FWIW, I read a few years ago that using a chain 1 generation more advanced than one's cassette improved shifting because the later and narrower chain avoids rubbing on adjacent cogs a wee but noticeable bit better than the earlier chain. I've been using 11 sp chains on my 10 sp cassettes, and while the difference isn't striking, I think it does keep the chain quieter while not in any way compromising shifting precision or speed.
In any event, the best friction shifting I've enjoyed is 10 cogs with cassettes built using not only 10 sp spacers but real 10 sp cogs, with both 10 sp and 11 sp chains. The 9 and 8 sp cassettes I used had proper spacers but cogs of all ages and generations including 7s and Uniglides, but even those shifted fine -- I never complained, even tho' my 10s shift better. I said yesterday and someone else also pointed out that a great deal of friction shifting precision results from a happy match of shifter with derailleur. The 9 speed drivetrain that shifted in friction almost as well as the "proper" 10 sp systems was a bastard cassette shifted by a Microshift rd pulled by a first-gen Silver BES. Lovely, tho' due to the mismatch of the cogs, not quite as lovely as the current Barcon + 7402 + 10 sp cassette build from proper 10 sp cogs carrying 11 sp chain. Patrick Moore, who also found that small-barrel Retrofriction dt shifters shifted 10 sp Am Classic close ratio cassettes very, very well, back circa 2003-2005. On Wed, Apr 17, 2024 at 8:08 AM Hoch in ut <cacka...@gmail.com> wrote: > I’ve tried 8,9,10 speeds with friction shifting. 10 speed, nope. 9 was ok > But settled on 8-speed for pretty much all friction shift bikes. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgtt46H%2Br6SCX7N%2BGH646YnXswyhK0xgVdioQDZetiHtqQ%40mail.gmail.com.
