wagner@uw-june (Dave Wagner) (04/04/85)
I'd like to draw on the collective experience of net.bicycle concerning
freewheels shifting performance.
I'm about to completely replace my drivetrain. The gear setup I am building
is an ultra-wide range touring setup (about 22-102 gear inches). Obviously,
this requires a pretty wide range of cogs and chainwheels (26-49 triple on the
front and 13-30 on the rear). It's safe to say that I'll be giving the
derailleurs a pretty good workout on this!
The question is: will I experience a noticeable degradation in shifting
ease if I use a narrow-spaced freewheel (i.e., Suntour ultra-6) as opposed
to one with standard spacing? Will it be a (significantly more) tedious and
frustrating job trying to change gears on an 18-speed as opposed to a 15-speed?
I'd like to here from people who have used BOTH standard- and narrow- spaced
freewheels, and your impressions.
P.S. I've been diddling around with a PASCAL program that plots (on a
logarithmic scale, of course) a given gear setup, and also is able to "suggest"
the proper chainwheels to obtain a half-step plus granny setup from a
given freewheel. (If any of you have spent time plotting gear ratios, you
know how tedious it can be.) Anybody interested in being a "Beta-site" for
this *wonderful* tool before I post it to the net, please mail me a request
and I'll send you the source.
Dave Wagner
University of Washington Comp Sci Department
wagner@{uw-june.arpa|washington.arpa}
{ihnp4|decvax|ucbvax}!uw-beaver!uw-june!wagner
"Oh no! I've got . . . . . HAPPY FEET!"jpo@panda.UUCP (Joseph O'Connor) (04/04/85)
> I'd like to draw on the collective experience of net.bicycle concerning > freewheels shifting performance. > > I'm about to completely replace my drivetrain. The gear setup I am building > is an ultra-wide range touring setup (about 22-102 gear inches). Obviously, > this requires a pretty wide range of cogs and chainwheels (26-49 triple on the > front and 13-30 on the rear). It's safe to say that I'll be giving the > derailleurs a pretty good workout on this! > > The question is: will I experience a noticeable degradation in shifting > ease if I use a narrow-spaced freewheel (i.e., Suntour ultra-6) as opposed > to one with standard spacing? Will it be a (significantly more) tedious and > frustrating job trying to change gears on an 18-speed as opposed to a 15-speed? > > I'd like to here from people who have used BOTH standard- and narrow- spaced > freewheels, and your impressions. > > P.S. I've been diddling around with a PASCAL program that plots (on a > logarithmic scale, of course) a given gear setup, and also is able to "suggest" > the proper chainwheels to obtain a half-step plus granny setup from a > given freewheel. (If any of you have spent time plotting gear ratios, you > know how tedious it can be.) Anybody interested in being a "Beta-site" for > this *wonderful* tool before I post it to the net, please mail me a request > and I'll send you the source. > > Dave Wagner > University of Washington Comp Sci Department > wagner@{uw-june.arpa|washington.arpa} > {ihnp4|decvax|ucbvax}!uw-beaver!uw-june!wagner > > "Oh no! I've got . . . . . HAPPY FEET!" *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** I have used Suntour Ultra type freewheels on various bicycles but I'm now using a Regina (sp?) freewheel on my bikes. There two reasons why I've done this: 1. Freewheels with two-pronged adapters can be difficult to remov after hard riding. Regina's are splined and I have never had any real difficulty removing them. 2. Regina Oro's seem to stand up better to the beating that freewheels used by a racer must take. I figure your wide range of gears indicates use for loaded touring so you would probably experience the same type of wear. Another point -- I built a set of gears similar to this and found the low gears ( 29 inch ) rather useless for climbing. I guess I prefer to suffer and die quickly rather than struggle in pain. :-) Joe
gwhawkins@watrose.UUCP (gwhawkins) (04/05/85)
Last year I bought a new free wheel and went all out getting the type the have twisted prongs - GODLY. I suddenly knew what it was like to be able to change gears with ease. I don't know the differences or problems with 10-12-15-18 gear systems, but I'm a definite advocate of twisted prong freewheels. larry fast (Universty of Waterloo) broadcasting from exile