Nothing wrong with gears or using gear calculators to plan your set-up. Versatility is a good thing. Just like purpose-built is another good thing. Not every bike needs a 26-inch gear, just like every bike doesn't need a 105-inch gear. (My buddy's Santana tandem has a 126-inch gear) I rode 30 miles in cool light rain at the end of a monsoon yesterday, fording senderos that became temporary creeks, and compared to our normal summer heat, it was a joy. Not every bike needs fenders, but glad I was on my fender bike yesterday.
On Sunday, June 30, 2013 9:09:38 PM UTC-5, Philip Williamson wrote: > > I like a challenge; to paraphrase Sheldon Brown, "If you wanted it to be > easy, why are you riding a bike?" > However, I just geared up a > bike<http://www.biketinker.com/2013/projects/four-clicks-on-a-7-speed-shifter/> > to > ride with workmates, and I like it. My first try with the bar-end shifter > left me with a gear range of 54" to 72" which, yes, is the same high and > low I have on my fixed gear bikes. I have in fact climbed Sweetwater > Springs in the 54" gear, and pushed it up in the 72". > > I did fix the bar-end shifter, thanks to listmembers' advice, by winding > the ratchet back up. > Philip > www.biketinker.com > > > On Sunday, June 30, 2013 6:24:49 PM UTC-7, Patrick Moore wrote: >> >> This is interesting. My own take on the bike-to-rider "contest of >> mastery" is that I like to adapt myself to the bike's limitations and to >> the circumstances -- terrain, wind, gear, load, etc. I'd rather learn to >> grunt a 40 lb load up a mile-long hill than to create a gear system that >> will let me exert more or less equal energy at 18 mph on the flat, 10 mph >> on the hill, and 30 on the downhill. (I used to be that way, but no longer >> -- in fact, I was that way theoretically, devising ingenious gear systems, >> but found myself riding a very limited range of gears.) >> >> For me, one of the great joys of cycling is overcoming obstacles -- wind, >> hill, load -- with limited means. It's horses for courses. Of course, my >> favored rides are short (and, relatively, energetic) but, with that >> qualification, I hugely enjoy riding one gear across many different >> circumstances. Even with the two derailleur bikes I have (Fargo, mostly off >> road, Ram, on road) I "naturally" ride in just 2 or 3 gears across a very >> wide range of conditions, load, wind, hills. >> >> I daresay that, after 8 hours in the saddle, and facing a miles-long, >> steep hill against a wind with 40 lb of gear, I'd be grateful for that 20" >> low, too. But I did want to add this other, perhaps very idiosyncratic, >> perspective, to the many that make up the world of pleasurable cycling. >> >> >> On Sun, Jun 30, 2013 at 7:09 PM, Anne Paulson <anne.p...@gmail.com>wrote: >> >>> >>> I don't want my bike to order me around. I don't want my bike to be >>> whining to me that I can't ride some nice quiet road. I'm the boss of >>> my bike, and if I say Sweetwater, we go up Sweetwater, so I need gears >>> that do the job they are hired for. >>> >>> >>> On Sun, Jun 30, 2013 at 5:15 PM, Eric Platt <eperic...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> > And yet, in the latest issue of Dirt Rag (a mountain bike focused >>> magazine), >>> > the mechanic column had a quote along the lines of "the only thing >>> dumber >>> > than a triple on a mountain bike, is a triple on a road bike." Seems >>> like a >>> > lot of folks are thinking that way. >>> > >>> > Now, for non-loaded touring, on the hills I have ridden, a compact >>> with a >>> > 32/42 (or 44) up front and a 12-36 rear might be fine. Then again, >>> for a >>> > long climb either out east or west, would probably want a 24 up front, >>> along >>> > with the 36 in the back. >>> > Eric Platt >>> > St. Paul, MN >>> > >>> > >>> > On Sun, Jun 30, 2013 at 6:21 PM, Anne Paulson <anne.p...@gmail.com> >>> > wrote: >>> >> >>> >> People who ride compact doubles chose those bikes. Sometimes just >>> >> riding by them on a steep hill in your comfortable triple is enough to >>> >> make them rethink whether their gearing is what they want. People >>> >> sometimes buy the bike for the fitness they wish they had, instead of >>> >> the fitness they actually have. >>> >> >>> >> I rode Sierra to the Sea with a friend. He is one of those >>> >> technophiles who wants everything new, and he has some kind of >>> >> whizbang titanium bike, with some kind of superlight wheels (one of >>> >> whose hubs cracked during the ride, and of course there was no way to >>> >> fix it, so he just continued on with what he said was considerable >>> >> drag). He had what to me seemed to be absurdly high gears given the >>> >> ride, although he did not do the steepest hills I did. I think his low >>> >> was probably twice as high as my ridiculously low low. But after the >>> >> ride, he emailed me about getting lower gears. Good choice. >>> >> >>> >> It would be great if we could get a Riv contingent on Sierra to the >>> >> Sea. We could show another riding esthetic, opposed to the go-go-go >>> >> esthetic that some of the fast riders have. Nothing wrong with going >>> >> fast, or wanting to go fast, as your entire purpose of riding, if >>> >> that's the way you feel. But it doesn't hurt to show people another >>> >> way of thinking about riding. >>> >> >>> >> On Sun, Jun 30, 2013 at 4:10 PM, dougP <doug...