Jim Salzlein wrote:
> I think without a doubt, the worst bicycle component had to
> be Biopace chain rings.
Friends, Romans, CR-men, lend me your ears. I come to bury BioPace, not to praise it!
But really, worst ever? Though I never liked 'em, it seemed to me that by the end of one long ride one could become sufficiently bored with actively hating them to settle into mere dislike.
They never dumped anyone teeth-first to the ground like certain handlebars or stems or Lambert forks, they never even made anyone walk home or lose a race like Super Record bottom brackets or Wolber "Invulnerable" tires (whose wire mesh under the tread had zillions of sharp little wire ends that worked themselves into the innertube, but never prevented a puncture from normal road hazards like thorns or glass). Front derailleurs and brake levers that snap if you tighten them enough to not slip, even one-bolt seatposts that won't hold their adjustment have caused much more grief over the years than BioPace, no? And how about Cinelli 1-R stems? (sorry Chuck!)
I know Jim's not alone in hating BioPace, I've just always wondered why people single it out so, in a world so full of *really* bad bike parts.
Mark Bulgier
Seattle, Wa USA