Well, "The Dancing Chain" doesn't help much: "Henri Desgrange, who had long opposed variable gears, eventually relented and permitted derailleurs in the 1937 Tour de France. Given the enormous popularity of the Tour, this was hailed as the ultimate victory for the rear derailleur."
I do recall reading somewhere that the riders in the TdF were either all fixed or all on freewheels due to the advantage in downhills and cornering offered by a freewheel. Fixed riders would have been at a disadvantage, so all the bikes were kept the same. Perhaps multi- speed freewheels made their appearance before the derailleur needed to shift on them in 1937. --Eric campyonly...@me.com www.campyonly.com www.wheelsnorth.org --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
