cale

Heck, if you had a close call you'd probably change your mind. Just saying... it doesn't take much to change one's mind.

On a totally unrelated topic, "Hey, we joined on the same month in 2004. That's a coincidence!"

VNA

No problem with 9--10 cogs is iffy but doable for the experienced.

cale

I had one of the first Dura Ace indexing groups and it is pretty clear that the intent was to make shifting very certain and reliable. And the Shimano technical department did the research and development in collaboration with professional riders. In this instance, experience told them that it was important to change gears quickly and reliably.

BigAura

So with all these advancements, my favorite ride for enjoyment is my old converted fixie:

one gear -> fixed
one brake -> center-pull
heavy lugged steel
no computer
no lycra
no helmet

Wanderer

Remember when bottle dynamos were a huge improvement********************???? LOL

OldsCOOL

UMy 26yr old son and I just built a fixie on the Raleigh PRE frame that was doing nothing on the shop wall. We saw the movie Premium Rush and he was hooked. He loves it.

I-Like-To-Bike

63 years of riding on coaster brakes, so far, so good.

Let me know if you ever heard about "close call/near death experiences" with rim brakes being expected to operate flawlessly on wet or icy or slush packed rims with frozen cables. Probably not since owners of such bikes keep them inside until Springtime dry weather, at least after one attempt at finding out how bad they are in bad weather.

As far as our BF Birthday: Howdy Brother!

cale

I think I get it.

"I have a bike but it doesn't have a name on it because it's a "rescue" frame and I'm helping save the planet by rescuing one steel frame at a time."

"My bike only has one gear to free me to pursue other activities."

"My bike only has one brake because I had a close call and I'm too chicken-**** to ride without brakes anymore."

"My bike is heavy because it is something you can't tell from looking at it. I really only care what you think."

I think this thread is of limited use to owners of "lifestyle" bikes.

BigAura

Nope. All wrong.

That's my 10-speed bike from 1970. When I got back into touring in 2007 I considered fixing it up but realized a modern touring bike was the way to go. During my research I came across a Sheldon Brown article on fixed speed conversions and that's what I did with that bike. The more I rode it, the more I enjoyed the simplicity.

BTW: I have and ride other bikes too including full carbon

cale

Aw heck, you did the Sheldon conversion because you were saving your old bike.

You only have one gear, why? The simlicity thing is generally about the pursuit of other stuff. EG I can focus on the simplicity that is so calming. Haha

I don't know why you left off the other brake. I think it is this simplicity thing again.

Your bike is heavy because it is old and made of heavy metal. Which has been great for music but not so much for bikes.

I know you care what others think, we all do.

BigAura

Yes I saved my old bike.

One fixed gear IS simple.

Only one brake because it's fixed. I stop the forward motion with my legs, supplemented with the front brake.

Yep it's 45 year-old steel. Not really into the head-banging stuff.

true

cale

Having tried to rescue my first road bike, also steel bought with allowance savings in the 70's, I "lost" mine to a racing accident. I would have been better off not riding it that day.

I moved several times, which makes the accumulation of bikes difficult, but, more importantly, I'm not much of a sentimentalist where bikes are concerned. I have two, a aluminum one and a"plastic" one.

What I am curious about is the fixie and simplicity. I don't think I've ever felt "encumbered" by gears but freely admit to sticking with a single gear combination for the duration of a segment if not the ride. I don't really see how a SS makes a bike simple unless you mean in that very obvious way, IT HAS 1 GEAR. Other than that, it isn't any simpler to ride. If anything, it's more complicated due to the talent required for leg braking.

I am an argumentative cuss, so I apologize in advance (LOL), but the fact you don't need brake advancements is because they wouldn't add to your bike owning pleasure. That, my friend, is what lifestyle riding is all about.

I-Like-To-Bike

One gear, not fixed, (i.e. single speed coaster brake) is simpler, especially to ride down hills.

BigAura

Fixed is the simplest mechanically. I do agree coaster brakes make braking easier on steep descents. For me the simplicity extends to the one-to-one connection of your legs to the road. One revolution of your legs is always the same distance traveled.

