NAHBS - handmade bicycle show

On 12-3-2012 15:36, Jay Beattie wrote:


Even if the S-A isn't considered indexed shifting, lots of
single-speed bicycles are sold today without any shifting, much less
indexed-shifting, so I'm still stumped.


index derailleur shifting dates back to the thirties


Frank is talking about multi-speed bikes derailleur bikes. You have
to talk about the consumers of those bikes, who are the same market
segment that used to buy Varsities on up. That market segment is not
going to buy friction shifters.

Another thing that you do not see and that people apparently don't
want anymore are exposed brake cables on road bikes. All the hidden
cable stuff is new (assuming someone didn't do it in 1886)

Don't know about 1886 but Dursley Pedersens had it in 1910 or so


--
/Marten

info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl

On Sun, 11 Mar 2012 09:13:35 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

Couldn't think of anything else though.

Brakes were a nice addition.

No, I'm not *that* old, but my father told a hair-raising tale about
his first ride on a non-fixed-gear bicycle.

Luckily, it was fitted with coaster brakes rather than hand brakes,
and when the pedals broke loose from the drivetrain, his panic made
him pedal backwards.

Though bikes are sold with brakes, a survey of a grade-school parking
lot showed zero that still had them -- many could be seen to be broken
from yards away, none were in such good condition that I had to touch
the bike to tell.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://roughsewing.home.comcast.net/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.

wrote:
On Sun, 11 Mar 2012 23:07:10 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:


Is it possible to sell a bike without index shifting? Seems that
becomes essential in the market, as soon as the number of speeds exceeds 1.

Dear Frank,

Hmmm . . . would the venerable Sturmey-Archer (whose "number of speeds
exceeds 1") be considered indexed shifting?

For a S-A shifter made since, oh, maybe 1940: yep, it indexes.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/bikeres...-31289168@N03/

The handlebar-mounted Trigger Control began to replace the top-tube
mounted quadrant shifter by 1940:

"The Sturmey-Archer Handlebar Trigger Control can be used on any
machine fitted with a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed Hub . . . This control
provides an instantaneous change of gear by the flick of a finger."
--from a Sturmey-Archer 1940 ad, p. 132, "Dancing Chain"

Index shifting!

Even if the S-A isn't considered indexed shifting, lots of
single-speed bicycles are sold today without any shifting, much less
indexed-shifting, so I'm still stumped.

Oh, I know single speeds exist, both retro beach bikes and hip fixies.
But I think if gear count exceeds one, analog shifting won't sell any
more.

--
- Frank Krygowski

Joy Beeson wrote:
On Sun, 11 Mar 2012 09:13:35 -0500, wrote:

Couldn't think of anything else though.

Brakes were a nice addition.

No, I'm not *that* old, but my father told a hair-raising tale about
his first ride on a non-fixed-gear bicycle.

Luckily, it was fitted with coaster brakes rather than hand brakes,
and when the pedals broke loose from the drivetrain, his panic made
him pedal backwards.

Though bikes are sold with brakes, a survey of a grade-school parking
lot showed zero that still had them -- many could be seen to be broken
from yards away, none were in such good condition that I had to touch
the bike to tell.

For a time, I volunteered at bike rodeos. I usually seemed to be the
guy who checked and fixed mechanical condition of the bikes.

I was astonished at how frequent it was to find no brakes, or brakes
that barely worked.

And when our next-door neighbors bought the first Wal-Mart bike for
their little boy (he was about 5, I think) they soon brought the brand
new bike over to me. It had hand brakes with levers that even I could
barely squeeze. It was necessary to strip, lube and re-align the
cables, plus lube every pivot to get working brakes.

You'd think "Safety!" people would be concerned about brakes more than
about hat style. But no, they're not.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Mar 12, 10:15 am, Frank Krygowski
wrote:
Joy Beeson wrote:
On Sun, 11 Mar 2012 09:13:35 -0500, wrote:

Couldn't think of anything else though.

Brakes were a nice addition.

No, I'm not *that* old, but my father told a hair-raising tale about
his first ride on a non-fixed-gear bicycle.

Luckily, it was fitted with coaster brakes rather than hand brakes,
and when the pedals broke loose from the drivetrain, his panic made
him pedal backwards.

Though bikes are sold with brakes, a survey of a grade-school parking
lot showed zero that still had them -- many could be seen to be broken
from yards away, none were in such good condition that I had to touch
the bike to tell.

For a time, I volunteered at bike rodeos. I usually seemed to be the
guy who checked and fixed mechanical condition of the bikes.


I've done that.

I was astonished at how frequent it was to find no brakes, or brakes
that barely worked.


Never surprises me. Brakes are kind of fiddly conpared to just about
any other part of the bike, not essential to its operation, and most
people - for whom bikes are not a way of life - probably don't think
about optimizing if they're functioning at all.

Coaster brakes should be more common.

And when our next-door neighbors bought the first Wal-Mart bike for
their little boy (he was about 5, I think) they soon brought the brand
new bike over to me. It had hand brakes with levers that even I could
barely squeeze. It was necessary to strip, lube and re-align the
cables, plus lube every pivot to get working brakes.


BSO's are a crime against nature.

You'd think "Safety!" people would be concerned about brakes more than
about hat style. But no, they're not.


Oh, think they are. Helmets are just easier to understand than
optimum brakes. (Note also that most people think *any* helmet is
good enough. People like you seem to like it that way, because then
you can trash helmets in general.)

http://www.pocsports.com/