>--- On Wed, 4/28/10, Daniel Artley <dartley@baltimorecountymd.gov> wrote:
>
><<Why did Campagnolo have only a low gear or 42 x 24? Because
>that's only as low as real men needed!>>
Campagnolo's components were intended for racing. In races, you go uphill much faster (higher power output) than on the flats, because it is where races are decided. When I started racing, my first shock was how fast they went up hills. My second surprise was how slowly they descended.
Even for amateurs, there are few races where a small gear of 42-24 is needed.
When I raced, I very rarely used a gear smaller than a 42-21. If the course profile had numerous hills steeper than 10%, a 42-24 came in handy.
Once, for a triathlon with a section of 18% just after the swim, I put on a 13-26 freewheel, and I briefly used the 42-26. I could have done it with the 42-24...
All of those gears shifted very well with the Campagnolo Super Record derailleur.
A bigger problem was that the Super Record didn't like to shift into the 13-tooth cog, and it was hopeless with a 12-tooth cog. The chain gap was simply too large in the small cogs. Of course, when Tullio Campagnolo developed the geometry for these derailleurs, a 14-tooth was the smallest anybody used, and the cogs weren't tucked against the dropout as they are with a 7-speed freewheel.
Today, as a randonneur, I use much smaller gears - a 32-22 is about the right small gear for most courses.
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
2116 Western Ave.
Seattle WA 98121
http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com