Rohloff Hub Gears

[Peter Clinch]

David Damerell wrote:

> But you suffer from an unusual condition, which is very unfortunate for
> you, but doesn't really tell us much about the general case.

My knees aren't /that/ bad (I'm off on a fortnight's walking
holiday soon), but they're bad enough that they have bad days. I
/can/ stand on the pedals if I want, most of the time, but I've
stopped doing it primarily because I've found changing down low is
actually a very helpful thing to do, and it suits me better beause
it's easier riding that way once I was into the habit. That's why
I acquired the habit.

> OP had had weak knees they would have mentioned it, that being highly
> pertinent to gearing questions. I certainly agree that someone with knee
> damage might want to use an unusual shifting approach.

ISTM that most people start off in high gears becausae they always
have. As a kid I started with a single speed, no choice. When I
got a "racer" I always rode in top gear because that was the
"fastest" gear. When you're hauling on the bars and mashing the
pedals it's actually quite tricky changing (especially with
downtube shifters), so a high gear actively discourages changing.
Low gears make changing easy as your hands aren't heaving and the
mechs aren't under excessive strain, so it's altogether easier in
all respects to start low. That's why I've changed to do that. It
allows quicker acceleration, easier changing, less wear on me, less
wear on the chain. What's not to like, except it not being
"necessary"?

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

[Peter Clinch]

David Damerell wrote:

> Yes, I have acknowledged many times that if you like useless gear shifts,
> by all means, make them.

If I find it has a use, and I do, and Tom and Dave and Simon seem
to as well, *by definition* it isn't useless for us.

> Indeed, since you are the only person posting. No, wait.

So Tom and Simon and Dave didn't say anything about wanting to use
low gears? Oh, I forgot, they're not "real"...

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email protected] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

[Chris Malcolm]

David Damerell <[email protected]> wrote:
> Quoting Brendan Halpin <[email protected]>:
>>David Damerell <[email protected]> writes:
>>>Yes. What makes it a fact is that if you keep your eyes open you will see
>>>for yourself plenty of riders who do not (or cannot) engage in pointless
>>>gear shifting and still can get away from lights in a perfectly sensible
>>>fashion.
>>FACT: plenty of riders who do not engage in gear shifting

> _and_ do not experience difficulties as a result.

>>OPINION: pointless gear shifting

> Well, no. If not doing it doesn't cause difficulties, it's not merely a
> matter of opinion that it serves no useful purpose.

By that definition my bicycle serves no useful purpose, so clearly the
pleasure I'd get from changing down several gears at traffic lights on
my useless bicycle with a Rohloff is moot, quite apart from it being a
sign of my abnormal unfitness.

--
Chris Malcolm [email protected] DoD #205
IPAB, Informatics, JCMB, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK
[http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/]

 

[Chris Malcolm]

David Damerell <[email protected]> wrote:
> Quoting Peter Clinch <[email protected]>:
>>David Damerell wrote:
>>>Sure, and I wouldn't suggest bulling around at low cadence / high torque
>>>all the time;

>>Well, for my knees I don't suggest doing it *any* of the time. Can't
>>you see any difference there?

> But you suffer from an unusual condition, which is very unfortunate for
> you, but doesn't really tell us much about the general case.

My doc told me ten years ago that nearly everyone my age had some
knee damage. I'm pretty sure he didn't just mean my specific age just
then, but people my age and older.

--
Chris Malcolm [email protected] DoD #205
IPAB, Informatics, JCMB, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK
[http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/]

 

[Chris Malcolm]

David Damerell <[email protected]> wrote:
> Quoting Chris Malcolm <[email protected]>:
>>It occurs to me that some of these posters are cycling in cities where
>>most of the traffic lights aren't on hills

> Well, yes. In a city with proper hills you wouldn't be shifting down eight
> gears at a set of traffic lights because you wouldn't have eight more
> gears to shift.

In some cities not all the traffic lights traffic lights are part way
up the hills, and certainly here many of them are sited at the bottom
of hills due to the preference of the intersecting road to skirt the
hill rather than run half way up the side of it and down again, but to
forestall your obvious objection I'll agree that that these are
abnormal cities. I notice that the same is true of sheep tracks in
hills, but again quite possibly the sheep in question were not
normally fit.

