8-speed vs 9-speed vs 10-speed component availability in far-off places

I have used 9 and 10 speed no trouble in Asia as most big towns have a bike shop that can fix any problems ,in rural China it is a bit harder to find a good bike shop.

Have fun, my first touring bike was a Trek mountain bike ,then a Surly and now I have a Trek 7.6 changed to 30 gears with a big cog on back for the hills but you can tour on most bikes .

You won't find 8, 9 or 10 speed long arm rear derailleurs, wide range cassettes, indexed shift levers or even gear cables in most towns in India or Sri Lanka. But that does not necessarily matter. Take care you don't let anything get damaged. Don't take chances. If for example you have to put your bike on top of a bus (eg to cross the Gir lion park), you need to be on the top of the bus yourself ensuring it is up the right way and secure with no other luggage able to damage your gear system.
If your trip is over 8,000km on new equipment, take a spare chain in the matching length and rotate it with the one on the bike every 2,000km. This will dramatically extend the life of the whole drive train.

You are more likely to have problems getting good quality 8 speed stuff in 'Western' countries. You may get old stock, but most bike shops will be stocking 9 and up. I found this when having my last bike built. I wanted 8, but in the end went for 9 and have had no problems except that the chain seems to last less time.

Thanks for the responses. So I take it that 8, 9 or 10 speed are all ok, except in India or Sri Lanka where I'll be stuck with any of them should anything get damaged. And better to be with 9 and up in 'Western' countries.

Note that Noel said "in most", not 'in any' town.

In SE Asia and China you can get top end gear in many larger towns. As Boagy says don't expect to find anything in smaller towns, where you will only be able to get basic equipment. This is no different to my home country, the UK where not every town has a decent bike shop.

If you have a problem away from a decent bike shop, you need to have a fallback plan. You can often cobble together basic equipment to get you to somewhere where it can be sorted properly.

You don't say how long you are going for. I run on 9 speed Deore and am still using orig drivetrain (apart from chain and rear cassette) after over 15000kms and hopefully it wil last a lot longer. If you go on a long tour you will need to plan any maintenance stops in towns that you know have decent bike shops.

I have just replaced my chain because although it had life left, it was very mucky and I couldn't be bothered to clean it. It had done nearly 3500kms of often bad roads in Vn and Cambodia.

I wouldn't take a carbon fibre frame, but would have no concern with 9 speed.

Sure, I see. It would be for 12-18 months, steel 26-inch touring bike is what I am looking for. The question arose because I've been looking at one of these http://www.oxfordbikeworks.co.uk/OxfordBikeWorks/Model_1.html and noticed it had 10-speed components and I've heard it said in places that 8 or 9-speed is a more sure bet in the 'developing' world, but some of that info is a few years old. Just wondering if this aspect matters to my decision process. I am sure I could get that bike reconfigured with 8 or 9-speed but it might cost a bit extra.

That looks like a good bike at a good price (for the UK). If you look at their Models page they offer an economy 9 speed version. I think the frame is different, so you could presumably mix and match.

In the 'old days' it was always said that 8 speed was better because it was heavier duty with a chunkier chain. Also getting the thicker chain was easier in out of the way places. I s'pose all this depends on how far off the beaten track you are going.

I find that most roads I ride in Asia are better than those in UK. Although you can find long stretches of 'under construction' which can be little better than mountain bile trails.

I don't know all the tech stuff about 7v8v9v10, but the chaps here of the CTC do, try posting if you want the full SP
http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewforum.php?f=5&sid=a13fd1195d27d32c24abb2a6959288ee

I always stay with 9 speed, you get better choice of value for money components.
Ten speed usually = $$$ lots of money and 8 speed = consumer bikes, so lots of cheap and poor quality components.