Smaller chainrings on Campy Super Record crank ?

[Donald Gillies]

"Neal" <[email protected]> writes:

>I agree that the friction shifters do work well for most people but when you get
>to be close to 60 years old and your hearing is not what it used to be, it is
>difficult hear if the bike is fully in gear.

What if your ERGO system is not adjusted properly ?? You wouldn't
hear that either ?!?!?

>This does not happen with ERGO shifting. I also like having gears
>that are much closer spaced. The big jumps of the 6 speed freewheels
>are hard on old legs.

Quite frankly, I have a 27-speed and I will shift 2 gears at a time
because it's too distracting to have to shift these dang gears all
the time. So in reality all you need at 13 1/2 gears for nirvana!

>The safety of not having to reach down to shift is also a benefit.
>If the technology is there, why not use it?

Barcons have existed since Campagnolo's first grouppo in 1951. They
predate down-tube shifters in the campy line.

>Neal

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

 

[Donald Gillies]

Sheldon Brown <[email protected]> writes:

>I wrote:
>>
>>>Don't get so attached to your old parts that they prevent you from
>>>having the gears you need.
>>
>Andy Muzi replied:
>>
>> That oughta be on a plaque. >><BR><BR>
>>
>Peter Chisholm asked:
>>
>> How did those old farts do it?? Ya know, ride and race on all the tall tall
>> mtns in Europe during the major tours with that antiquated stuff??

>Those guys were young strong farts back then, and rode for a living,
>hundreds of kilometers per week.

Actually, most of them had day jobs, and I think the same is true of
many tour-de-france riders even today. Last year I read a profile of
a tour team rider who runs a shoe store in spain. Only Lance and a
select few tour-de-france riders can afford to "ride for a living" ...

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

 

[Donald Gillies]

"Neal" <[email protected]> writes:

>I agree that the friction shifters do work well for most people but
>when you get to be close to 60 years old and your hearing is not what
>it used to be, it is difficult hear if the bike is fully in gear.

What if your ERGO system is not adjusted properly ?? You wouldn't
hear that either ?!?!?

>This does not happen with ERGO shifting. I also like having gears
>that are much closer spaced. The big jumps of the 6 speed freewheels
>are hard on old legs.

Quite frankly, I have a 27-speed and I often shift 2 gears at a time
because it's too distracting to have to shift these dang gears all
the time. So all you need are 1.5 more gears (a 13 1/2 speed) for
nirvana! Rohloff knows this and so they offer a 14-speed.

>The safety of not having to reach down to shift is also a benefit.
>If the technology is there, why not use it?

Friction barcons have existed since Campagnolo's first grouppo in
1951. They predate down-tube shifters in the campy line.

>Neal

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

 

[Tom Paterson]

From Donald Gillies:

> What if your ERGO system is not adjusted properly ?? You wouldn't
> hear that either ?!?!?

IME, if the old stuff slipped it didn't catch a gear, while the new stuff will
(on the cassette) find a cog, even if noisy.

For those who prefer and/or use friction DT or barcons, "fine with me". That
old stuff is available (boxed in the garage); but I'm not going back, thanks--
even if I do occasionally reach down to the DT cable stop to change gears just
for old times' sake.

Ergo has been less trouble (adjusting, maintainance) than DT friction for me...
--TP

 

[Chuck Connell]

"Chuck Connell" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Hi all,
>
> I have a 1985-ish Campy Super Record crank set on a road bike. I have
> just started riding this bike again after many years, and I am not as fit
> as I used to be. I need lower gears. I got a 26t freewheel on the rear,
> which helped some. That is about as big as I can go on the rear, while
> still keep the SR rear derailleur. What I'd like to do is get smaller
> front rings, now at 42/52. So a couple questions...
>
> - What are the smallest normal rings I can put on the front? Could be a
> Campy-copy if that works better.
>
> - Is there a way to go even smaller, without making it a triple? Like
> some kind of adaptor plate that would take a 32t ring, or something like
> that?
>
> TIA,
> Chuck Connell
> 781-939-0505 (office)
> http://www.chc-3.com -- My home page
>
> (NOTE: I use a spam filter for inbound mail. In some cases,
> this filter rejects legitimate messages. If I do not answer
> your mail, please call me on the phone.)
>
>

 

[John Thompson]

On 2004-11-09, Sheldon Brown <[email protected]> wrote:

> Most of the folks I deal with are not actual racers, even though many of
> them like to ride racing bikes.

True. I'm about as far from a bike racer as you can be while still having
a pulse, but I do like to ride racing bikes. Geared appropriately, of
course. I just like the way they ride, and I have a philosophy that
anything racers can use to go faster I can use so I don't have to work so
hard.

--

-John ([email protected])

 

[Drew Eckhardt]

In article <[email protected]>,
Donald Gillies <[email protected]> wrote:
> What if your ERGO system is not adjusted properly ?? You wouldn't
> hear that either ?!?!?

Once setup visually it doesn't change until you have to remove a cable and
re-install it.

> Quite frankly, I have a 27-speed and I will shift 2 gears at a time
> because it's too distracting to have to shift these dang gears all
> the time. So in reality all you need at 13 1/2 gears for nirvana!

It's a taste issue.

I like small jumps, don't need anything bigger than 50x13 or smaller than 30x21. I shift
one gear at a time with both derailleurs when necessary.

With 8-speeds and 135mm bolt circle I ran 50-40-30 x 13-14-15-16-17-18-19-21. 4-5 gears
overlap on each ring which is a bit excessive, although conventional chain rings force it.

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Life is a terminal sexually transmitted disease.