[CR]Re: derailleur ramblings

(Example: Framebuilders:Mario Confente)

From: <WTrikerider@cs.com>
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 04:39:02 EST
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]Re: derailleur ramblings

Even most of us who are old enough to have had first hand experience with hub gears, usually the venerable Sturmey Archer, tend to think of the cumbersome department store bike with flat bars, a mattress saddle, steel rims, and 30 psi tires. However, a fit rider on a "club racer" style bike could easily hold his own on fast touring rides or training rides with the racers. The fault is not so much with the hub as with the platform on which it is used. Install a SA hub in a light wheel with a light frame and all of the alloy components of it's derailleur equipped counterpart and one will find that the bike is surprisingly easy to ride. At one time it was even an inexpensive setup. I will be the first to admit that more is nice (as with 10, 12, or more gears) but it is also nice to not worry about what the water and mud are doing to your derailleur or the cleanup afterwards. Being an old fart is nice. You can say what you want and not worry about impressing anyone (they won't believe you anyway) because you've been there and done that and the world kept on turning anyway.

Paul Patzkowsky,Longmont, Colorado