Charlie, glad you are OK. I hate it when stuff like that happens. I think many, many drivers consistently underestimate the speed of cyclist, even when we are just cruising along at 17 mph. I regularly experience drivers passing me on mountain roads and then hitting their brakes when they are going way too fast for the road. I remember coming down a long hill in Gaspe last year. I was doing 50 MPH in a 50 KPH speed zone when a guy passed me, swerved back into the lane and immediately slammed on his brakes. I guess he suddenly realized he was at 2x the speed limit. This usually calls for quick action and then prayer, "Dear God whack this guy up side the head.... ur make that Father forgive them for they no not what they do."
I'm convinced that bigger gears do not make us go faster. A bigger gear can get you up to speed faster, but it wont increase your maximum speed. I'm going just as fast on m 48/12 and 44/11 as I did on my 53/12. I see when I ride with my 38 year old son, who is obviously much stronger and faster than me, that he will jump ahead of me quickly at the top of mountain downhills, and open a gap of 100 - 150 meters, but then my speed will match his the rest of the way down. Of course, there is no gear that will help me stay with him on the next uphill slog. But he is kind and waits for me; perhaps he remembers all the years I did the same for him. Sitting here, I am remembering the turning point. He was 14 and we were climbing White Face Mountain out of Wilmington NY together, or sort of together. This is a very tough climb with 3+ miles of unrelenting 12% grade. About 3/4 of the way up, after he had long since dropped me, he came riding back down the mountain and asked, very solicitously, "Dad, are you OK." I knew then there was no point in getting my testosterone in a knot. Michael On Sep 13, 2:14 am, charlie <charles_v...@hotmail.com> wrote: > Yea the 50 mph thing was quite scary actually. I did 49 mph on my > recumbent downhill and the other was on my old Raleigh going down a > long steep hill in a tight aero tuck. The scary part.....a pickup > truck started pulling out at the bottom of the hill and my brakes just > faded away......fortunately I had slowed enough as he pulled across > but for a hairy minute, I was a little stressed out. I don't think the > driver saw me or figured I wasn't going that fast but I actually > remember pondering about a small drag chute for long mountain descents > on the way home then dismissed the idea and resolved to not try super > fast descents again. I now sit up and feather my brakes. The thought > if hitting pavement wearing shorts and a tee shirt doesn't sound too > appealing. Even 35 mph feels fast now plus I just don't think bicycles > are designed to go that fast or brake well at higher speeds. I can't > imagine doing 80+ mph in a streamliner, record or not.... wow ! > > On Sep 12, 10:14 pm, rob markwardt <robmar...@hotmail.com> wrote: > > > > > Talk about timing! I received one of the new VO 50.4 doubles (46/30) > > this past week, installed it on my Rambouillet yesterday, and took it > > on it's maiden voyage this morning. It replaced a Sugino 48/36/26 and > > is mated to an 11-32 9 speed freewheel (gear inches 25-111). I > > switched mainly because I wanted to lighten up the bike a little, and > > I think they look cool. > > First off they really do look cool. Nice classic design, high > > polish, logos are visible but only up close. Has all the pins and > > ramps of modern rings, feels slightly lighter than a set of Sugino PX > > cranks I just bought from a list member ( same sized rings). The only > > negative is the dust caps. They have a huge hexagon cutout (I don't > > think the hole would really keep any dust out and I don't have a > > wrench that size...I'm going capless). Installation was a breeze (also > > put a new VO bottom bracket) I didn't touch the derailleurs, shifters, > > etc and it all lined up and amazingly works just fine. > > Took it out for a ninety minute ride this morning traversing Queen > > Anne hill in downtown Seattle. Queen Anne has every type of hill > > imaginable....long slow ones, incredibly steep ones, nice easy grades > > on top and incredibly fast decents. I tried them all today and the > > new double performed quite well. I lost a few gear inches with the > > new crank but was still able to grind up the big climbs without too > > much difficulty. If I ever need to replace the small ring I'd > > consider a 28. Shifting to the small ring in preperation for a steep > > climb was easy and there didn't seem to be any momentum lost in the > > switch. A couple times I found myself in the 46 - 32 combo and was > > ready to switch to a lower gear in back when I realized there was > > anymore back there. Going down the big descents I had all the gears I > > need (disclaimer I have no desire to ever hit 50mph on a bike...45 is > > fine thank you) and in reality I almost never touch the 11 tooth > > cog. It felt really good on the flat trail heading home and I was > > spinning at a good clip... (lower q, placebo effect, tailwind?...I > > think I was just hungry!). > > Overall, with a sample size of one, I didn't experience any > > negatives and had an enjoyable experience. I'll keep riding and we'll > > see how it goes but I'm happy I made the switch. Now to figure out > > which bike to put that PX crank on. > > > Rob Markwardt > > Seattle > > > On Sep 12, 8:34 pm, Michael_S <mikeybi...@rocketmail.com> wrote: > > > > I like to go fast when I'm in the mood! We have one ride that has a > > > gradual 10 mile long downhill that follows a nice creek. It's fun to > > > push a big gear and go. Even on Jack Browns. Some of us on Rivendells > > > like to motor and some just cruise... for each his own. > > > > ~Mike~ > > > > On Sep 12, 5:55 pm, stevep33 <steve...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > Pick the gearing that works best most of the time, and don't fret > > > > about the rest. Running 46T/30T compact with 12-27 gives all the > > > > gears and shifting patterns I need. Maybe not enough gear inches to > > > > pedal down a ridiculously fast downhill, but then maybe it's time to > > > > coast and enjoy the ride. > > > > > On Sep 12, 7:31 pm, Michael_S <mikeybi...@rocketmail.com> wrote: > > > > > > Do you find yourself in the 44 most of the time on flatter terrain? > > > > > It seems like you would rarely use the 30t ring except climbing. > > > > > > The compacts give you a comparable range to some triples but there are > > > > > some drawback IMO. I like a bigger high end than 44-11. I just can't > > > > > hang with guys on 53-12's on long gradual downhills. And I think there > > > > > is more cross chaining as well. The triples do shift slower with the > > > > > long cage dérailleur. Seems like you have to choose what works best > > > > > for each of us. I use a 50-40-28 Campy triple with a 11-30 cassette. > > > > > > ~Mike~ > > > > > > On Sep 12, 2:21 pm, cyclotourist <cyclotour...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > > > I prefer LPs to CDs. > > > > > > > On Sun, Sep 12, 2010 at 10:47 AM, MichaelH <mhech...@gmail.com> > > > > > > wrote: > > > > > > > Didn't want to hijack Dave's post about his new Rodeo - > > > > > > > congratulations Dave; I hope it brings you a gazillion miles of > > > > > > > joy, > > > > > > > even more in the riding than admiring it's beauty. BTW, I think > > > > > > > you'll like the fazik tape; I've been using it on my Ram for the > > > > > > > past > > > > > > > 6 years and have found it quite comfortable, without the spongy > > > > > > > feel > > > > > > > of some cork tapes, and extremely durable. White does get dirty > > > > > > > though, so just relax about that. > > > > > > > > I have ridden a triple on at least one of my bikes for more than > > > > > > > thirty years and for the past ten years pretty much exclusively. > > > > > > > But > > > > > > > this summer I refitted my Ram with a 44/30 CD: > > > > > > >http://web.me.com/mhechmer/Mikes_Bikes/Ram_Redux.html > > > > > > > > here's why. > > > > > > > > A CD certainly isn't for everybody, and I wouldn't want to pull a > > > > > > > loaded tourer around Ft. Collins with one, but for an unloaded > > > > > > > bike in > > > > > > > the Green Mountains where I live it makes a lot of sense. I > > > > > > > fitted my > > > > > > > Ram with 44/30 rings and an HG 9 speed cassette in an 11/28 > > > > > > > configuration. This gives me the high gear I want, a good low > > > > > > > gear, a > > > > > > > really nice shifting pattern, easy shifting and much easier > > > > > > > cleaning. > > > > > > > The high end gear is 108 GI, the same as a 48/12 and the low gear. > > > > > > > 30/28 (29 GI) is the same as a 28/27. What motivated me was the > > > > > > > shifting pattern, which gives me a range of 108 all the way down > > > > > > > to 48 > > > > > > > GI without a front end shift; and the small ring extends from 29 > > > > > > > to > > > > > > > 62. The probability of over shifting is greatly reduced so I can > > > > > > > throw the left hand lever around much more briskly. I also find a > > > > > > > double much, much easier to keep clean. In reality, it has > > > > > > > worked out > > > > > > > even better than I had hoped. My new Campy FD is so smooth that I > > > > > > > actually prefer shifting it when I want to jump 2-3 cogs at a > > > > > > > time. > > > > > > > (Vt has lots of rolling terrain which calls for this) The only > > > > > > > downside I have discovered, because I have a preference for close > > > > > > > gear > > > > > > > ratios, is that one of the shifts is just a bit wider than I am > > > > > > > use > > > > > > > to with a 12/27. > > > > > > > > What's done is done, but if others are thinking about a Rodeo, or > > > > > > > retrofitting a nice Rondonee style bike, I strongly recommend a > > > > > > > CD. > > > > > > > > Michael, moving into great Autumn riding in VT > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > > 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-bu...@googlegroups.com. > > > > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > > > > > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<rbw-owners-bunch%2Bunsubscrib > > > > > > > �...@googlegroups.com> > > > > > > > . > > > > > > > For more options, visit this group at > > > > > > >http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > Cheers, > > > > > > David > > > > > > Redlands, CA- Hide quoted text - > > > > > > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > > > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > > > - Show quoted text - -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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