--
Chris Malcolm [email protected] DoD #205
IPAB, Informatics, JCMB, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ, UK
[http://www.dai.ed.ac.uk/homes/cam/]

 

[David Damerell]

Quoting Peter Clinch <[email protected]>:
>ISTM that most people start off in high gears becausae they always
>have. As a kid I started with a single speed, no choice. When I
>got a "racer" I always rode in top gear because that was the
>"fastest" gear.

I remember doing that on my first ten-speed, too. Luckily, the small
sprocket on a five-speed freewheel isn't _that_ small.

That had some funky wheel size, too, slightly smaller than 700C. 650B?

>When you're hauling on the bars and mashing the pedals it's actually
>quite tricky changing (especially with downtube shifters)

Well, yeah, but I don't want to change during the initial acceleration;
the first time I change gear, I'm pedalling normally in the gear below my
normal cruising gear.
--
David Damerell <[email protected]> Kill the tomato!
Today is First Thursday, Presuary.

 

[David Damerell]

Quoting Peter Clinch <[email protected]>:
>David Damerell wrote:
>>Yes, I have acknowledged many times that if you like useless gear shifts,
>>by all means, make them.
>If I find it has a use, and I do, and Tom and Dave and Simon seem
>to as well, *by definition* it isn't useless for us.

This is degenerating into terminology wars.

I'm trying to draw a distinction between "A Rohloff lets you do this thing
you might like to do, but not doing it won't cause you any problems
(unless you have very weak knees)" and "A Rohloff cures a problem most
cyclists would otherwise have".

>>>But since I use the low gears on my bike where I took the /cheap/ option
>>>>on gears, that particular idea is kicked straight into touch.
>>Indeed, since you are the only person posting. No, wait.
>So Tom and Simon and Dave didn't say anything about wanting to use
>low gears? Oh, I forgot, they're not "real"...

I've restored the quoted text that ought to have made it clear that was
meant sarcasticly.
--
David Damerell <[email protected]> Kill the tomato!
Today is First Thursday, Presuary.

 

[David Damerell]

Quoting Chris Malcolm <[email protected]>:
>In some cities not all the traffic lights traffic lights are part way
>up the hills, and certainly here many of them are sited at the bottom
>of hills

But - again - that's "gears are useful in hilly terrain". No argument
there!
--
David Damerell <[email protected]> Kill the tomato!
Today is First Thursday, Presuary.

 

[Tom Crispin]

On 29 Jun 2007 13:59:08 +0100 (BST), David Damerell
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Well, yeah, but I don't want to change during the initial acceleration;
>the first time I change gear, I'm pedalling normally in the gear below my
>normal cruising gear.

One of the nice things about a Rohloff is the ease of changing during
initial acceleration.

3rd Gear set off from lights - click 4th and into the second pedal
stroke - click into 5th and continue to accelerate - click 6th almost
across the junction - click 7th and move from primary to secondary
position - click 8th and motor traffic is beginning to overtake -
click 9th nearly up to cruising speed - click 10th and admire the
smoothness of the change - click 11th and into cruising gear.

 

[Ambrose Nankivell]

On Fri, 2007-06-29 at 14:02 +0100, David Damerell wrote:
> Quoting Chris Malcolm <[email protected]>:
> >In some cities not all the traffic lights traffic lights are part way
> >up the hills, and certainly here many of them are sited at the bottom
> >of hills
>
> But - again - that's "gears are useful in hilly terrain". No argument
> there!

Gears are useful in your average run of the mill British city or town
which isn't pancake flat like yours is.

Is that better?
--
A

 

[David Damerell]

Quoting Ambrose Nankivell <$firstname+'n'@gmail.com>:
>On Fri, 2007-06-29 at 14:02 +0100, David Damerell wrote:
>>But - again - that's "gears are useful in hilly terrain". No argument
>>there!
>Gears are useful in your average run of the mill British city or town
>which isn't pancake flat like yours is.

Free hint; I haven't lived in Cambridge since 2001.

This is all very true, not being disputed by anyone, and completely
irrelevant to the question at hand.
--
David Damerell <[email protected]> flcl?
Today is First Sunday, Presuary - a weekend.