@cox.net> wrote: >>> >> > Thanks for the write-up. I plan to mark my calendar for next year >>> >> > (never >>> >> > too early to plan). That's a wonderful area for cycling. >>> >> > >>> >> > Last year, a charity I'm involved in did a week long tour through >>> that >>> >> > area, >>> >> > and Sweetwater Springs was an optional route. We also used some >>> >> > interesting >>> >> > hills in the Napa Valley. The only grumbles we heard were from >>> folks >>> >> > with >>> >> > compact doubles and standard racing bike gearing who were unhappy >>> about >>> >> > the >>> >> > hills. Since most of the event crew rides 30+ lb touring bikes, we >>> >> > found it >>> >> > difficult to be truly compassionate about "the problem". >>> >> > >>> >> > dougP >>> >> > >>> >> > >>> >> > On Sunday, June 23, 2013 11:20:09 AM UTC-7, Anne Paulson wrote: >>> >> >> >>> >> >> Last week I was on the (very fine) Sierra to the Sea ride put on by >>> >> >> Almaden Cycle Touring Club. It was tons of fun. Rivendell was >>> >> >> represented by me, and also JimD. The first night, I hopefully >>> >> >> snuggled my British racing green Roadeo next to JimD's orange >>> custom, >>> >> >> hoping that in the morning I'd see a little red Betty Foy, but >>> alas, I >>> >> >> was disappointed. That was pretty much the only disappointment of >>> the >>> >> >> entire trip, though. The food was super and plentiful, and somehow >>> >> >> ACTC managed to route us across the entire state of California on >>> >> >> fabulous roads. >>> >> >> >>> >> >> Some of those roads were rough: Dogtown Road in the Sierra >>> foothills, >>> >> >> some Delta roads and the fabulous Coleman Valley Road in Sonoma >>> County >>> >> >> spring to mind. My Roadeo with Rolly Polys purred like a kitten. >>> The >>> >> >> Jack Browns might have even been a better choice. >>> >> >> >>> >> >> Overheard: >>> >> >> >>> >> >> Rider #1: My neck gets so sore sometimes when I'm riding, I have to >>> >> >> look down for a while instead of looking ahead. >>> >> >> >>> >> >> Rider #2: Me too, even though I know it's not that safe. >>> >> >> >>> >> >> Me: Have you tried raising your handlebars? >>> >> >> >>> >> >> Rider #1: ?? You mean tilting them? >>> >> >> >>> >> >> Me: No, just moving them up higher. >>> >> >> >>> >> >> Rider #1: (puzzled) I don't think you can do that on my bike. >>> >> >> >>> >> >> Jim Warren showed up to say hello and ask about the ride, on his >>> Hunqa >>> >> >> with the Big Bens. The two riders with me were obviously appalled >>> at >>> >> >> the the idea that someone might try the ride with Big Bens. ("But >>> >> >> they're so heavy!") In fact, Big Bens would be great. >>> >> >> >>> >> >> In addition to the idea that bikes need to be shod with 23 mm or >>> 25 mm >>> >> >> tires, a number of the Sierra to the Sea riders apparently >>> subscribed >>> >> >> to the common belief that extra clothing, food and equipment weigh >>> >> >> less if you carry them in a backpack or in jammed pockets, than if >>> you >>> >> >> carry them on the bike. Saddlebags and front bags were not much in >>> >> >> evidence. >>> >> >> >>> >> >> One day we rode from Calistoga to the Russian River. The optional >>> >> >> route included Sweetwater Springs, one of those roads that is >>> terrific >>> >> >> in almost every possible way: deserted, with oak grasslands, then a >>> >> >> secluded little valley, then a (steep) climb up through redwoods. >>> The >>> >> >> regular route was not too shabby either, but I chose the Sweetwater >>> >> >> option. On the way up I passed a couple of other riders walking. I >>> >> >> understand the appeal of compact doubles if compact doubles give >>> you >>> >> >> low enough gears. And for a lot of people (who are stronger than >>> me or >>> >> >> lighter than me or both) compact doubles do work. But riders who >>> are >>> >> >> walking the steep hills, or riding up them with some >>> knee-destroying >>> >> >> cadence in the 30s or 40s, need lower gears. It's sad to hear, "The >>> >> >> guy in the bike shop told me..." when the guy in the bike shop >>> >> >> obviously told the rider the wrong thing. >>> >> >> >>> >> >> I highly recommend Sierra to the Sea. Try it for yourself next >>> year and >>> >> >> see! >>> >> >> >>> >> >> >>> >> >> -- >>> >> >> -- Anne Paulson >>> >> >> >>> >> >> My hovercraft is full of eels >>> >> > >>> >> > -- >>> >> > 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 rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>> >> > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com. >>> >> > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch >>> . >>> >> > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>> >> > >>> >> > >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> >>> >> -- >>> >> -- Anne Paulson >>> >> >>> >> My hovercraft is full of eels >>> >> >>> >> -- >>> >> 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 rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>> >> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com. >>> >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >>> >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>> >> >>> >> >>> > >>> > -- >>> > 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 rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>> > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com. >>> > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >>> > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>> > >>> > >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> -- Anne Paulson >>> >>> My hovercraft is full of eels >>> >>> -- >>> 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 rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com. >>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> >> http://resumespecialties.com/index.html >> patric...@resumespecialties.com >> http://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmooreresumespec/ >> >> >> Albuquerque, NM >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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