Good point! I just set my '58 Hetchins up with a Benelux shifting an stiff 1/8" Reynold Elite chain across a 4 speed Cyclo 14-20 freewheel with a single Chater Lea 48T chain ring.. I could not bare the noise I would get in the 14T gear - in fact the chain dropped on several occaisions in protest. I switched to a modern 1/8" cheap BMX chain and operations are as smooth as silk, although it does not shift quite as crisply.
Paul Raley Leonardtown MD
"Raoul Delmare" <Raoul.L.Delmare@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>Hey Thanks Steven ,
>
> Somehow I'd failed to look at it that way . Explains it very well .
>Chain stiffness !
>
> And it certainly helps explain why the first cable-operated derailleurs
>were for :
>
>3-speeds with 1/8 chain
>
>4-speeds with 3/32 chain
>
> I've always winced at the thought of trying to put very much side to
>side deflection on a 1955 1/8 inch chain !
>
> Raoul Delmare
> Marysville Kansas
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: <themaaslands@comcast.net>
>Cc: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
>Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2003 9:19 AM
>Subject: Re: [CR]small-small and big-big combos
>
>
>> Marcus wrote:
>>
>> > I know most of the literature says don't use the small-small or big-big
>> > combinations. Doesn't this generally refer to triples and/or modern
>bikes
>> > with wider spacing? I would think that on bikes in the CR timeframe,
>with
>> > double chainrings, cross-chaining would not be as big of an issue,
>unless
>> > the chainstays were really short.
>>
>> Actually the crossing on older bikes was far more problematic than with
>new
>> bikes. Modern chains are now so flexible that most can handle quite severe
>> sideways bending, something that was definitely not possible in the
>classical
>> era. As the chains didn't flex, this meant extreme pressure on the teeth
>of
>> both chainrings and freewheel. Friction derailleurs on the other hand do
>make
>> keeping derailleurs in check with extreme angles easier.
>>
>> Steven Maasland
>> Moorestown, NJ
>> _______________________________________________
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>
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