Originally Posted by
cudak888
True - Grant's
basic premise is actually the same as, well - mine. Sneakers, oxfords or flip flops, whatever you're wearing, just ride. And yes, the mainstream is the biggest offender in this regard.
But to echo
steine13, what Grant actually
says isn't that. You don't need to lug around hiking gear to survive, you don't need that double top-tube for stability, and that diatribe against index shifting is a great big middle finger to people who'd rather hit a gear when they ask for it (something I personally appreciate on an upright-bar bike).
Not to mention that disliking indexed shifting also inherently pits him against IGH hubs, and his actual words
are even more ludicrous than one might imagine:
There's so much bull$hit here that he ought to clean out a couple of horse stalls for a week just to realize how much he's spewing. IGHs can be very delightful outside of poor weather, and well suited for any application where stop-and-go is frequent - including some of Rivendell's models that happen to be well-suited to city use.
Plus, not every IGH is some sort of maintenance-prone pile of parts encased in a hub, as he would lead us to believe. If that were so, Nexus 3's - followed by Nexus 8s - wouldn't be the de-facto choice of bikeshare.
He knows just enough to have a platform where people believe him, and he's just ignorant enough to be a complete dilettante. The problem is when he spreads his nonsense as this pseudo-fact for his followers and those browsing. Perhaps it's ridiculous to get bent out of shape over him vs. the rest of the cycling industry, but he's fair game just the same.
-Kurt
I'm still not seeing barriers to utility cycling there, but...
Then again, I've never understood Grant to be claiming you need to lug around hiking gear to survive -- double top-tubes aren't my cup of tea, but they are only on a very few of even Rivendell's models, and as such are hardly likely to present a barrier to utility cycling for anybody, and I view his affection for friction as harmless or even possibly beneficial -- the rest of the world has moved to indexed shifting long ago -- and in my experience (volunteering at local bike co-op), those indexed shifters tend not to last (esp. the lower end ones) and are non-functional on about 1/2 of the donations we get -- simple friction thumb levers have rescued many, many bikes that go on to serve well instead of being junked. 1 in two million riders (at most!) will choose friction over indexing based on Grant's inconoclastic embrace of friction -- hardly a barrier to anything at all.
I think that IGHs have a place -- and yes, Nexus hubs are ok, but they (along with just about anything else Shimano makes) become junk after a while -- I had a Nexus 8-equipped commuter that after years of use needed servicing -- but no parts were available -- had to rebuild the wheel with a new hub. Same thing happened 4 years later. Perhaps an old SA (spare parts available on the secondary market for those willing to look) or a Rohloff would be better for longevity? The reason bikeshares use them is because those bikes get dropped and abused, and derailleur-equipped bikes will need more service with that kind of treatment(the now defunct bikeshare program in my town used derailleurs, and the racks were full of unrideable bikes). Yes, IGHs are great for stop and go and for lousy weather -- that's why I put one on my old commuter -- but the market largely abandoned IGHs long before friction shifting -- and again it is hard to imagine that Grant's preference for derailleurs is erecting any sort of possible real world barrier to utility cycling.
If you feel that pro friction shifting and anti-IGH rhetoric constitutes major barriers to utility cycling that outweigh the impact of advocating for wider tires, just ride, go have fun, no competition attitude then we'll just have to agree to disagree.
I'm always amazed at the amount of passion and dislike GP manages to generate given that Riv is such a non-factor as a part of the overall bike market -- none of his eccentricities are going to prevent anyone from accessing indexing, carbon, lycra, or, indeed, IGHs. It's a bit as though Ford and Chevy fans spent lots of energy condemning Morgan cars as some sort of existential threat to their ability to enjoy a large SUV -- what's the point?
I wish you all the best -- go and vent some anti-Grant frustration by taking one of your glorious vintage IGH-equipped bike out for a spin in warm Florida sunshine! Enjoy and be well.