I learned two things this week about new bike technology, things I would not have guessed, one of which a fellow BF member (not C&V though) characterized as "in the small print".

First, you know those spiffy lightweight carbon wheels? According to this local BF member they do not brake well at all with rim brakes when wet. Which explains the trend toward disk brakes. Funny, but I seem to recall remembering that in the old days people complained about steel wheels not braking well when wet, which is one reason why aluminiuiuminum alloy is such a big upgrade. Whodathunkit? They've come full circle.

Second, I discovered a minor issue with my Tommasini on my commute yesterday. It's my only bike with 130mm DO spacing and (ahem) an 8-sprocket cassette. The chainline is maybe not perfect but it's pretty darn good. I noticed that when I spun the crank backwards to pick up the right pedal with my foot the chain could jump sprockets on the rear and then the RD might complain. Sure the big ring doesn't line up terribly well with the second largest sprocket but if I bothered (which I won't) to find a slightly shorter spindle then the small ring wouldn't line up well with the smaller sprockets. The cassette is just too wide for any ring, let alone both, to line up well with both the center and all the other satellite sprockets too. It ain't gonna' work, you can't get it right for bof'um. You know, I never ever have that problem with my 6-speed freewheels. But imagine adding one more sprocket to both the inside and the outside of the freewheel, and then actually trying to use them under varying conditions.

It's true, sometimes the old ways really are the best.