Cycling in Sydney Australia
the good old days
Just this morning when laying in bed (on holiday mind) listening to the rain it got me to thinking about the days of my youth when I didn't seem to be always worried about and at the bike shop having my gears adjusted. It got me to thinking why? and then I remembered.
FRICTION GEARS!
Then I started thinking 'was there anything really wrong with them?' though I do remember when I saw index gears for the first time and thinking how trick where they, however speaking personally and if I'm honest I do spend a bit of my attention when riding listening to the changes and thinking was it smooth enough? does it need seeing to 'again'? could it be better ?and I too pedantic and going mad?.
Now however I'm not so sure. I mean I recall my old ten speed with its friction gears and not having any major problems using them, other than thinking how good it would be not having to take my hands from the bars to change gear,which is how I broke my Collar bone in 1991. I saw a video of some that are mounted to the brakes and no can't find them again. Yet.
Does anyone else think or feel this way or am I in my head too much and or is this index stuff just a thing we're told to like because of the 'Tour'?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by PeterT on -
I'm sure there are some baacons fans here who will go out on a limb and agree with you.
Meantime, in the Tour there are bikes with electronic shifting, ie whatever gear combination the rider chooses the front and rear derailleurs would be auto-trimmed (eliminate chain rub) to run smoothly.
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Permalink Reply by PeterT on
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Having said that, Goss seems to indicate a Di2 gear shifting issue just cost him some sprinting points in TdF
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Permalink Reply by tonydelyall on -
Well I use friction on my commuter (1x7). And I went back to them from indexed. Fun to use, easier to adjust with modern cassettes compared to olden days and one less thing to go wrong because it is simplier.
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Permalink Reply by Rob Berry on -
I only ride friction on my 27 speed touring bike, with bar end shifters. It isn't too far to move from the brake levers to the gear levers. I don't think there is anything wrong with them, indeed there are plenty of things right (simplicity of mechanisms means for easy replacement, brakes and gears running through independent modules so issues in one have no impact on the other, cheap, the ability to make subtle adjustments to both front and rear derailleur to silence the chatter of the chain...)
My Shimano bar ends can be run indexed or friction on the back (front is only friction), I see no real reason to bother with the indexing, though.
It would be nice if there was an STI system that allowed you to have the best of both worlds. The closest thing at hte moment is this:
Not particularly elegant, and I'm not sure how ergonomic it is either.
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Permalink Reply by kirby on -
yes yes yes those are the ones Ive been looking for. Looks like I've found a new thing to buy for the fuji.
Dose one need to change the rear derailleur? or can these be used with existing equipment.
I say this for the sake of conversation I'm now going to the web site.
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Permalink Reply by Rob Berry on
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There should be no need to change your rear derailleur no matter what type of friction shifting system you change to.
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Permalink Reply by kirby on
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This is sounding better all the time, I suppose the next question is how do I get hold of them? would Woolys have trouble getting them or would I just order them from the company?
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Permalink Reply by Rob Berry on
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They are a pretty small and new operation, so I'd say they are unlikely to have an Australian distributor. Directly from their website they charge $15 for international delivery, so I'd say you would need to get them from Retroshift directly.
You will also need to buy the shifting levers, though, they don't seem to come with them.
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Permalink Reply by baa baa on -
have a look at...
http://twentynineinches.com/2012/06/28/retroshift-cxv-brake-lever-s...
Another new thing here is that now you can buy the levers with 9 or 10 speed bar end shifters as a unit from Retroshift, (MSRP $189.00), or source your own bar end shifters as before.This is a new option and would be a good way to go. Just be aware (I think) the very latest 10 speed 7900 series are without the friction to index " D switch" like the photo above
Ok I may bang on about baacons a little bit.... but dont know about the good old days as I do use them in preference to any other shifter. They even work with.....whispering... compact cranks. The shifting is still smooth and quick in both friction or index.
I tried a 50 tooth ring but went back to 46 not because of shifting issues, I just dont like the 14 tooth jump
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Permalink Reply by tonydelyall on
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These DiaCompe bar end friction shifters are available in Australia and have a good reputation
http://www.velogear.com.au/products/Diacompe_Bar_End_Shifters-1282-...
http://www.hillbrick.com.au/frames-accessories.html?page=shop.produ...
They should work with any rear derailleur and cassette - because they are friction you do the matching to the gears not the mechanism so the particular mechanism is irrelevant..
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Permalink Reply by kirby on
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Many thanks for that they to look good, I'll have to check those ones as well.
K
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Permalink Reply by yogi on -
Friction gears... was AWESOME... it required something overlooked by many... SKILL... and it a skill you did learn very fast indeed.
I used them lots on my courier bikes because they worked from any place I mounted them. I put them on my bullhorns a to be pushed with my wrist, I put them on the end of my bullhorns to act like a triathlon kinda thing. I mounted them sideways on my top tube... sigh... they worked and they were cheap.
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