On Mon, 2008-12-01 at 15:44 -0800, Ray Shine wrote: > I agree with Michael -- Now that I'm in friction mode, my shifts are > faster, sure, and QUIET! I also do not have a problem shifting up or > down while riding grades. Believe me, I live and ride in San > Francisco, and I ride some sort of grade or hill or even mountain > 70-80% of the time. I love the friction mode, and don't have some of > these problems others are referring to. >
I wasn't speaking of shifting on grades in general. Sure, back in the 60s and 70s learning to shift on hills was a huge deal, and some drivetrains (notably the Huret Allvit "Schwinn Approved" derailleurs) simply balked at shifting under any kind of load at all. But you learned how to quickly remove power, shift, and then apply power again -- or you gave up in despair! I was speaking specifically of the type of terrain you see in the Piedmont, especially on dirt roads, where they do nothing to reduce or "average out" the grade. The climbs are usually short, more "humps" than "hils" -- nothing like the long hills you have out in San Francisco -- and the total elevation change at any specific time is typically no more than two or at most three contour lines, but they keep changing: up, down, up, down, the slopes are typically 8-12%, and the roads twist and turn. Even where you're on a sustained climb, like going over Bull Run Mountain, the grade isn't steady, it's a series of ups and downs. Imagine a roller coaster with gravel. It's quite involving and exciting: very stimulating, with very few quiet periods where you can just slip into the zone and crank away. And few times when it's calm enough for you to have 2 seconds to make a nice shift. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
