Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
I think he is serious. Reminds me of the the type of question I might have heard from a sophmore engineering student years ago.
Yes, I am serious. You reach zero speed on a bike when you stop and you start from zero speed. If you can start and stop a bike from a standstill, you won't fall over on your bike below 3.5 mph. Have you ever ridden your bike next to someone who is walking? Slowed down to go around a pedestrian on a trail? Slowed down at a stoplight and almost put your foot down but the light changed and you could pedal away? If you have you've ridden a bike at less than 3.5 mph. All it takes is a bit of practice and you can do that anytime you like. It's a skill that comes in really handy for lots of applications, not the least of which is climbing a hill in an incredibly low gear.
Originally Posted by
Sharpshin
ANYWAYS.....
I am dealing with a similar knee issue. I toured Texas-NY State with 22/34 as a granny, worked fine most of the way until New York State. I now have two 20 tooth chainrings on hand from the guy who makes 'em in California (be aware they arrive in an envelope regular mail so there will be no tracking numbers or parcel delivery). I'm gonna have to machine down the heads of the mounting bolts (as instructions suggest) before they will not hit the chain on this tiny chainring.
My plain ol' friction levers on the downtube should allow me to transition to 9 speed (no problems with the original derailleurs going from a 7 speed freewheel on a 27" wheel to an 8 speed cassette on a 700c) so I also have an 11-36 tooth 9 speed cassette inbound as we speak. Should lower my gear inches from my present 17" to around 15". I'm pretty I'd need a new derailleur also to clear a 42 tooth cog.
I was spinniing at 4.5-5 mph with the 22/34 set up, I'll keep folk informed on how the 20/36 works.
Mike
I have the 20 tooth rings on a couple of bikes and there is no need to do anything other than install them. I've not had any contact issues with the bolt heads nor the arm that cause significant problems.