The Pomeranian <
[email protected]> wrote:
> David Damerell wrote:
>
> > I don't have the teeny jumps you do, but they are not really useful for normal riding.
>
> By definition, they are useful if they are used and I would hardly call it *not* normal -- a lot
> of people use it and enjoy it. I used a 12-21 8sp almost exclusively for the 6 or so years I owned
> it before 9sp's came out. If riders didn't perceive and advantage to "small" step sizes, they
> wouldn't bother with tight cassettes. They recognize the tradeoffs. Once one is wont to "close
> spacing," it is hard to give up. I've done a lot of experimenting with step sizes. I find I like
> resolution at or below 9%.
Wow. This is kooky stuff to me; it carries a whiff of obsessive-compulsive behavior with it.
I mean, when you walk at varying speeds, you don't endeavor to maintain the exact same cadence by
subtly varying your stride length, do you? If you're like me and most people, you step faster to go
faster. That method is built in and need not be learned.
Therefore having to spin up a _whopping 25%_ or so before shifting to the next gear should come
pretty naturally and have negligible impact on efficiency. Witness track racers: slow or fast, they
pedal to match the pace. Doesn't seem to slow them down a bit.
> I think even casual riders might want to occasionally see "how hard they can go." In this case, I
> believe they will appreciate tight gear spacing from time to time, although the cost might not be
> worth it to them.
The cost of the psychological need for more gears has been borne by all riders. It takes the form of
fragile, comically dished rear wheels; fast-wearing narrow chains, cogs, and rings; poor chainlines;
increased complexity, cost, and weight of bikes and components; and diminished availability and
quality of simpler, more robust componentry.
I frequently use a bike with a single 47t ring and a 14-38 5sp freewheel. It works great, has a
zero-dish rear wheel, is fun and fast to ride, and completely obviates the need for a front changer
for all-purpose riding. Thanks to gear proliferation and a prevalent wannabee-racer marketing
approach, this fun and useful bike of mine is not supportable with replacement freewheels.
Sporting one-tooth increments on the cassette of a recreational bike is like running race car
transmission ratios on your daily driver. It hurts versatility and rideability by truncating useful
low gears, while offering in return a "benefit" of no demonstrable worth.
I believe that serious market demand for more and more speeds would not have materialized had most
enthusiast-level bikes not been crippled with too-tight gear ranges all along. 25% intervals across
seven gears would be about 3.8:1 overall, a huge range. The industry does not provide such a thing,
of course. Thanks.
Chalo Colina now with onboard variable speed control
