Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Frank Krygowski Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech Subject: Re: Getting old is not for sissies Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2025 21:06:34 -0500 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 36 Message-ID: References: <0jt3sj9iofpo2ru3abmi7ddrt4uk5btc9t@4ax.com> <47h6sjdvehovbadru4cv210eha609mospn@4ax.com> Reply-To: frkrygow@gmail.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Injection-Date: Sun, 02 Mar 2025 03:06:42 +0100 (CET) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="a8066decd4ad11c10a7194848a8504e4"; logging-data="516186"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX18pcT8CR4SfOgG0FqpwmatBRJHwlueo+gk=" User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird Cancel-Lock: sha1:rtg+/qBAvsgsa26zMEh+KLXmyKk= In-Reply-To: Content-Language: en-US Bytes: 3304 On 3/1/2025 4:39 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote: > On Sat, 1 Mar 2025 13:55:50 -0500, Frank Krygowski > wrote: > >> IIRC, hydrostatic transmissions are standard features on zero turn >> mowers. But as you noted, the mechanical efficiency is lousy. That's not >> a concern if you have a big enough engine and low enough use hours. It's >> a huge concern for a cyclist. > > True, but the huge concern is mostly for racing. If you're using the > bicycle as a moving exercise machine, the added weight and increased > friction might even be considered beneficial. It's like the weights > on barbells where light weight is not a concern. For competitive > fixie racing, maybe the governing organization should specify a > minimum allowable bicycle weight, which might inspire technical > innovation instead of shaving grams off the bicycle weight. I think that level of inefficiency would be a concern of most cyclists, and very few actually race. It would take a lot of fun out of riding. I once worked on a bicycle belonging to a friend that had a quite rare (at least, at the time) 5 speed Sturmey-Archer geared hub. IIRC, there were two shift cables, one going to each side. Anyway, as I remember when shifted to its lowest gear it seemed extremely sluggish. Unlike the equivalent low gear on a derailleur bike, it really didn't seem much easier going uphill in that gear. Instead it just seemed slower. And as I recall, that was a not uncommon complaint about that particular hub. I understand the desire for exercise. But I think almost everyone prefers to get their exercise while moving farther or faster, not by slogging along slowly. If that were acceptable, we'd all be riding solid tires. -- - Frank Krygowski