Creeping brake pad drag

On Monday, 25 November 2019 22:33:53 UTC-5, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 11/25/2019 6:50 PM, John B. wrote:
On Mon, 25 Nov 2019 12:41:14 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 11/25/2019 11:45 AM, jbeattie wrote:

I don't miss payphones except for finding stray coins in coin returns.. As a kid, they were a gold mine -- along with that penny gum machine at the Woolworths that would keep producing balls if you twisted the handle just far enough but not too far. I also like TV remotes and not having to flip LPs, which I still do, but it is an inconvenience. Paper money doubles transaction time at most registers.

I disagree about the paper money - at least, if the customer is (even)
older than I am. I've been stuck behind ladies baffled by the choice of
"Debit" vs. "Credit" plus "What's a PIN number? Oh, I've got that in
here somewhere..." Which is not to mention people backing up the line by
trying to call up the store's app on their new phone to find the online
coupon for ten cents off on Q-tips.

There have been times I wished they'd brought in a dozen of their
chickens' eggs to trade for their Geritol.

Yesterday we went shopping for a dish washer... and bought one. The
shop (Home Pro) suggested that my wife pay by credit card so she
produced her card and the cashier scanned it, typed up the bill and
presented a small electronic gizmo for my wife's signature.... the
signature gizmo didn't work so we had to paid in cash.

And speaking of electronic signatures: I occasionally get a personal
check that I need to cash. And during the past year, we've had some
visits to medical facilities where we needed to sign permission forms or
acknowledge privacy policies.

In both cases, instead of a paper form, a little 2" x 5" electronic pad
was shoved toward me. I was asked to apply my signature with an
electronic pen.

Did I just sign medical permission? Did I just sign to accept the cash
from the check? Or did I just sign away the title to my home plus my
entire retirement account? These days, there may be no way to tell.

--
- Frank Krygowski

A lot of medical stuff is getting computerized and being done over the internet. I was trying to get a new doctor after my old one moved to another city. I was surprised at how many doctors now want you to apply via email and then thye notify you of appointments and results by email. I don't like that at all.

Also, the apartment building I live in has gone to a key fob for the main entrances and lounge. I don't trust those either as I wouldn't be surprised if they can track my movements into and out of the building. After all, they can tell who is using it to get into the building and at what time if that person causes any problems.

Now they're talking about getting rid of our apartment door keys and using a fob to get into our individual units. I really don't like that idea at all. Big Brother is watching!

Cheers

On Tuesday, 26 November 2019 00:35:29 UTC-5, John B. wrote:
On Mon, 25 Nov 2019 21:05:42 -0500, Radey Shouman
wrote:

John B. writes:

On Mon, 25 Nov 2019 10:35:55 -0800 (PST), Sir Ridesalot
wrote:

On Monday, 25 November 2019 13:21:56 UTC-5, Radey Shouman wrote:

[ ... ]


My niece got me a cell phone because she was concerned about me being
alone out in the countryside if I needed medical or mechanical
assistance.

I carry a small hand phone when riding for the same reason, except in
my case I did fall and broke my pelvis and was able to call my wife to
come and help me.

I too prefer paying by cash so as to avoid being tracked and I also
forgo the use of so-called customer loyalty cards, because those are
just tracking devices too to track your purchases.

The only problem I have with using cash is when the cashier's machine
doesn't tell them how much change to give me. It seems that very few
cashiers hereabouts these days can do a simple mathematical
calculation to determine the correct amount of change to give me.

Here just about every cash register does that calculation for the
cashier and as you say, I've never seen a cashier that could "make
change". In fact the sales receipt prints out the total bill, tax,
amount paid and the "change".

Same here. When they first introduced the fancy cash registers, they
did the talking. Customers hated it. Now the machines just do the
smart stuff.

Between media like Facebook, Linked-in, Twitter etc. and debit and
loyalty card, that a lot of people simply have no idea as to just
how much of their privacy they've given up. Kind of scary when you
think about it.

Cheers

I grew up in a small New England town and find this "modern" idea of
"privacy" a bit humorous as growing up practically everyone in town
knew who I was, where I lived, approximately how much money my father
made, what sort of car we drove and if they had kids my age,
approximately how well I was doing in school :-)

But you knew the same things about them, which is the difference.

But most, if not all of your, mine, practically everyone's, details
are available for a couple of dollars.