BigAura

To be honest I don't feel encumbered by gears, per se, and I am very grateful for gears on hilly or mountainous terrain. An analogy might be: I never felt encumbered by my children, but it still felt good when they were at the grandparents

As explained above: on a fixed bike the one-to-one connection of your legs to the road is very simple, pedal slow go slow, pedal fast go fast, pedal backward go backward. The perfect chain line also feels good versus a geared bike. Leg braking doesn't take long to adjust to, and I do use the front brake in conjunction, and I most ride relatively flat roads.

cale

Yeah my bike goes faster when I pedal, too. That's cool. JK

sam_cyclist

Show me the data. Do clipless pedals make riders any more efficient? No, they do not.

Do discs offer shorter stopping distances? No, they do not.

Do discs offer better "modulation?" Quantify it, test it and show me the results.

Do discs work better in the wet? I don't go for rides in the rain very often. Don't care.



Do discs work better in the snow? Don't care.

osco53

No data, here is what I know to be fact from my riding.

Do discs offer shorter stopping distances?
My LWB Recumbent Tour Easy by design made the rear brake do 75% of the stopping, the front was too lightly loaded.
On hi-speed grab it and squeeze hard stops I had to use all four fingers and squeeze very hard to stop the bike in a reasonable distance.
Locking the rear wheel was not always possible, there needed to be a loose surface. On good old hot sticky black asphalt rear wheel lock up was not possible, just not enough braking power with my properly adjusted rim brake even with new quality pads.

On went the Avid BB7 mechanical disk brake with the 180 mm cut rotor and a teflon coated cable (The teflon was good for the extra long run)...

I now could lock the rear wheel at will on hot sticky asphalt and only needed TWO fingers for great modulation and control,,problem soved
BTW my Tour easy is 36 pounds stock, running in gear weight is 41 lbs.
As for shorter stopping distance, YES because I could modulate and hold them just before lockup with no variables like wet rims or slippery road surfaces getting the best of me.

Ok so that's not Lab data but I think It proves disk brakes are far superior and OFFER SHORTER STOPPING DISTANCES,
AT THE EXTREMES OF BIKING but may be overkill for light fast roadbikes with super skinny shoes, Plus they don't wear out your expensive rims..

Do discs offer better "modulation?" Quantify it, test it and show me the results.
You got me there,,,See above,,,

Do discs work better in the wet? I don't go for rides in the rain very often. Don't care.

To those that do care, yes they do....

Do discs work better in the snow?

Not a clue, If It's that cold I'm on the couch with my bunny slippers on and a cup hot chocolate in one hand an a good book in the other...

I don't know or care about data I just ride bicycles but still,,,I hope that helped,,

I know I KNOW locking is loosing control,, I was just making a point,,

FYI I road clipless for two years on my mountain bike, got pretty good with them.
I'm back on GOOD flat pedals with shoes that are made for them and Strava say's I got faster as soon as the the flat pedals wen't on.

I can pull faster top speeds on my Recumbent clipped in tho,, Strava Is my only data on that subject,,again hope this helped

BlazingPedals

What I want to know is this: If they're called "disc brakes" then why is the disc-shaped thing that gives them their name called a "rotor?"

cale

Warning: Link not suitable for the disc-adverse.

Because this doesn't sound right? https://www.google.com/search?q=roto...w=1745&bih=814

I-Like-To-Bike

Single speed coaster also makes possible coasting downhill, as well as riding downhill at any speed without spinning legs around like crazy as well as taking tight turns at speed without worrying about pedals hitting the ground. Trying to keep speed down to avoid the issues created by the fixed gear does not sound like simplifying riding to me.

Personally I cannot figure out the importance or significance of the one-to-one connection of your legs to the road. Is it part of man-machine synergy thing I've been hearing so much about?

rmfnla

If I felt anything lacking in my rim brakes I would look into Discs, but since I don't I haven't.

However, the comparo to clipless pedals is not realistic; I switched to those in 1988 and have never looked back...

BluesDawg

Brakes are overrated. All they do is slow you down.

sam_cyclist

Yeah, I have no experience with recumbents and that's not the type of bike I was referring to. I'm talking about discs vs rim brakes on standard road bikes.

sam_cyclist

I test rode a road bike with mechanical discs a few weeks ago. The brakes literally would not stop at all. I grabbed both levers and squeezed them as hard as I could just to slow the bike down. They were incredibly weak stoppers. I WALKED the bike back to the shop.

The employee gave me some lame excuse about the brakes not having been broken in. I feel sorry for anyone who bought that bike.