On Thu, 2013-01-03 at 07:43 -0800, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery wrote: > Steve, I noticed recently that qbp is stocking a new line of pricey > freewheels with lots of gearing options. I forget the name and I'm not in a > place where I could look it up right now. I don't know if that brand has the > interchangeability and customizability of old Sun Tour freewheels. But here > is a case where "the industry" is responding to the demand for this kind of > thing. > > There will always be people who want a carburetor instead of a fuel injector, > or send handwritten letters instead of email, or old discontinued parts > instead of what is currently available. Keeping an old bike on the road is > one thing. Setting up a new bike deliberately with obsolete parts is to swim > against the current. Many of us here fall into the latter category. >
Yes, but in my opinion it shouldn't be "swimming against the current" to want to use 7, 8 or 9 speed cassettes. It's not like a 9 speed cassette drive train is as antiquated as a carburetor. There are huge, even monumental advantages to fuel injection over carburetors. Carburetors can't deliver emissions in the range required of new production, not by a long chalk. The relative advantage of 10 sprockets over 9, on the other hand, is trivial, even meaningless to all but a few riders (and that of 11 is even more trivial), while the costs, both in terms of dollars and longevity are great. Ever narrower chains and ever thinner sprockets mean shorter service life and more delicate adjustment as well as costlier chains and cassettes (not to mention shockingly expensive Campagnolo 11 speed chain tools). -- 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.