Are you perhaps "Radey Shouman of Lowell, Massachusetts" ? Or perhaps
"A. Radey Shouman who was born in 1961".
(I didn't bother to pay the fee to get the rest of the data)

I remember people used to carry cards with their name and address and
even their telephone number. Calling, or maybe business, cards they
were called.

Business cards are alive and well, calling cards not so much.

Gad! You mean that gentlemen don't call and leave their card. Whatever
is the world coming to?
--
cheers,

John B.

Which is why I refuse to use my actual name on any group or forum. Some people have a surname that's rare enough that they could be identified and their place of residence immediately know with a quick search of that name. I truly believe that with the proliferation of electronic media we've lost a great deal of privacy.

Cheers

On Mon, 25 Nov 2019 22:00:47 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 11/25/2019 1:35 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:


I too prefer paying by cash so as to avoid being tracked and I also forgo the use of so-called customer loyalty cards, because those are just tracking devices too to track your purchases.

...

Between media like Facebook, Linked-in, Twitter etc. and debit and loyalty card, that a lot of people simply have no idea as to just how much of their privacy they've given up. Kind of scary when you think about it.

From
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmir.../#22923cfb6668


"An angry man went into a Target [department store] outside of
Minneapolis, demanding to talk to a manager:

“My daughter got this in the mail!” he said. “She’s still in high
school, and you’re sending her coupons for baby clothes and cribs? Are
you trying to encourage her to get pregnant?”

The manager didn’t have any idea what the man was talking about. He
looked at the mailer. Sure enough, it was addressed to the man’s
daughter and contained advertisements for maternity clothing, nursery
furniture and pictures of smiling infants. The manager apologized and
then called a few days later to apologize again.

On the phone, though, the father was somewhat abashed. “I had a
talk with my daughter,” he said. “It turns out there’s been some
activities in my house I haven’t been completely aware of. She’s due in
August. I owe you an apology.”

Turns out their software was able to tell that from purchases of certain
types of lotions, supplements, etc.

We shop at just one grocery store, the one that's most pleasant to reach
by bike. When we haven't been there for a while they send us a bunch of
coupons in the mail. Their accuracy is pretty astonishing. It's often
exactly what we're running out of, in exactly the right brand.

I read an article about the company that pioneered that program. Given
the name and customer number they could, after a period of time,
target their customers very accurately with specialized adverts.
I seem to remember that the company increase their sales by something
like 50% in the first year after developing the program.

I always wondered about the guy they developed the scheme. Did he get
a really big raise that year :-)

(so much for "nobody knows my details" :-)
--
cheers,

John B.

On Monday, November 25, 2019 at 5:53:23 PM UTC, duane wrote:

for
those of us that aren't pure racers the real benefit (IMO) of a modern
road bike to a "retro" bike would be more about ease of use and
dependability. I'm thinking brifters over down tube friction shifters,
clipless pedals over toe straps, wider range gearing, less weight to
carry up hills etc. etc. etc.

I caught the tail end of one "innovation" in derailleur transmissions, Sachs-Huret's Omega chainrings, which were very slightly oval supposedly to let you shift more easily. But if you got the rhythm wrong -- and I'm no dancer -- the sudden torque boost would fold up the derailleur like a pretzel, or at the very least derail the chain. I'm in the most fundamental sense a manual labourer -- all writers work with their hands on a keyboard -- so I'm about as fussy as a surgeon about my hands, and retrailing a chain comes pretty near the top of the dirty jobs I don't want to do. So I bypassed all that crap and went straight for the proven hub gearbox -- weight, who cares about weight? I'm a large, powerful fellow, and I cycle for exercise, so working up a sweat faster was ideal. Of course I wrecked a couple of Shimano Nexus 8 speed HGBs on my way to a Rohloff, but that's a cheap learning process compared to the one I had with the Omega transmission.

Andre Jute
German HGB, fat balloon tyres, Brooks saddles, God bless their inventors and reinvents

On Monday, November 25, 2019 at 2:27:59 PM UTC, wrote:
On Monday, November 25, 2019 at 4:57:17 AM UTC+1, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 11/24/2019 8:08 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:


So, just how much difference do those wattage differences from the video and which numbers I posted make in real life?


I just ran some numbers. Lou can check me, but here's what I got.

I fitted an equation to the "modern kit, modern bike" curve - the one
that said 25kph takes only 79 Watts (not counting rolling resistance and
drivetrain friction). The equation I got was
Power = 0.0097 * speed ^ 2.7918

The "retro" bike took 87 Watts to go 25kph. So I backsolved to find out
what speed the "modern" bike would go with 87 Watts.

