I like the idea of having several wheels for different setups. My weird wheel choices stay on the bike for many months, though, rather than being rotated in constantly.
The 70" top, 50" low like the S2C is a pretty standard spread, and works pretty well. My Sachs Automatic (coaster brake) gives this range. The S3X gives about 44" / 53" / 70," and you can use a freewheel on it. An AW is wider, with 40" / 52" / 70." The advantage of the S3X is that top gear is 1:1. The AW direct drive is middle gear. Internal hubs are heavy. If you want a low gear choice on a fixed drivetrain with minimal weight, a second ring and a dingle cog would be a good choice. My (Surly 17/21) dingle fixed setups with no axle movement give about a 52" / 70" range. If you've been climbing hills into the wind on a 70" gear, 52" is much, much lower. If you have room to slide the axle on gear changes, you can get as low as 40" by using a smaller small ring. Oh - for an inexpensive way to play with weird wheels, IRO has $15 32h rims. They're non-eyeletted versions of the Velocity Fusion, as far as I can tell. When I got mine, he had $16 spokesets in a length that worked with the S3X, S2, and Alfine dynamo hubs. Philip Philip Williamson www.biketinker.com On Jan 14, 12:18 pm, PATRICK MOORE <bertin...@gmail.com> wrote: > Phil: sorry to hear about the knee -- I gather from what you say that you > have been an inveterate fixed gear rider. My knees are to this point fine, > though I have to be careful about pushing them too long and hard and often > over long inclines, but as most of my riding is short distance -- say 11 > miles out and back -- this hasn't been a problem. My main reason for > thinking of gears and freewheeling is simply energy: I no longer always > feel compelled to exert the energy required even to push a 70" gear several > miles uphill against a headwind with a load -- something much of my riding > requires. And I must admit that there is something to be said for flying > downhill in a tuck without having to flail my feet. > > I have heard good and bad things about the S3X, but I've decided that if I > do go with multiple gears it will be with the addition of a freewheel; the > coaster brake addition will be simply to avoid having to re-rig the rear > calipers on whatever bike or bikes I so convert -- my goal is one or two > additional, coastie/gearie rear wheels that I can, almost, just slap on and > ride. The S2C interests me but the gear difference is only 38%, meaning > that a 70" high would leave me with only a 50" low. > > We'll see. It may come to converting the Joe-built, gofast fixie, that > doesn't get ridden much, into a dedicated geared bike -- the '03 Curt will > stay as my main, load/light equipped fixed runaround. > > > > > > > > On Sat, Jan 14, 2012 at 12:59 PM, Phil Bickford <phi...@sonic.net> wrote: > > Patrick, > > > It's a switch to hear you talking about gearing, although I've noticed > > over the last few years snippets of discussions of Sam Hilbornes and > > the Fargo, etc. > > > I've had a more deliberate change in my use of fixed and single > > riding. Osteoarthritis discovered in my right knee not so long ago > > keeps me from standing and walking very far, standing in the pedals or > > pushing to hard on the flats. It's a MAJOR bummer. I spent twenty > > years working on the floor building sails so it's not exactly a > > surprise. > > > Anyhow since my round town errand bike was a flip flop fixed coasting > > number I swapped over to 1x8. But I've been thinking about how all I > > use are 2 or 3 gears, and I would like to try fixed occasionally. > > > So what about the fixed 2x and 3x hubs from Sturmey and Sachs? One of > > the attractions for me is the hub can accommodate a thread-on > > freewheel thereby giving you an option to a coastee. But I think that > > puts the cabosh on a coaster brake yah? > > > Anyone have experience with these hubs? I was hoping to score a cheap > > rear facing rear drop-out bike > > > Phil B -- 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.
