chuck wrote, then Tom wrote, in response to what Peter Kohler wrote:
Chuck wrote: "I always burst out laughing when I read this Walter Mitty, Snoopy and the Red Baron stuff on the list. You guys crack me up!!!!!"
Tom wrote: Com'on Chuck, are you really doubting that if the guy on the RRA is stronger than the guy on the Litespeed by more than enough to make up for the mechanical losses in the 3-speed hub, that the guy on the RRA won't kick his butt? It then seems like only a small logical leap to say that a 22-pound hub geared 3-speed RRA is "faster" than a 17-pound 10-speed Ergo C50.
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At the risk of presumption I suspect Chuck's point is: do those guys on the Lightspeeds know they're in a race with Peter and his RRA? That is not clear to me.
without knowing that, claims that one piece of gear is better than another based on blowing by someone on a bikepath, are useless...and may be useless in any case. Do we know how many miles and at what speed said Lightspeed riders rode before Peter found them? do we know if said Lightspeed riders even care if Peter passes them or not?
Plenty of guys blow by me on the road. Perhaps I could pass them in my turn if I happened to feel like it. Most of the time I don't feel like it. I'm too busy enjoying the ride.
If Peter would like to prove something in a more systematic way, I suggest he take a trip out here to sunny California, and we can do a time-trial between him and Chuck. I think Glendora to Baldy Village would be interesting. Around 5000 feet of climbing in 25 miles. Chuck on his modern Ergo bike, Peter on his RRA with the Sturmey hub. I'd be interested in seeing how that came out. or, to save time, we'll just set them both loose at the base of Glendora Mountain Road to ride up to Baldy Village together.
C'mon Peter! The weather out here is quite nice right now. I'm sure Chuck would be up for it..<g>
I think the old high-zoot planetary-gear hubs are way-cool, but I wouldn't go so far as to say they're superior to modern Ergo stuff.
Charles Andrews
SoCal