I came up with 26.05 kph.

In other words, if you ditched your "retro" bike with round tubes,
square section rims, old style handlebars, etc. and spent the money on a
super-sleek aero modern bike, a 25kph rider would be able to go 26 kph.

In miles per hour, that bike would take a 15.5 mph rider all the way up
to 16.1 mph. Roughly half a mile per hour faster.

I note that you get almost as much benefit switching from wrinkled wool
clothing to an aero racing suit.

So anyone NOT riding in a super-sleek racing suit should first buy one
of those and carefully measure how much difference it makes on your
normal rides. You can probably get a set of race clothes for a hundred
bucks. See for yourself what that much difference feels like before you
spend $2000+ on a full aero bike.


--
- Frank Krygowski

1. no flappy clothes,
2. position on your bike,
3. better tires,
4. aero wheels,
5. aero bike

Lou

That's for an idealised cyclist. I would say that many cyclists, perhaps most, would benefit first from losing a few kilogrammes and perhaps a little frontal area with it, and perhaps more than a little if they can bend further and thus approach a more aerodynamic snape on the bike.

Andre Jute
When you've optimised CD, work on A

On Mon, 25 Nov 2019 22:33:49 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 11/25/2019 6:50 PM, John B. wrote:
On Mon, 25 Nov 2019 12:41:14 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 11/25/2019 11:45 AM, jbeattie wrote:

I don't miss payphones except for finding stray coins in coin returns. As a kid, they were a gold mine -- along with that penny gum machine at the Woolworths that would keep producing balls if you twisted the handle just far enough but not too far. I also like TV remotes and not having to flip LPs, which I still do, but it is an inconvenience. Paper money doubles transaction time at most registers.

I disagree about the paper money - at least, if the customer is (even)
older than I am. I've been stuck behind ladies baffled by the choice of
"Debit" vs. "Credit" plus "What's a PIN number? Oh, I've got that in
here somewhere..." Which is not to mention people backing up the line by
trying to call up the store's app on their new phone to find the online
coupon for ten cents off on Q-tips.

There have been times I wished they'd brought in a dozen of their
chickens' eggs to trade for their Geritol.

Yesterday we went shopping for a dish washer... and bought one. The
shop (Home Pro) suggested that my wife pay by credit card so she
produced her card and the cashier scanned it, typed up the bill and
presented a small electronic gizmo for my wife's signature.... the
signature gizmo didn't work so we had to paid in cash.

And speaking of electronic signatures: I occasionally get a personal
check that I need to cash. And during the past year, we've had some
visits to medical facilities where we needed to sign permission forms or
acknowledge privacy policies.

In both cases, instead of a paper form, a little 2" x 5" electronic pad
was shoved toward me. I was asked to apply my signature with an
electronic pen.

Did I just sign medical permission? Did I just sign to accept the cash
from the check? Or did I just sign away the title to my home plus my
entire retirement account? These days, there may be no way to tell.

Here we are still in the primitive stages and cash is still
acceptable, in fact preferred in some cases. When we bought this house
the seller asked for cash.. We offered a guaranteed check but no he
wanted cash. I suppose to avoid taxes.
--
cheers,

John B.

On Mon, 25 Nov 2019 21:45:15 -0600, AMuzi wrote:

On 11/25/2019 9:38 PM, John B. wrote:
On Mon, 25 Nov 2019 17:19:11 -0800 (PST), jbeattie
wrote:

On Monday, November 25, 2019 at 3:37:48 PM UTC-8, John B. wrote:
On Mon, 25 Nov 2019 12:19:41 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 11/25/2019 2:19 AM, wrote:
On Monday, November 25, 2019 at 12:32:59 AM UTC+1, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Sunday, 24 November 2019 18:03:26 UTC-5, wrote:
On Sunday, November 24, 2019 at 11:59:10 PM UTC+1, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Sunday, November 24, 2019 at 3:33:45 PM UTC-5, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Sunday, 24 November 2019 15:14:40 UTC-5, Duane wrote:


You’re arguing with people that had the same sort of argument about
brifters.

Some people still argue that Brifters or Ergos aren't needed on ANY bicycle.

"Needed"?

I'd say brifters are needed to be competitive in a criterium race. They're
often, but not always, needed to be competitive in the final sprint of a road
race.

