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From: Wolfgang Strobl <news51@mystrobl.de>
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech
Subject: Re: Thoughts on industrial design
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2025 09:10:19 +0200
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Am Tue, 29 Apr 2025 16:27:05 -0400 schrieb Frank Krygowski
<frkrygow@sbcglobal.net>:

>On 4/29/2025 1:35 PM, Wolfgang Strobl wrote:
>> Am Mon, 28 Apr 2025 23:09:18 -0400 schrieb Frank Krygowski
>> <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net>:
>> 
>>> Huh. I have never had a problem figuring where my desired gear was.
>> 
>> I didn't either, most of the time. But didn't you have to shift very
>> fast, perhaps more than one step at a time, sometimes?
>
>Yes, sometimes, for some low value of "very fast." Probably the most 
>common example would occur when riding tandem with my wife. Still, it's 
>not been a problem.

Oh, it wasn't a problem for me, either.  It's just that being able to
shift seamlessly and fast is more usefull for us than what half-step
shifting might provide.  My older bicycles both had a 3  x 10 setup,
which is somewhat ergonomic in a way similar to 1 x 12, by allowing to
stay on one of the three chainrings for a while, instead of having to
use both shifters continuously. 

>
>>> It
>>> may be because I seem to be very tolerant of gear ratios, cadences, etc.
>> 
>> Perhaps.  One possible explanation would be that you are riding well
>> below your capacity. 
>
>It's true that I don't race, so I always have capacity in reserve. 

I didn't race, either, I didn't even think of my riding as "sports".
However, if you have to compete on narrow roads with your bike in heavy
rush-hour traffic on your commute, you have less freedom in how hard you
ride than when you do leisure time sports. 


>I've 
>gotten slower as I've aged, and I think I may be the oldest among those 
>I normally ride with; but I'm among the faster members of the usual 
>group. Maybe the key is choosing the proper group to ride with!

I don't do group riding, never did. Most people in Germany don't.  The
bicycle is mostly a means of transport, for us.  Of course, we
appreciate its benefits in terms of the pleasure it brings and the
fitness it provides.  However, fitness was secondary most of the time
and only became more relevant as we got older. As adults, we bought our
first decent bikes for vacation trips in France 

<https://www.mystrobl.de/ws/pic/fahrrad/1981/loire/loire1981.jpg>


-- 
Bicycle helmets are the Bach flower remedies of traffic