Abiding hatred for bicycle derailleur drive trains
#151
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I hope that everyone realizes that the OP has an even more abiding hatred for BF. Considering this is his only thread but it took him almost 50 years to get around to ranting about derailleurs.
John
John
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#152
Grupetto Bob
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I hate bicycle tires and tubes. They go flat, they require air, they wear out, they are tough to take on and off, they have to be checked for air and require taking the wheels off, don’t get me started on removing a wheel, to change a tire or tube. Then when riding in the middle of nowhere they go flat and you have to carry tools, spare tube, patch kit, OMG! Why don’t they make solid rubber tires or run flats or the ones with a plastic honeycomb inside that never need air or go flat? Many more bikes would be sold and ridden if there were no maintenance tires and tubes.
Yes I am kidding.
Yes I am kidding.
__________________
Road 🚴🏾♂️ & Mountain 🚵🏾♂️
Road 🚴🏾♂️ & Mountain 🚵🏾♂️
#153
Junior Member
I have been riding a Rholoff this year that I got in trade to cover a debt. I much prefer my old derailleur system, and I do consider the drag an issue.
#154
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The OP should be in the Hall of Fame. He started this thread a year-and-a-half ago, it has over 150 responses, and his total post count is still only 2!
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#157
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NO noise??? LOL hahahahaha
The newest itteration of defaileur bikes sound like little kids' and New Years Eve noisemakers, when coasting. I would ride ZERO miles with such. I hear their grinding shifts 50 feet away. Then there's the clips crunching in when starting up. Gross.
But yah, my Rohloff is noisy too, going up hills. My SA wheels are silent except for the click the shift makes. I HATE noise.
The newest itteration of defaileur bikes sound like little kids' and New Years Eve noisemakers, when coasting. I would ride ZERO miles with such. I hear their grinding shifts 50 feet away. Then there's the clips crunching in when starting up. Gross.
But yah, my Rohloff is noisy too, going up hills. My SA wheels are silent except for the click the shift makes. I HATE noise.
I you hear a lot of ratchet and clatter coming from the rear on a shift, your adjustments are bad. And you have to know the art of shifting.
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#158
So many roads ...
Let's stop this incessant bickering and all agree to going back to A) a Schwinn American with a 2-speed kickback hub or B) a Schwinn Collegiate with a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hub. Both with coaster brakes, of course.
#159
Senior Member
Once you go Rohloff you will never go back. This is one long ass thread. I have had my Rohloff for over 7 years. I do not miss derailleurs or chains. It is easy enough to remove the wheel and repair a flat and that has happened exactly once so far. It was more costly than the derailleur version. Around $1000.00 more. The derailleur model weighs 17oz less than the Rohloff version. The Rohloff is a 7 speed with a reduction set to have 14 gears. I read an article where Thorn was interviewing Rohloff. They stated that it is possible under certain conditions for the hub to jump from gear 7 to gear 14. The next day it did just that and only that one time. I haven't been able to repeat that situation. At first the lower 7 gears were quite noisy. Not so much now. The oil in the hub can weep out some over time leaving an oil mist on either side that I wipe off. This seems to happen mostly after an oil change. Rohloff states that it is impossible for enough oil to leak out that the internals would be damaged. Rohloff wont guarantee their hub with a belt drive unless you use a snubber. So I'm guessing the force of a snapping belt could scramble the gears. My Co-Motion came with their version of the Rohloff grip shifter fit to drop bars. I have changed handlebars several times and my new bars from Velo Orange are the crazy bar. And being a lefty I ordered the optional Rohloff left handed shifter. Changing the shift cables is different enough that I have to say I am thankful for YouTube. There are some variations in how you wire the Rohloff shifter in different versions of aftermarket products. CyclingAbout has allot of experience using the Rohloff hub and articles explaining the pros and cons.
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#160
Well the Rohloff hub you have may well have not been looked after properly as drag has never been my experience with my Rohloff hubs.
#161
Junior Member
That hub has had very little use, and no abuse. You can look up the official minimum drag, whereas many "performance parts" have no measurable effect at all. Human power is precious, and human brains are built to conserve it. That's why we ride bicycles. It is unfortunate that direct drive to a big wheel loses efficiency in other ways, but quite wonderful that a chain drive can both transfer power, and provide a wide gear range. If there is a chain, gears are redundant.
#162
Senior Member
I kinda hate deraiulleurs, chains and cassettes myself. I like the idea of pinion drive bike or this new technology called Ceramic speed that might hit the market soon. Problem for me becomes price or price and weight compared to the conventional system.
https://www.ceramicspeed.com/en/cycling/d3
https://www.ceramicspeed.com/en/cycl...ain-revolution
https://pinion.eu/en/mtb/
https://www.ceramicspeed.com/en/cycling/d3
https://www.ceramicspeed.com/en/cycl...ain-revolution
https://pinion.eu/en/mtb/
Last edited by prj71; 05-27-21 at 07:36 AM.
#163
Senior Member
Makes me wonder how it is on the roadside when pro racers in a pack need to shift simultaneously like in the situation I just described.
#164
Otto
#165
Senior Member
That hub has had very little use, and no abuse. You can look up the official minimum drag, whereas many "performance parts" have no measurable effect at all. Human power is precious, and human brains are built to conserve it. That's why we ride bicycles. It is unfortunate that direct drive to a big wheel loses efficiency in other ways, but quite wonderful that a chain drive can both transfer power, and provide a wide gear range. If there is a chain, gears are redundant.
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#166
That hub has had very little use, and no abuse. You can look up the official minimum drag, whereas many "performance parts" have no measurable effect at all. Human power is precious, and human brains are built to conserve it. That's why we ride bicycles. It is unfortunate that direct drive to a big wheel loses efficiency in other ways, but quite wonderful that a chain drive can both transfer power, and provide a wide gear range. If there is a chain, gears are redundant.
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#167
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NO noise??? LOL hahahahaha
The newest itteration of defaileur bikes sound like little kids' and New Years Eve noisemakers, when coasting. I would ride ZERO miles with such. I hear their grinding shifts 50 feet away. Then there's the clips crunching in when starting up. Gross.
But yah, my Rohloff is noisy too, going up hills. My SA wheels are silent except for the click the shift makes. I HATE noise.
The newest itteration of defaileur bikes sound like little kids' and New Years Eve noisemakers, when coasting. I would ride ZERO miles with such. I hear their grinding shifts 50 feet away. Then there's the clips crunching in when starting up. Gross.
But yah, my Rohloff is noisy too, going up hills. My SA wheels are silent except for the click the shift makes. I HATE noise.
It does take a good mechanical tech that knows ALL the adjustments, and as a say a good rider that know the secrets to good shifting.
Last edited by rydabent; 06-21-21 at 07:26 PM.
#168
Junior Member
Chain drives with derailleurs are a beautifully evolved design. Yes, they need to be cleaned and maintained, but so does the rest of the bike. I happen to enjoy the maintenance part, though I know many people don't. How about internal gear hubs and belt drive? Much cleaner, to be sure.
#169
Things got a lot better for me once I stopped putting oil on chains and moved to wax based lubes about 15 years ago. Now I have nice clean drivetrains that require very little maintenance.
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