When else are they "needed"?

I wonder how heated the arguments would have been had the internet been around when the transition from wooden frames or from wooden wheels to metal ones or from solid rubber tires to pneumatic tires?

When pneumatic tires were introduced, it became impossible to win a race on
solid tires. The difference in rolling resistance was that dramatic. So was
the difference in comfort.

The same can be said about multiple gears. Very soon, everybody saw the advantages
and knew the benefits outweighed the detriments.

But since then, returns on technology have diminished. The benefits of most
innovations since, oh, 2000 or so are barely measurable in most situations.

- Frank Krygowski

I came across this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mJ06mro5fw

Lou

So the differences between a retro bike with modern kit and a modern bike with modern kit are @25hph 8 watts, @35 kph 21 Watts, and @45 kph 25 Watts. I'm not up on the Watts measurements so must ask, just how significant are those increases?

Cheers

I ride with a power meter for two years now so I think I got a feeling about numbers. For me from my experience:
recovery ride 100-110 Watts, average speed about 25-26 km/hr,
relative easy ride 140-150, Watts average speed about 28-29 km/hr
average ride 180-190 Watts, average speed about 30-31 km/hr
pushing really hard 200-210, average speed about 32-33 km/hr.
All flat terrain and moderate temperature and wind concitions.

So 15 -20 Watt increase in average power is very significant in intensity.

I know Lou is just estimating and remembering, so it's rough data. In
particular, if you plot those, you'll see the 5th data point appears to
be off the curve a bit.

But the slope of the plot also shows that even at moderate speeds (25
kph) it takes quite a power difference to gain just a little speed. Or,
in the context of the "aero" discussion, it takes quite a large change
in aerodynamics to make you noticeably faster.

(Yes, in a close race, a tiny change can be the difference between
winning and losing. But nobody responded to my query by saying "I still
race!" Is it only James that still does that?)

No, Jay told the story of racing with his son. I believe that the
outcome was that Jay fell off and broke his finger :-(

No, I was just riding with my son when he crashed on a wet descent, and I cartwheeled over him. I stopped racing him years ago. My son is a giant watt factory -- if he wants to drop me, he does. The race lasts for about ten seconds.

BUT every weekend is still a de facto race with my old-dude riding buddies, some of whom still race. I don't need the latest and greatest equipment to ride with them, but a light, responsive bike is a lot of fun even if you're not racing. Di2 is nice, but not necessary, and I would argue that discs are necessary or at least a huge benefit when riding in wet weather. Discs also give you fender clearance, and for group riding, fenders are required -- or at least SOP here in PDX. https://www.flickr.com/photos/krheap...7632139896627/

-- Jay Beattie.

I still wonder about brakes.

Yes, I've heard all bout disks but I have built two bikes with Vee
Brakes that had sufficient braking force to lock a wheel(s), either
front or back or both on wet and dry pavement.

And Yes, I tested it. After reading one or another of the various "Oh
my disks are wonderful" posts I went out in a torrential downpour (my
wife thought I'd gone mad) and tested it. Yup, I could skid either the
front, rear, or both together. A day or so later, when it didn't rain,
I tested it again, on a blacktop road, and still works.
--
cheers,

John B.


Works in a nice civilized place like Thailand but not out in
the muddy wilds of a Portland Cyclocross:

https://img1.etsystatic.com/000/0/60....172857679.jpg

Nope. I spent a number of years building drilling locations in remote
jungle areas and I've had all the wallowing in swamps, being attacked
by mosquitoes and donating blood to the leaches that I want. Paved
roads are a wonderful invention :-)

It is strange, to say the least. Way back when, bicyclists were one of
the strongest groups that agitated for smooth roads and now that they
have them they go out and thrash around in the mud.
--
cheers,

John B.

On Mon, 25 Nov 2019 21:38:31 -0800 (PST), Sir Ridesalot
wrote:

On Monday, 25 November 2019 22:33:53 UTC-5, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 11/25/2019 6:50 PM, John B. wrote:
On Mon, 25 Nov 2019 12:41:14 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 11/25/2019 11:45 AM, jbeattie wrote:

I don't miss payphones except for finding stray coins in coin returns. As a kid, they were a gold mine -- along with that penny gum machine at the Woolworths that would keep producing balls if you twisted the handle just far enough but not too far. I also like TV remotes and not having to flip LPs, which I still do, but it is an inconvenience. Paper money doubles transaction time at most registers.

