At 3:33 PM -0500 12/4/07, Adam Hammond wrote:
>However, friction shifting and ramped cassettes (from what I read)
>don't appear to go well together. It seems that "ghost shifting" is
>a problem. I'm only planning on running 8 gears in the back, so
>things aren't as narrow as a 9 or 10 speed setup would be. But it
>seems like it would still be a problem.
We have since identified the problem - you ride enough bikes and you can eliminate more and more factors.
The problem only occurs with Shimano derailleurs. Shimano derailleurs are designed to shift under load, but to do so, they "wait" until the chain reaches a ramp on the cassette. As a result, you don't get immediate feedback when you shift, simply because the shift does not happen immediately.
Campagnolo's derailleurs don't have that feature. They shift immediately - for clean shifts, you have to let up slightly on the pedals. As a result of the immediate shift, you get immediate feedback when you move the friction shift lever.
In the next issue of BQ, there will be a test of a bike with a Shimano freewheel, a modern Campagnolo derailleur and friction shifting. It worked extremely well - in fact, as well as my favored system, the Nivex.
That said, many users are happy with Shimano derailleurs and friction shifting. They probably are so skilled on their bikes that they remember the position of the lever, rather than relying on feedback. I only have ridden such setups on Bicycle Quarterly test bikes, and even during a 500+ mile test, I never became totally proficient at this. But the mishifts certainly became less frequent as I spent more miles on the bike.
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
140 Lakeside Ave #C
Seattle WA 98122
http://www.bikequarterly.com