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From: Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net>
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech
Subject: Re: Extensive article on Rivendell and Grant Petersen
Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2024 15:58:59 -0400
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On 9/25/2024 1:01 PM, Roger Merriman wrote:
> Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>> On 9/25/2024 6:42 AM, Roger Merriman wrote:
>>> Frank Krygowski <frkrygow@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> It's good that the pendulum has finally swung back to reasonable tire
>>>> clearance. But billions of cyclists are still stopping plenty well
>>>> enough with rim brakes, even when they're wet.
>>>
>>> That shows your circle of cyclists really...
>>>>
>>> Never seen folks wildly cross chaining? And yes swapping chainrings about
>>> if your moving fast ie having to move up and down is tedious, all but one
>>> of my bikes are doubles.
>>>
>>> Just because it’s not something you’ve encountered doesn’t mean it isn’t a
>>> thing.
>> Most of my remarks on this issue relate not only my own experiences, but
>> the experiences I've observed among my riding friends. So yes, they do
>> show my circle of cyclists.
>>
>> But the question becomes, whose "circle of cyclists" is closer to
>> typical? I think only a tiny percentage who are riding fast enough to
>> benefit from minor aerodynamic changes, who are braking hard enough to
>> benefit from improvements in brake modulation, who need ultra fast gear
>> changes, etc. The folks I ride with will do 40 to 50 miles without
>> worry, and that already exceeds the ability of "everyman" cyclists.
>> (Heck, I had many folks amazed that I rode seven miles to get to work!)
>>
> 
> Which shows really that your experience is rather car centric no one has
> ever been amazed that I rode to work, remember I see and encounter huge
> number of cyclists London’s heat maps glow vividly unlike Youngstown there
> are multiple large bike clubs within my area and so on.
> 
> London population and we’re not even counting the folks who commute in from
> the Home Counties is larger than Ohio let alone Youngstown. And bikes are a
> common sight.

I think a valid question might be: Did London's heat maps show much more 
activity when 1x gearing or road disc brakes get popular? IOW, did they 
really make a difference?

I doubt it. In fact, I think if you described the typical London commute 
bike, it would be far from this year's fashionable bike shop offering. 
That's what I see among the admittedly few bike commuters around here. 
It's also what I saw in Portland, OR, in Amsterdam, in Paris, etc. etc.

People just don't need ultra-trendy gear to ride a bike for utility. Its 
really needed only for competition. And I take it as an axiom that the 
best bikes for practical use are not racing bikes.


-- 
- Frank Krygowski