Garth Libre wrote:
"At Rivendell they sell something which they claim to be the greatest friction shifter of all time. It was made by Suntour and I believe they call it the power ratchet. It has an actual ratchet and pawl system and sells for $38.00. What was the vintage of this? I don't see it in "The dancing chain". How does this compare to Retro-friction devices?" +++++ subsequently, there were some votes yeah and nay. In particular, Marcus Coles wrote:
The cable is pulled with the ratchet action and released against
friction, so in that sense they are retro friction.
They were available in various finishes and styles including bar ends
and stem shifters. They take a little getting used to with the ratcheting action, but very
are reliable, pull enough cable for even an OT derailleur with an OT
number of gears and are slip resistant.
++++++++++
In addition to the permutations Marcus cites, someone pointed out a couple of years ago that the earlier ones had a coarser ratchet than the later ones. I assume that Rivendell reproduced the later ones, which do have finer shift control. I think of them like good trucks: may not be swift looking, but they do a wonderful job and never fail you. Indeed, of all the pairs I've owned and used, I can only remember a couple of problems: The little screw that holds the black mechanism cover loosened and fell off (but the cover was held in place, any how. And, that darned cover was poorly finished, they rust relatively easily. But I suspect that my last geared vintage bike will have Suntour ratchets, when my fingers no longer have strength or control for anything else. Hmmm. I should plan ahead and find a coaster brake that will take a 5-speed. Whoops, that won't work, will it? :-)
harvey sachs
mcLean va