stücke for example.

Heinz literally traveled the world on a 3-speed bike. And not only once, he put over 240.000 miles on his 55 lb bike.

That’s almost 10 times around the world.

And he didn’t only travel on flat roads. He went through knee-deep muck and up some very steep hills.

All with additional luggage of 90-110 lb by his own account.

So if he can do it for years without ever seeing the need to upgrade, so can you.

Here is a direct quote talking about his bike on this journey:

I have met a lot of bicycle enthusiasts who asked many questions about speeds, gear ratio, the weight of equipment carried, the height of the saddle, handlebars and many other technical things that I have never thought very much about. Some will probably shake their heads in disbelief over some of the figures I give, but what I wanted was a strong, reliable cycle which needed as little maintenance and repair as possible. The cycle was given to me by a bicycle company in Germany. It weighs about 25 kgs because it has a reinforced frame, thick spokes and solid luggage-carriers. I insisted on these things because on earlier tours I had always had trouble with broken spokes and broken carriers, etc. Imagine a broken frame in the middle of the desert! The bicycle has 26″ wheels and a three-speed Torpedo hub-gear (incorporating pedal brake). I never felt that the three speeds were insufficient and I am happy with the little service the Torpedo has required. As of today I have pedalled about 385,000 kms.

Heinz Stücke, 2006

So a strong case can be made that a 3-speed bike is enough for hills.

It just depends on what works for the individual rider.

Stand up

Here is a bonus tip for you:

If your 3-speed bike feels perfect for you, except for the occasional hill on your commute – just stand up while riding uphill.

Standing up gives you much more power since it allows you to put your entire body weight into every pedal stroke.

It also takes the pressure off the muscle groups that have been doing much of the pedaling up to this point.

It will be much easier getting up the hill this way – almost like having an extra 2 or 3 gears while giving your main cycling muscles a little time to recover.

So as you can see, a 3-speed bike is enough for the occasional hill but is better suited for flat city roads.

While some riders like Heinz Stücke prefer a 3-speed bike, most riders are better served by a 10-speed bicycle.