I'm down to one and it don't freewheel.
chuckschmidt spasadena,ca
On Dec 29, 2006, at 10:01 AM, George Argiris wrote:
> I took 5 cogs off my record cassette, and filled the void with
> spacers.
> Freaks out the young.
>
>
> georgeargiris
> sandiego,ca
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org
> [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Bob
> Hanson
> Sent: Friday, December 29, 2006 9:41 AM
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: [CR]Too many cogs
>
>
> An amusing subject which often comes up in discussions with both local
> bike mechanics and especially among younger cyclists who have known
> ONLY
> modern 8, 9, and now 10 speed cassettes.
>
> I'm probably just a bad rider, but I often find I forget to shift even
> when I should. It's sometimes just old habit that gets me off the
> saddle during climbs, when I really should just be saving my energy
> and
> using those additional gears which I sometimes forget are at my
> disposal. So, for me newfangled multi-multi-multi speed hubs are a
> waste.
>
> Yesterday, I had remembered and referred someone else to a splendid
> interview with betweenRivendell's Grant Petersen and Jobst Brandt
> who is
> an engineer, industrial designer, an avid cyclist who annually
> probably
> puts in mileage comparable to many Pro Racers, and moreover, is the
> author of "The Bicycle Wheel" book.
>
> Here is a brief excerpt from the interview which I think will be a
> delight to many like-minded curmudgeons among this group:
>
> =====================
>
> GP... Shifting? I have no idea what you ride, but I'd like to know
> what it is, and why. ErgoPower, STI, Campy downtubers?
>
> JB... I use downtube shifters (seldom) and use a 6-speed FW because
> 5-speeds are dead.
>
> GP... If 5-speeds were still available, would you ride them? And
> what do
> you mean seldom? Do you mean you seldom shift?
>
> JB... I mean I'm not preoccupied with always being in the optimum gear
> or following some unwritten precepts on cadence and the like. I ride a
> gear that's about right and leave it at that. I'm not moved by the
> admonitions that I will ruin my knees because I'm not turning 120 rpm.
> I've ridden too far to believe that. The range of gears hasn't changed
> much in the last 50 years, only the number of gears in that range. I
> don't believe that they are useful, necessary, or and good for the
> design of the rear wheel. Five or six is plenty, nine is gratuitous
> hardware and multiple redundancy.
>
> ====================
>
> I truly love that final sentence.
>
> Brandt's frequent comments on numerous discussion groups are a joy to
> read. He comes off as both the most infuriatingly pompous,
> opinionated,
> individual one can possibly imagine, and at the same time (to my mind)
> the most well spoken and witty writer I can think of.
>
> Here is a link to the complete interview:
>
> http://web.archive.org/
> docs/jo
> b
> st.html
>
> And, here is also a website which shows photos from some of the
> vacations which he has now taken annually... since 1960... a bicycle
> tour through the Alps, often on roads which still look like the White
> Roads of L'Eroica.
>
> http://www.trentobike.org/
> Tour_of_the_Alps/
>
>
> Good reading and viewing for today ~ yet another (very uncommon) snowy
> day in Albuquerque.
>
> Cheers!
>
> Bob Hanson, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA