I don't see it as any battle against industry "progress", but rather the preservation of options. Objectively it can be argued that something is better for whatever scalar you choose, that does not make me like it. Preference is very important when you have persisted in an equipment dependent activity such cycling.
I prefer a manual transmission and when my car requires replacement, I'm going to be in a very dark place for a very long time since that option is becoming rare as hens' teeth. I realize how much faster modern cars are with more gears in their auto boxes than a single stick could shift, I get all the "improvements" and "benefits" but I'm talking about subjective experiences here (and don't get me started about electric assist power steering). Web pages are filled with the ranting inexperienced, reciting numbers and data points substantiating their objective position on the issue. I rebuilt several of my early cars' gearboxes, hydraulic clutch systems and replaced clutch discs while opportune. I know how they work, I appreciate that and operating them. The same goes for my bike gear. I have preferences that are independent of "advances" that would make me (fill in a performance scalar used by ad copy for latest cycling gear here). I ride with a bunch of 20-30 year olds from spring through fall and often I am the only ferrous framed rider present and the only rider with fenders. I don't even talk to them about having eight cogs that I operate with a friction bar end shifter. It is notable that I make more time on them in our urban rides when stop lights turn green. The combination of the apparent mysterious cycle leading to that surprise green light and the exhibited under-rehearsed clipping-in of their down foot when the color change occurs gives me almost a half block lead without mechanical advantages. I have too many years of commuting to draw the ire of surrounding motorists for slow uptake of the "GO" signal or mechanical fumbling slowing my departure from the intersection. I recently switched out the original Shimano side pull (double pivot) calipers with a pair of Paul's Racer center mount center pulls to grow some tire and fender space on my Rambouillet and I love them. My commuter has BB-7s and for its uses, I'm fine with them too. Subjectively I am having more fun on my Ram because I am not going to or coming home from work. Both kinds of brakes have a clear purpose to go on existing, and should. Rivendell is a very good example of how to promote a set of options not in resistance to any particular technology coming form the industry but rather finding peace with a segment and promoting the ease of achieving cycling happiness they find in their segment of the full bandwidth. Andy Cheatham Pittsburgh, On Monday, June 26, 2017 at 9:41:00 AM UTC-4, Jay Connolly wrote: > > I used only canti brakes a quite a while. Then I went ro discs. When I > discovered v-brakes, I wondered why I had bothered with discs. For true > MTBs, I think discs are an advantage in mud, and I prefer XT-level > hydraulics, which have been faultless, for me. Most mechanicals are fiddly, > though the best I've found are TRP Spyres, which are less so. Back to > v-brakes: TRP CX9s are the strongest brakes I have used--bar none, > including discs. They don't allow much more than a 35mm tire with fenders, > but they are strong enough to pitch anyone over the bars. On my Appaloosa > I'm running Avid Single-Digit 7s, ands they are more than strong enough for > me--as good or better than any mechanical disc I've used. > > Having said that, there's this: Riv can't win the battle against industry > "progress" on this issue, unfortunately, because the perception will be > that the bikes are pre-obsolete and the fear will be that replacement parts > will be unavailable. Both will hit sales harder and harder as time marches > forward. I ride with 30-year-olds who have never owned a bike without > discs. As these people age and acquire the earning power to embrace a wider > set of values in their bicycles, they will likely reject the bikes on the > brake issue. I love everything about the company, including their > collective stubbornness, but I would also like to see the business survive > and thrive. > > Jay > > -- 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 post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