I disagree about the paper money - at least, if the customer is (even)
older than I am. I've been stuck behind ladies baffled by the choice of
"Debit" vs. "Credit" plus "What's a PIN number? Oh, I've got that in
here somewhere..." Which is not to mention people backing up the line by
trying to call up the store's app on their new phone to find the online
coupon for ten cents off on Q-tips.

There have been times I wished they'd brought in a dozen of their
chickens' eggs to trade for their Geritol.

Yesterday we went shopping for a dish washer... and bought one. The
shop (Home Pro) suggested that my wife pay by credit card so she
produced her card and the cashier scanned it, typed up the bill and
presented a small electronic gizmo for my wife's signature.... the
signature gizmo didn't work so we had to paid in cash.

And speaking of electronic signatures: I occasionally get a personal
check that I need to cash. And during the past year, we've had some
visits to medical facilities where we needed to sign permission forms or
acknowledge privacy policies.

In both cases, instead of a paper form, a little 2" x 5" electronic pad
was shoved toward me. I was asked to apply my signature with an
electronic pen.

Did I just sign medical permission? Did I just sign to accept the cash
from the check? Or did I just sign away the title to my home plus my
entire retirement account? These days, there may be no way to tell.

--
- Frank Krygowski

A lot of medical stuff is getting computerized and being done over the internet. I was trying to get a new doctor after my old one moved to another city. I was surprised at how many doctors now want you to apply via email and then thye notify you of appointments and results by email. I don't like that at all.

Also, the apartment building I live in has gone to a key fob for the main entrances and lounge. I don't trust those either as I wouldn't be surprised if they can track my movements into and out of the building. After all, they can tell who is using it to get into the building and at what time if that person causes any problems.

Now they're talking about getting rid of our apartment door keys and using a fob to get into our individual units. I really don't like that idea at all. Big Brother is watching!

Cheers

My wife's Honda has a "fob" to manage it. Lock and unlock the doors
and you can't start the engine unless the "fob" is in the car. I've
been sort of scratching my head and wondering, "what happens when the
battery in the fob dies?"
--
cheers,

John B.

On Monday, November 25, 2019 at 7:45:32 PM UTC-8, AMuzi wrote:
On 11/25/2019 9:38 PM, John B. wrote:
On Mon, 25 Nov 2019 17:19:11 -0800 (PST), jbeattie
wrote:

On Monday, November 25, 2019 at 3:37:48 PM UTC-8, John B. wrote:
On Mon, 25 Nov 2019 12:19:41 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 11/25/2019 2:19 AM, wrote:
On Monday, November 25, 2019 at 12:32:59 AM UTC+1, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Sunday, 24 November 2019 18:03:26 UTC-5, wrote:
On Sunday, November 24, 2019 at 11:59:10 PM UTC+1, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Sunday, November 24, 2019 at 3:33:45 PM UTC-5, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Sunday, 24 November 2019 15:14:40 UTC-5, Duane wrote:


You’re arguing with people that had the same sort of argument about
brifters.

Some people still argue that Brifters or Ergos aren't needed on ANY bicycle.

"Needed"?

I'd say brifters are needed to be competitive in a criterium race. They're
often, but not always, needed to be competitive in the final sprint of a road
race.

When else are they "needed"?

I wonder how heated the arguments would have been had the internet been around when the transition from wooden frames or from wooden wheels to metal ones or from solid rubber tires to pneumatic tires?

When pneumatic tires were introduced, it became impossible to win a race on
solid tires. The difference in rolling resistance was that dramatic. So was
the difference in comfort.

The same can be said about multiple gears. Very soon, everybody saw the advantages
and knew the benefits outweighed the detriments.

But since then, returns on technology have diminished. The benefits of most
innovations since, oh, 2000 or so are barely measurable in most situations.

- Frank Krygowski

I came across this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mJ06mro5fw

Lou

So the differences between a retro bike with modern kit and a modern bike with modern kit are @25hph 8 watts, @35 kph 21 Watts, and @45 kph 25 Watts. I'm not up on the Watts measurements so must ask, just how significant are those increases?

Cheers

I ride with a power meter for two years now so I think I got a feeling about numbers. For me from my experience:
recovery ride 100-110 Watts, average speed about 25-26 km/hr,
relative easy ride 140-150, Watts average speed about 28-29 km/hr
average ride 180-190 Watts, average speed about 30-31 km/hr
pushing really hard 200-210, average speed about 32-33 km/hr.
All flat terrain and moderate temperature and wind concitions.

