Originally Posted by dynaryder
My all-steel Surly,with older Nexus-7 and roller brake,weighs about 28-29lbs. That's about average hybrid weight,and less than alot of MTB's. It doesn't feel heavy to me at all. My Milano is maybe a pound heavier,and rides like a rigid MTB,even though it looks like a cruiser. They're both extremely fun to ride. If I'm moving along at a good clip,and am going to get caught at a light,I don't have to do the brake-pedal/downshift-brake dance derailler riders need to do. I just stop,then click the shifter down a notch or two. And I never get caught on a hill in too high of a gear.
Well, I too ride city traffic, but don't find my derailleur a problem, since I can downshift 3 gears at a time with a single thumb action. If I get caught stopped while in a high gear, I just downshift and moves forward while holding the brakes. This lift the tail above ground. I then kick the pedal a whole revolution, and then I am in low gear. Sounds complicated, but really is an easy 7 second routine.
I totally agree with you, that whats really important about bikes is that they are fun to ride, even though we all have different priorities on what makes fun bikes.
Originally Posted by dynaryder
I dare say a Nexus shifts better. I bet even with that fancy derailler setup you can still hear/feel some gnashing from the chain moving on the cogs. Most of the time with my Nexus hubs,the only way I can tell I've shifted is it becomes harder/easier to pedal(depending on whether I up/down shifted).
My shifts are totally silent besides the soft click my shifter makes, even when shifting 3 rear sprockets at a time, even in high speed. Even the slightest teeth gnashing is an adjustment problem (usually solved with a quarter turn counter-clockwise on the adjuster barrel). I suspect that all modern, correctly installed, quality gear systems are totally silent like mine, and that they likely very rarely needs cable adjustment, be they from SRAM, Shimano, or Campagnolo.
Just FYI, my shifters are Shimano R-440-9's and the rear derailleur are the old 9 speed Shimano 105 derailleur. Nothing fancy about that. I do tend use fancy chains like SRAM PC-991, but I really don't think that they shifts better on my setup, than a lowly Shimano HG-70.
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Regards