I'm -a gettin' old and I feel the need to coast and even, gawd 'elp us, use lower gears for climbing. I've even got two derailleur vehicles (Fargo and trike). But I'm not ready to convert my Rivs to derailleurs and I wonder what is the best allaround way to get a climbing gear or two -- so your comments (if polite) will be welcome.
The Fargo is great for dirt and (with skinny 40 mm tires) for all-roundering, but it is too heavy and sluggish for fast road riding. The trike is the ideal (for me) errand machine, but it too is too sluggish to fill the niche of longer distance or faster pavement riding. One option of course is to buy a nice, old fashion "racing" bike -- like the 1989 toute 531C Falcon I wish I hadn't sold 20 years ago. I just had the option for a perfectly measured (58 c-c X 57 c-c with 9 cm stem) mid-80s Ciocc, but decided "no" because of the 40.5 cm chainstays. I could have refurb'd that '73 Motobecane I sold to Eric. But let's leave a new bike out of the picture for now. Another option is simply to bolt on derailleur (rear; don't need front), rear brake and shifter to my '99 fixed custom -- a very tempting option since the only expense will be to have a new rear wheel built to accept a freehub or a freewheel -- and I have the rim and other parts. Or, I could go hole hawg and get someone local to braze on the bits that Joe left off. But -- and this is the option I've thought about off and on for a few years -- why not just get second rear wheels built up for the two Riv fixies, with 3 speed hubs with coaster brakes? This would mean that I would not have to hassle with installing rear brakes and replacing the amputated left-hand brake levers (currently they are Dura Ace bodies with the levers proper removed -- in the case of #2 the excess metal has been ground away; in that of #3, I could just re-install the lever proper and pin). Note that I don't consider the S3X: first, because a Surley dingle cog will provide sufficient gap for a fixed drive train at far less expense and hassle that a new wheel; second because I've heard bad scuttlebutt about its longevity; third because if I do more than install a Dingle I also want coasting. Comments? -- Patrick Moore Albuquerque, NM For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW http://resumespecialties.com/index.html -- 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.
