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Intrigued by this double chainring concept...

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Singlespeed & Fixed Gear "I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!"-- Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 - 16 August 1940)

Intrigued by this double chainring concept...

Old 07-07-20, 11:28 PM
  #26  
Mikefule
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I think it's an interesting idea. I'd draw a comparison with unicycling. We usually don't have changeable gears on unicycles, so our nearest equivalent is changing the length of the cranks: shorter cranks = more speed but less torque; longer cranks more torque but slower. Better quality unicycles have cranks drilled with 2 or even 3 holes. Therefore, instead of changing the cranks half way through a ride, you can move the pedals to the "short position" or the "long position". It takes a minute or two, job done, and it means you can ride fast along the road, then change to a more torquey "gear" when you reach the off road section. The idea is simple, robust, fairly cheap (a geared unicycle hub is incredibly expensive) and sounds wonderful.

In practice, I do not think I have ever swapped the pedals from one hole to another part way through a ride. However, I do choose the best position before my intended ride.

On my fixed bike, I have a flip flop hub and have never once flipped the wheel during a ride. However, I am aware that sometimes I choose my route within the limitations of the ratio that I have available. Maybe this idea would be a good compromise.

A "dinglespeed" with freewheel would have no appeal to me. I typically ride my 2 x 10 for many miles at a time without changing gear and treat it as a "selectable single speed." However, for fixed, the 2 x 2 approach would be worth considering.
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Old 07-07-20, 11:56 PM
  #27  
Happy Feet
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Now I have learned something new. Had no idea unicycles were adjusted that way.
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Old 07-08-20, 11:46 PM
  #28  
mihlbach
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Originally Posted by Mikefule

In practice, I do not think I have ever swapped the pedals from one hole to another part way through a ride. However, I do choose the best position before my intended ride.

On my fixed bike, I have a flip flop hub and have never once flipped the wheel during a ride. However, I am aware that sometimes I choose my route within the limitations of the ratio that I have available. Maybe this idea would be a good compromise.
.
I mostly ride my “dinglespeed” equipped with two chainrings and White Industries Dos freewheel on numerous off-road trails, some are flat while others are excessively hilly. I generally select my gear ratio to whatever is suitable Before the ride, but I can’t recall ever pulling out a wrench and changing gear ratios mid-ride. Having readily available gear options definitely broadens the capability of the bike and lets you plan rides that you might otherwise avoid due to not having the right gear ratio. It nonetheless still provides the SS experience while riding.
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Old 07-09-20, 09:33 AM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by mihlbach
I mostly ride my “dinglespeed” equipped with two chainrings and White Industries Dos freewheel on numerous off-road trails, some are flat while others are excessively hilly. I generally select my gear ratio to whatever is suitable Before the ride, but I can’t recall ever pulling out a wrench and changing gear ratios mid-ride. Having readily available gear options definitely broadens the capability of the bike and lets you plan rides that you might otherwise avoid due to not having the right gear ratio. It nonetheless still provides the SS experience while riding.
My ss riding is similar. I have two extremes available to me: pretty flat, and...mountains. Curious - what gearing do you run on your dingle setup?
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Old 07-09-20, 10:07 AM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by pbass
My ss riding is similar. I have two extremes available to me: pretty flat, and...mountains. Curious - what gearing do you run on your dingle setup?
I have been tweaking my setup on the this particular bike for a long time, and I have developed a lot of options to make this bike work for just about anything I have ever intend to do with it. I don't have mountains where I live, but there are flat areas and other areas with constant rolling hills, so my approach has been to have a number of closely spaced options, rather than two widely spaced gears. I just choose the gear ratio that is best suited to where I am riding and I stick with that gear for the duration of the ride. Currently, with my Dos freewheel, my two options, without having to flip the wheel are 40:17 and 38:19, which are roughly 64 and 54 gear inches. One gear is better on road and the other on dirt, but they are close enough that I can do mixed surface rides and manage without changing mid-ride. I use the higher gear for routes that are mostly road, and the lower gear for rides that are mostly hilly dirt or gravel.
For even more options, I am currently also running an 18t freewheel on the flip side of the hub, which works with either chainring and gives me a couple of intermediate gears. These gears are all spaced closely enough that I can change gears and maintain a very similar chainstay length. Lately I have mostly been riding 40:18 on flattish dirt and gravel roads, but I have been yearning for more hilly singletrack so I will probably switch back to 38:19 soon.

