I ride 6-7 bikes regularly so removal of freewheel/hub is a rare occurance and has never been problem. For me it boils down to simplicity. A well spaced five speed freewheel is truly all the gears that I need....says the man with 5,6,7,8, and 9 speed bikes. My favorite bike is a 71 Paramount with a five speed freewheel and a half- step granny up front (I really only need two rings up front). I don't like single speeds, but when I ride that bike I kind of feel like I'm riding a single speed with "options". When I get cruising I rarely shift, I adjust my cadence to small hills, wind, speed bursts, etc...it feels really smooth. When riding with others I hear the gears clicking and I keep thinking why? When I do get on my 8 and 9 speed bikes I'm the one doing the clicking...not sure why...because they are there?
Rob On Jun 9, 8:22 pm, Tim McNamara <tim...@bitstream.net> wrote: > A sometimes un-discussed issue is that the long axle overhang between the > drive side bearing and the jam nut against the dropout allows flex. This is > what results in bent or broken axles, which is often what is focused upon > when discussing the benefits of cassettes. Cassettes have a much short > section of exposed axle and thus less flex. But that flex from a freewheel > axle also loads the dropout and can result in dropout failure as well. Phil > Wood and Bullseye hubs, with their larger diameter axles, reduce or eliminate > this as well as a cassette hub does. > > The chief benefit to me of the cassette is that my 220 lbs don't screw a > cassette down tight. Jim Thill's mechanic Mongo spent probably 5 hours > trying to get a freewheel off of my Phil hub on my A/R a couple of years ago. > Power tools and destroying the freewheel were ultimately necessary. > > Also, a vertical dropout reduces the flex of the axle by providing better > support for the jam nut and the axle, reducing the likelihood of bending or > breaking an axle. A freewheel on a standard hub with a 9 mm threaded axle > and horizontal dropouts are the worst combination. -- 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.
