Horse looking at out-of-fashion tech
Personally i like them quite a bit, the small gear steps, i am using the simultaneous shifting like front 1 up, rear 1 down a lot to find myself in the best cadence.
I know people being happy with their switch over to 1x setups, but tbh i don’t see myself doing that at all. I guess 2x, but i wonder how you would get to the small steps, like do you do something like front 1 up, rear 3(?) down, or just get used to the bigger steps?
Do you think 3x drivetrains will ever make a comeback or are they fading out for good?
Those who know, know. In order to get the same range as an 8-speed (or nine) triple, modern drivetrains have to be a Rohloff or Pinion. No other 1X/2X can get close without some ridiculous design. More than that, 1X drivetrains are expensive, fiddly, and proprietary.
Shimano and SRAM would prefer you to only be able to bike the way they think you should. But the profusion of kludges to get more gear range says to me that people actually miss their triples. So yeah, triples are mostly relegated to the realm of specialty vendors like Velo Orange, Microsoft, BOX, etc.
wonder how you would get to the small steps, like do you do something like front 1 up, rear 3(?) down, or just get used to the bigger steps?
For my 3x8 and 3x9, I used to memorize the steps and know when to shift both derailleurs. These days, I just go by feel and only shift the front when I want a different range. If you want to get every last available step out of your 3x, the late, great Sheldon has you covered: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gear-calc.html