Thanks, Guy. I was hoping to hear someone confirm what I thought I'd read in the past, that he shifted rings 20 t apart without undue drama. Slow is alright, as I'd use the granny (again, possible future 1X + granny) only for really steep hills.
Aside: + 1 for 3-tooth gaps between "main" chainrings on half step systems. I sometimes think of returning to a, say, 7 speed rear with something like the 48/45 I used to use long ago on a commuter. Perfect rear-1-tooth equivalent shifts in middle range cruising gears. I set up mine so that the 48/45 were centered on the middle 17 so that, with 25" wheel, I could shift between the 71" and the 66" by flicking the left shifter (shifters were brake lever mounted; forget the name) back and forth, using those gears for 8/10 of my riding. I half stepped the middle 5 cogs and installed a 32 (IIRC) inboard for steeper hills and a 13 or so for downhills on the outside. On Sat, Feb 14, 2026 at 7:03 PM Guy Jett <[email protected]> wrote: > I've used a 26-46-49 half-step + granny on my '74 Raleigh Competition for > many years. It's currently shifted with its Huret Jubilee front with no > problems. Just don't expect super quick upshifts from the 26 to the 46. > This delicate ancient front derailleur does just fine. Before that I used > a SunTour Cyclone front. Shifted a bit quicker than the Huret. > > The SunTour has been moved it to my 24-41-44 gearing on my Hilson. A > 16-tooth difference with no problems. > > These would now be considered "racing" derailleurs but they're necessary > due to the three tooth tooth differences between the big rings. The deeper > inner plates on most modern non-racing derailluers don't allow shifting > over such small tooth differences. (I've ridden 1/2-stems for nearly 45 > years and I no longer understand how to shift the "normal" chainring setups > now -- just doesn't make sense...) > GAJett > > On Sat, Feb 14, 2026 at 12:18 PM Bernard Duhon <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> Ditto on that >> >> Heck Campy triple front works also if you are friction shifting. >> >> Yours sincerely, >> >> >> >> >> >> >> ------------------------------ >> *From:* [email protected] < >> [email protected]> on behalf of Shannon Menkveld < >> [email protected]> >> *Sent:* Saturday, February 14, 2026 1:29 PM >> *To:* RBW Owners Bunch <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* Re: [RBW] Re: Maximum drop between large/outer and >> small/inner cog that shifts well consistently (in friction) >> >> If you're going friction, why not just use any Deore-or-better Shimano >> 6-9 speed MTB derailleur that you like the looks of? Nothing better was >> ever made by anyone, and not many were as good. >> >> --Shannon >> >> On Saturday, February 14, 2026 at 10:55:45 AM UTC-8 [email protected] >> wrote: >> >> Thanks, Steve. I’m using an Ultegra 11 sp 50/34 double and wondered if I >> could go as low as 32 for the inner ring. >> >> Perhaps what I’ll do is switch to a 48/32. >> >> If I go friction, I’ll center the outer ring on the cassette. >> >> On Mon, Feb 9, 2026 at 7:49 AM Steve <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> --- Just adding that I think offsetting the chain line a bit to favor the >> big ring is a smart approach. >> >> On Monday, February 9, 2026 at 9:44:43 AM UTC-5 Steve wrote: >> >> Patrick, I've run a 50-44-24 triple (non-ramped rings) with a 1990 Deore >> LX 3x FD without any issues, though it did prefer a crisp upshift. The >> original small chainring was a 28t, so I may - or may not - have been >> exceeding Shimano's spec for the FD. >> >> I don't recall if you're using 'brifters' on your Roadeo, so I should >> mention that the bike was setup with friction shifting. >> >> Steve in AVL >> >> On Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 8:24:10 PM UTC-5 Patrick Moore wrote: >> >> I’m mentally toying with rebuilding my lovely Roadeo with silver and >> friction parts instead of the industrial-looking (but seamlessly working) >> Ultegra 8000 11-sp group. >> >> This group includes a 50/34 double. I think of switching it to a 50 + >> something smaller than 34. Do any of you have a 20-tooth gap between big >> and small rings? What front derailleur? How does it work? >> >> I’d center the big ring so that the drivetrain is a 1X + occasional use >> granny. I’d use the 50 with all 11 cogs, cruising gears would be the middle >> 5 cogs in the big ring, and I’d use the granny only for very steep hills. >> >> Would this work? Things to be wary of? >> >> Thanks. >> >> BIG RING CENTERED >> 27.3" wheel >> >> 50 >> 30 >> 14 >> 98 >> >> 15 >> 91 >> >> 16 >> 85 >> 51 >> 17 >> 80 >> 48 >> 18 >> 76 >> 46 >> 19 >> 72 >> 43 >> 20 >> 68 >> 41 >> 21 >> 65 >> 39 >> 23 >> 59 >> 36 >> 27 >> 51 >> 30 >> 32 >> 43 >> 26 >> >> -- >> >> Patrick Moore >> Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing >> services >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> *When thou didst not, savage, know thine own meaning,* >> >> *But wouldst gabble like a thing most brutish,* >> >> *I endowed thy purposes with words that made them known.* >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/61234bc7-81d4-4a3a-9e7a-fbd7752b9d48n%40googlegroups.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/61234bc7-81d4-4a3a-9e7a-fbd7752b9d48n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> >> >> >> -- >> >> Patrick Moore >> Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing >> services >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> *When thou didst not, savage, know thine own meaning,* >> >> *But wouldst gabble like a thing most brutish,* >> >> *I endowed thy purposes with words that made them known.* >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/bd25b695-2c8c-4ef4-976a-09b70300a82en%40googlegroups.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/bd25b695-2c8c-4ef4-976a-09b70300a82en%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/PH0PR17MB76937FCDCD5EF554798973E0CD6EA%40PH0PR17MB7693.namprd17.prod.outlook.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/PH0PR17MB76937FCDCD5EF554798973E0CD6EA%40PH0PR17MB7693.namprd17.prod.outlook.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CAMHQv6UnU45Zqo9M9QCNDvMdRAXkGaKOYR5WdW5udmhV_vOvrQ%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CAMHQv6UnU45Zqo9M9QCNDvMdRAXkGaKOYR5WdW5udmhV_vOvrQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Patrick Moore Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing services ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *When thou didst not, savage, k**now thine own meaning,* *But wouldst gabble like a** thing most brutish,* *I endowed thy purposes w**ith words that made them known.* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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