Remembering my old 3-speed got me thinking…
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I had a 3-speed when I was a kid, and I rode the heck out of that thing. Mostly my rides were in my parents’ yard (about an acre of grass, a concrete patio, and a looong gravel driveway), but occasionally I’d ride roads to get to Hidden Oaks Nature Center (where I would use the nature trails as my own private CX course; not very appropriate, but I didn’t know any better at the time). I remember loving that bike, and learning to finesse the wide spacing on the three speeds (though #3 was too high for almost anything I did at that age).
All this got me thinking: how would a classic 3-speed IGH be for grown-up commuting? A lot of people (including me) like single-speed or fixed for commuting, but there are times when it can be really nice to have a lower gear (or two)! I know people that like their IGH, but a common complaint is the significant weight and cost of modern 7-, 8-, 11-, or even 14-speed hubs (some of those are well over $1000). Seems like a 3-speed would be simpler, cheaper (around $100, I think), and lighter than some of the other options. For someone (like a SS or fixie aficionado) used to varying cadence quite a bit, and appreciating a low-maintenance drivetrain, this could be a good compromise to a fully-geared bike.
[As an aside: for or my own part, I have been ssslllooowwwlllyyy recovering from sore knees, and I have a brand new, belt drive fixie that is languishing in my basement (anything more than a mile or two on that bike just kills me, sadly). A possible intermediate step in my recovery could be building up a 3-speed wheel and adding a brake and bar-end shifter, rendering that bike usable and not hard on my knees. And, heck! It’s only money!]
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