VNVObit wrote:
From what i've read discs on road bikes is the next step though can't see electronic shifting becoming affordable anytime too soon
Depends what you mean by road bike.
For commuting/all weather type stuff then yes disc brakes will become more common as they provide a big advantage over rim brakes (they still work well and predictably in wet and dirty conditions) but for 'roadies' like me disc brakes mean more weight and complexity with no advantage whatsoever for 90% of the time.
As for electronic shifting then for the masses I'd probably agree that cables are always going to be cheaper and simpler to look after and maintain and will dominate for a long while yet but for many like me (cycling is my primary hobby and probably have more money than sense ) the new Ultegra Di2 is getting pretty close to affordable already.
Fixie/SS is/was a backlash to the over-complications of external gears, just one extreme to counter the other. Nobody needs 15+ gears on a bike, and having gears on the outside only adds to complications and maintenance woes. It's the megapixel war applied to cycles.
Shimano Nexus/Alfines (8-11 gears) seem to be the way to go for most users, although they're hellishly expensive for what they are at the moment. I got 10,000 maintenance-free miles out of my last Nexus 8 and that was a low-end model on a £300 bike. My current drool-levels are set on a Genesis Day One Alfine 11 but at £1700 it's well out of my range for somethign I'll only commute on :-)
I've heard elsewhere people having bad experiences with hub gears, particularly with water ingress and hence corrosion but also the things just disintegrating in use. Good to hear a positive experience though.
Will be interesting to see how far down market electronic shifting can go in the next 10 or 15 years. There's a potential cost benefit of not having to supply and fit cables and not having to braize on the cable mount points onto the frame. The switch end is potentially dirt cheap, cheaper than levers, it just depends how cheaply China can knock out the actuator end.
Rhythm wrote:Fixie/SS is/was a backlash to the over-complications of external gears, just one extreme to counter the other. Nobody needs 15+ gears on a bike, and having gears on the outside only adds to complications and maintenance woes. It's the megapixel war applied to cycles.
Shimano Nexus/Alfines (8-11 gears) seem to be the way to go for most users, although they're hellishly expensive for what they are at the moment. I got 10,000 maintenance-free miles out of my last Nexus 8 and that was a low-end model on a £300 bike.
Depends what you want from a bike really, I found the Nexus heavy and inefficient.
Like night and day for speed and efficiency when compared to riding my fixie which of course is literally chain directly onto wheel.
But yeah they're both low maintenance options when compared to your standard geared bike.
As for electronic shifting then for the masses I'd probably agree that cables are always going to be cheaper and simpler to look after and maintain and will dominate for a long while yet but for many like me (cycling is my primary hobby and probably have more money than sense ) the new Ultegra Di2 is getting pretty close to affordable already.
Andy
just googled di2 groupset, £1500 for a groupset!!! not what i'd call affordable (but then cycling isn't my main hobby)
disciple wrote:
Rhythm wrote:Fixie/SS is/was a backlash to the over-complications of external gears, just one extreme to counter the other. Nobody needs 15+ gears on a bike, and having gears on the outside only adds to complications and maintenance woes. It's the megapixel war applied to cycles.
Shimano Nexus/Alfines (8-11 gears) seem to be the way to go for most users, although they're hellishly expensive for what they are at the moment. I got 10,000 maintenance-free miles out of my last Nexus 8 and that was a low-end model on a £300 bike.
Depends what you want from a bike really, I found the Nexus heavy and inefficient.
Like night and day for speed and efficiency when compared to riding my fixie which of course is literally chain directly onto wheel.
But yeah they're both low maintenance options when compared to your standard geared bike.
The Alfine is supposed to be a significant step up from Nexus (certainly costs a fair bit) . Vin Cox converted his cross bike to use the Alfine for his round the world trip. The Alfine 11 is supposed to be particularly good (Oil bath IIRC so even less maintenance).
"England is funny, but sometimes she scares me"
Tony Wakeford
disciple wrote:
Like night and day for speed and efficiency when compared to riding my fixie which of course is literally chain directly onto wheel.
Don't get me wrong, I love my SS setup and my next bike is more likely to have 1 gear than many but objectively I reckon 99% of cyclists would be perfectly happy with <10 gears. I have to wonder if the UK's insistence of not moving to the Dutch system of supporting cyclists has caused the industry to move to a "faster=better" model. Whenever I see people pootling around in Holland it's always slow and steady, with far more heavy "clunkers" around, but then they're not having to keep up with and compete against motorised traffic
Rhythm wrote:Whenever I see people pootling around in Holland it's always slow and steady, with far more heavy "clunkers" around, but then they're not having to keep up with and compete against motorised traffic
More likely down to all the steep hills they have to contend with.
Rhythm wrote:Whenever I see people pootling around in Holland it's always slow and steady, with far more heavy "clunkers" around, but then they're not having to keep up with and compete against motorised traffic
More likely down to all the steep hills they have to contend with.
? Hills require a couple of gears, they don't require 20+, lycra, helmets and uber-lightweight space-age materials.
Specifically referring to commuting places here, but if you gear right and take your journey steady rather than trying to keep up with the traffic or fight for road-space, you can completely do away with the requirement to shower when you get to your destination, meaning the net journey time is exactly the same.
Rhythm wrote:Whenever I see people pootling around in Holland it's always slow and steady, with far more heavy "clunkers" around, but then they're not having to keep up with and compete against motorised traffic
More likely down to all the steep hills they have to contend with.
? Hills require a couple of gears, ...
Irony fail
"My way is the way of not fighting":- the book of Enter the Dragon.
Well that's the first Welsh Champs event over. I headed down to the fastest 25 mile course in the country, the Neath Bank R25/3L course on Sunday. Sadly the weather was against us all morning. The gift hill within the first 5 miles was negated by 20MPH gusty headwinds which meant no aero tuck for me on the descent as I was buffetted all over the dual carriageway. Once at the bottom, I could grind it out at over 25MPH to the turn but on the shorter return leg (15 out, 10 back) the wind seemed to die off and wasn't the tailwind I'd hoped for, SPeed dropped on the mild drags back to the finish and traffic at the final roundabout lost me momentum. In the end I crossed the line in 1:00:11. I'd have gone under the hour if it wasn't for that traffic I imagine, but it was by no means a fast day for the course. Winner rode an amazing 49 minute ride given the conditions.
Do your full length cycling tights have the "aber" on?
I tried a half IM on Sunday, two weeks after the double. Managed about 15 miles as normal then my legs packed in and my back started aching - spent the rest of the distance mostly sitting up going "ow". Took 2:45 to cover 56 miles on a predominantly flat course. Should have been much faster. May have to rethink the saddle position for the next race.
) the new Ultegra Di2 is getting pretty close to affordable already.
