Well, thanks all for the responses. My conclusion is this: The SimpleTwo is a reasonable notion. It definitely goes on the list of potential bike-y projects for me. It may be before or after or instead of or pre-empted by a mixte (still thinking about Betty as the Next Bike Thing). But I can enjoy chewing on both notions for a while.
I certainly understand the concern at least one person expressed over relying solely on the hub (and therefore the chain) for braking. But if I "curate" (heh heh) a SimpleTwo, and if the SimpleOne is produced as a non-canti bike, I'd definitely get a S2C hub (S2 is the duomatic designation; C suffix indicates coaster brake) and try it without any rim brakes at some point. Canti studs might gnaw at me aesthetically too much, so I might not even bother to try it rim-brake-less if it is a canti-studded bike. But it seems that the Sturmey-Archer folks are pricing the S2* hubs such that getting a coaster-wheel built-up only to discover I don't like it would not be a horrible cost overrun. I'd sure love to ride a nice comfortable versatile bike with nothing but bars in the cockpit. Yours, Thomas Lynn Skean On Nov 22, 1:20 am, Philip Williamson <philip.william...@gmail.com> wrote: > I found the same thing. My Sachs Automatic (same gear spread as the S- > A kickback hub) is just less groovy-feeling than riding fixed. > > Philip > > Philip Williamsonwww.biketinker.com > > On Nov 21, 3:33 pm, Eric Norris <campyonly...@me.com> wrote: > > > I found that I preferred the feel of fixed gear riding on the Quickbeam. > > The S-A hub works quite nicely, and it would be a boon for touring or for > > riders who don't like to push quite so hard to get over the hills. > > > --Eric > > campyonly...@me.comwww.campyonly.comwww.wheelsnorth.org > > > On Nov 21, 2010, at 3:01 PM, Will M wrote: > > > > I know there have been a number of successful Quickbeam internally- > > > geared hub conversions discussed on this list. The one that inspired > > > me most is by Eric Norris (post =http://bit.ly/9gyfnB;pics= > > >http://www.flickr.com/photos/35176...@n03/4225472677). > > > > But Eric switched back to singlespeed and sold the Sturmey-Archer. > > > (post =http://bit.ly/9amjYM) Wonder why. > > > > On Nov 21, 10:50 am, "Thomas Lynn Skean" <thomaslynnsk...@comcast.net> > > > wrote: > > >> Hi, all! > > > >> Does anyone have any experience with the sorta new Sturmey-Archer > > >> duomatic hub? If so... Are they of reasonable quality (as opposed to > > >> being a novelty or a fashion-gimmick or something intended for a > > >> department-store bike)? If you have no experience but would venture an > > >> opinion, would you *expect* them to be of reasonable quality? (I know > > >> nothing about the modern Sturmey-Archer company or about low-gear-count > > >> IGHs at all.) > > > >> Could you imagine one on a Quickbeam/SimpleOne? > > > >> I like the idea of a singlespeed bike. But I expect that with my weight > > >> (~240ish) and given that I have already flirted with slight knee pain, > > >> riding a singlespeed bike very much would not be my favorite thing (or > > >> the smartest thing) to do. Over time, I expect that launches would > > >> challenge my knees with any gearing that I could contemplate cruising > > >> in. I understand that the SimpleOne is designed to be more than just a > > >> singlespeed. But I know me; I really can't see me hopping off the bike > > >> and moving the rear wheel whenever I needed to exploit that fact. > > > >> However, I've done some gearing arithmetic and have concluded that I > > >> might be happy with the two-speed duomatic hub. I could imagine > > >> launching in "low" (somewhat carefully) and then cruising in "high" > > >> (somewhat spinningly). But the "carefully" and "Spinningly" parts would > > >> be generally "good things to do" sometimes anyway. And, though I am in > > >> now way tired of biking the way I do now, I am on the lookout for ways > > >> to "mix it up" so as to keep riding as long as possible (think numbers > > >> of years, not distance per ride). I'm thinking the duomatic might even > > >> prove a "gateway hub" to actual singlespeed riding (theory being that if > > >> I keep riding in general, and sometimes a two-speed in particular, I'll > > >> continue to get healthier and become less vulnerable to knee pain as a > > >> result). I'm not remotely considering doing away with multi-speed riding > > >> (why would I leave my home in Hillborne heaven?). > > > >> I've had uniformly bad experiences with multi-speed IGHs in the past (7- > > >> and 8-speed Shimanos of 5+ years ago). But I'm open to the idea that, > > >> with the duomatic being a two-speed and with IGHs having perhaps > > >> improved as they've become more popular in the mainstream since then, it > > >> might not give me problems like those hubs of yore. > > > >> Any thoughts? > > > >> Yours, > > >> Thomas Lynn Skean > > >> P.S. > > >> One possibility I'm considering is a completely cable-less SimpleOne > > >> with the coaster-brake version of the duomatic. That's the way I often > > >> rode bikes growing up; one rear brake, one rear gear. Though there'd be > > >> complexity hidden in the hub, the rest of the bike would be as simple as > > >> it gets. > > > > -- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > > > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > > > For more options, visit this group > > > athttp://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