In the winters, I usually remove the 18T freewheel and install a 16t fixed cog or 16t freewheel which provide me a more roadworthy gear of 40:16 (about 69-70 gear inches) that I use for commuting.

If you haven't seen it, I posted a link above to an older thread with a photo.


Oddly, my other singlespeed bike is a fixed track bike that has only ever had a single gear ratio, 49:17, and I have never felt the need to change it. Of course I only ride it on roads so there is less of a need for lower gears.

Last edited by mihlbach; 07-09-20 at 10:15 AM.
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Old 07-09-20, 10:17 AM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by mihlbach
....If you haven't seen it, I posted a link above to an older thread with a photo....
Thanks for the detailed reply. Very cool. And the bike I'm looking to set up similarly is a Cross Check, so, also a rim brake scenario. I wouldn't want to be futzing around re-adjusting the brakes every time I switched gears. You've given me lots to think about!
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Old 07-09-20, 01:25 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by pbass
Thanks for the detailed reply. Very cool. And the bike I'm looking to set up similarly is a Cross Check, so, also a rim brake scenario. I wouldn't want to be futzing around re-adjusting the brakes every time I switched gears. You've given me lots to think about!
The dinglespeed concept really is brilliant. It keeps the axle in the same spot and without having to flip your wheel or adjust brake pads it makes a gear change super simple.
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Old 07-09-20, 05:28 PM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by 79pmooney
I love riding fix gear, I love riding hills. I'm in my 60s and have had chronic knee issues the past 40 years. 9 years ago I had a custom fix gear built that had a road style dropout but long enough to run any 1/8" cog I've ever heard of. (I now have from 12 to 24.) I've ridden 5 Cycle Oregons on it using a fix-fix flip-flop wheel and carrying a chainwhip.

Three years ago I set my Mooney up to ride the (canceled) Cycle Oregon with its promised 30 miles of gravel. But how to do the gears on a standard late '70s Campy horizontal dropout? Geeky engineer here. Multiple chainlines. I went with three. Made up a rather custom 110 BCD triple pushed as far in as a 38 tooth ring would allow. Had a "dingle" made using a 21 tooth cog as the core, flipping the 21 so the cog sits flush with the hub and cutting out the center of a 17 tooth and braising it to the 21 with a steel spacer. Dished a flip-flop wheel in a touch for the dingle. That kicked out the small cog a touch.

End result? I run a crankset of 46-42-38. Using a 13 tooth small cog gives me a 46-13 (96 high, 42-17 (67") level ground and a 38-21 (49") low. I can also swap out the dingle and screw on a 24 for a 43" low (very low for a fix gear on pavement) if I carry the chainwhip. All three cogs like up near perfectly with their respective chainwheel. Everything is rock solid 1/8". (A shout out for Izumi chains. $25 gets you a really good one. Lots of pin extension so driving and re-driving pins is easy and safe to do. No, not the quietest. Quiet and sweet shifting are closely related, I NEVER want to shift until I stop and pull the wrench out. EVER. So noisy Izumi chains and EurAsian cogs are up my alley. And EurAsian cogs, despite the name are made in the US.)

Yes, on both bikes, changing gears costs my a couple of minutes. Unscrewing cogs about 5. But - this is all fix gear. I ride it to get away from freewheels. Yes, fix gear internal hubs exist but I have never heard that they were up to hard riding. My Mooney has a drive train close to velodrome worthy in all three (very different) gears and the custom, with its Sugino 75 crankset, is fully velodrome worthy, just not a track bike at all.

Ben
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Old 07-10-20, 12:24 AM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by stevel610
need a photo
I don't do digital photos and my prize camera and gear were stolen years ago. Now if you want to come over and take some, that's cool.
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