So 15 -20 Watt increase in average power is very significant in intensity.

I know Lou is just estimating and remembering, so it's rough data. In
particular, if you plot those, you'll see the 5th data point appears to
be off the curve a bit.

But the slope of the plot also shows that even at moderate speeds (25
kph) it takes quite a power difference to gain just a little speed. Or,
in the context of the "aero" discussion, it takes quite a large change
in aerodynamics to make you noticeably faster.

(Yes, in a close race, a tiny change can be the difference between
winning and losing. But nobody responded to my query by saying "I still
race!" Is it only James that still does that?)

No, Jay told the story of racing with his son. I believe that the
outcome was that Jay fell off and broke his finger :-(

No, I was just riding with my son when he crashed on a wet descent, and I cartwheeled over him. I stopped racing him years ago. My son is a giant watt factory -- if he wants to drop me, he does. The race lasts for about ten seconds.

BUT every weekend is still a de facto race with my old-dude riding buddies, some of whom still race. I don't need the latest and greatest equipment to ride with them, but a light, responsive bike is a lot of fun even if you're not racing. Di2 is nice, but not necessary, and I would argue that discs are necessary or at least a huge benefit when riding in wet weather. Discs also give you fender clearance, and for group riding, fenders are required -- or at least SOP here in PDX. https://www.flickr.com/photos/krheap...7632139896627/

-- Jay Beattie.

I still wonder about brakes.

Yes, I've heard all bout disks but I have built two bikes with Vee
Brakes that had sufficient braking force to lock a wheel(s), either
front or back or both on wet and dry pavement.

And Yes, I tested it. After reading one or another of the various "Oh
my disks are wonderful" posts I went out in a torrential downpour (my
wife thought I'd gone mad) and tested it. Yup, I could skid either the
front, rear, or both together. A day or so later, when it didn't rain,
I tested it again, on a blacktop road, and still works.
--
cheers,

John B.


Works in a nice civilized place like Thailand but not out in
the muddy wilds of a Portland Cyclocross:

https://img1.etsystatic.com/000/0/60....172857679.jpg

My wife had v-brakes on a beater bike that I worked on, but I've never used them myself. I wouldn't doubt that they stop in the rain, but I still prefer discs because they don't eat rims. I also prefer the feel of discs in wet weather and the absence of that free-fall you can get with rim brakes as the pads wipe off the rim before grabbing.

I'm telling you, riding CX around here is like being in a bowling league. https://tinyurl.com/r78bcto Everyone does it. You still see some people with rim brakes, but not a lot.

-- Jay Beattie.

On 11/26/2019 3:49 AM, Andre Jute wrote:
On Monday, November 25, 2019 at 5:53:23 PM UTC, duane wrote:

for
those of us that aren't pure racers the real benefit (IMO) of a modern
road bike to a "retro" bike would be more about ease of use and
dependability. I'm thinking brifters over down tube friction shifters,
clipless pedals over toe straps, wider range gearing, less weight to
carry up hills etc. etc. etc.

I caught the tail end of one "innovation" in derailleur transmissions, Sachs-Huret's Omega chainrings, which were very slightly oval supposedly to let you shift more easily. But if you got the rhythm wrong -- and I'm no dancer -- the sudden torque boost would fold up the derailleur like a pretzel, or at the very least derail the chain. I'm in the most fundamental sense a manual labourer -- all writers work with their hands on a keyboard -- so I'm about as fussy as a surgeon about my hands, and retrailing a chain comes pretty near the top of the dirty jobs I don't want to do. So I bypassed all that crap and went straight for the proven hub gearbox -- weight, who cares about weight? I'm a large, powerful fellow, and I cycle for exercise, so working up a sweat faster was ideal. Of course I wrecked a couple of Shimano Nexus 8 speed HGBs on my way to a Rohloff, but that's a cheap learning process compared to the one I had with the Omega transmission.

Andre Jute
German HGB, fat balloon tyres, Brooks saddles, God bless their inventors and reinvents


Can't comment on oval rings as I haven't tried them. With regards to
weight, I ride for exercise as well but try to push the distance and
cardio so less weight on the hills is a plus for me. I've lost a bit of
weight but can't really do much better there so I cheat with a lighter
bike g

The cool thing about bikes is that there are choices for everyone's
needs or wants.