On 8/3/07, BobHoveyGa@aol.com <BobHoveyGa@aol.com> wrote:
>
> Great message, John!!
>
> I chuckle a bit when otherwise reasonable folks continue to argue that
> they
> can shift just as fast with downtube friction as handlebar mounted
> shifters.
> ..
> it defies not only reason but elementary physics (pivot your entire arm
> from
>
> the shoulder a distance of a foot and a half in the same time and with the
> s
> ame
> effort as you can pivot your finger a distance of three inches? Oh yeah,
> that makes perfect sense). This is self-delusion working overtime.
>
> Why expend so much effort promoting the illusion of the complete and utter
> superiority of the vintage bicycle? Doing so not only makes one sound
> like
> a
> member of a religious cult but it also leaves us less time to appreciate
> the
>
> many solid qualities that vintage bikes do have to offer.
That's perhaps a bit of a straw man argument. I cannot recall anyone claiming one can shift faster with DT shifters. Can you? Of course if you are aware you will be shifting a second or two prior to so doing, the shift will happen essentially whenever you prefer it to either way.
And has anyone actually "promot[ed] the complete and utter superiority of the vintage bicycle" on this list? I don't recall so. What I've heard are some people merely pointing out (correctly) that *in some respects *vintage bicycles are superior to new for some- perhaps most- people. There's a whole world of difference there, isn't there?
Kurt Sperry
Bellingham WA
USA