My inner Luddite spoke to me when I acquired my new Sam last year: a Phil hub with a Dura-Ace 7-speed freewheel, and I couldn't be happier with it.
On Jun 8, 12:44 pm, Jim Cloud <[email protected]> wrote: > With the subject of freewheels on a recent post, I thought it would be > of some interest to quote a piece of Rivendell history from the first > Rivendell catalog (Summer 1996). > > "Freewheels > > "We don't sell cassettes. There's nothing wrong with cassettes, but > there's something fishy about the way they're promoted. Cassettes > support axles better, so you don't break axles; but Bullseye, Phil and > others have proven that you can totally eliminate axle-flex and > breakages with a better designed freewheel hub. More likely, the real > reason cassettes have overtaken freewheels is to increase production > efficiency for the large hub makers. We and many others find > freewheels quicker and easier to change than cassettes; and freewheels > certainly have versatility on their side. Freewheel availability has > got to be a concern for anybody with freewheel hubs. Cassettes change > often enough to make year-to-year compatibility an issue, so it's not > as though once you've got your cassette body, you'll always be able to > get the cogs. But there's little incentive for anybody who ever made > freewheels to continue making them. Shimano still makes one cheap > model, SunTour is history. Regina-the company still exists, but we > hear they're making conveyor belts or something. Sachs, the great > German hope, still offers a full line of freewheels, but the word is > they'd like to cut back their selection. Factories see freewheels as > money-eaters." > > I don't wish to insinuate that something Grant Peterson wrote in 1996 > is representative of his present opinion. It's still interesting, > however, to see how some (including me) would have chosen a freewheel > equipped bike at that time in preference of a cassette. I'm > personally quite satisfied with the choice I made for my 1996 > Rivendell Standard and feel that its given me good service and will > continue to do so in the future. > > Jim Cloud > Tucson, AZ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
