Shifting Sands
One of my favorite stories in Cycling is of the 1989 World Championships. It was a very lumpy parcours, with a particularly tough climb near the end of the circuit. Sean Kelly had a brilliant sprint but could get over the climbs handily enough that he fancied his chance to finally win the rainbow bands. With only 7 gears at his disposal and a 53/39 chainset, he faced a catch 22: should he select a 13-25 block, or a 12-23. With the 25, he could spare his guns but would be on the short side of his sprinting gear. On the other hand, with the 12-23 he would have the optimal gear for the sprint but risked blowing the guns out with too big a gear on the climb.
The question was: spare the guns and arrive at the finish with good legs but a short gear, or chose the gear to win the sprint but risk getting dropped on the final climb? (LeMond, who won the race, chose a 54/42 and a 12-23 for the race. They were obviously different kinds of riders.)
The modern Cyclist is a spoiled one, with 11 speeds at their disposal. The most common cassette in use today is the 11-28, which features a bigger sprinting gear and a much lower climbing gear than Kelly could ever have dreamt of. Gear choice is not one that seems to factor any more; riders are more concerned with compact versus standard than they are with how closely packed their rear sprockets are. We’ve lost a bit of the art; a bit of the thinking and weighing of options that used to factor into winning races.
To take this even further, I was recently given a Super Record EPS groupset as part of a 40th birthday gift from Campagnolo. I haven’t ridden it enough yet to have an opinion of it, but two things are certain: the shifting is flawless and I have less to do with it than I did before.
Even riding downtube shifters was a way of managing your effort; if climbing out of the saddle, shifting would require sitting down in order to move the gear lever. In a sprint, you could shift with your knee, but this was more hammer and nail than it was precision in action. Even that was comparatively luxurious when compared to the Campagnolo Dual-Rod shifting system and the flip-flop hub which was changed with wing nuts before that.
One of the beautiful things about Cycling is that while it is fiercely traditional, it also embraces technology and the evolution that comes with it. Vive la Vie Velominatus.
The Dual-Rod system.
God, I love Bartoli.
Every picture of him that I see just reminds me of my logging Grandfather who was raised on a farm in northern Maine and was a mountain of man (at least for the 1920’s–6’4” and around 220 in his prime) who then switched to granite mining in Vermont in his 30’s and passed away about 10 years ago.
Just a Hardman thru and thru.
As for EPS, I have a 2015 SR groupo waiting for my Hampsten Ti frame to arrive (any day now) but I still just cannot get behind electronic. That being said, no one has ever just FUCKING GIVEN me one, either! Now THAT is a mighty fine birthday gift if I have ever seen one!
Enjoy and give us more updates as you ride her more and more.
Don’t think that I will ever buy electronic but then I guess I should “Never say never”, eh?
I have been riding Record EPS for the last year on one of mine, I’ve also been riding Di2 on one of the others. Both systems are Fawesome but the EPS seems to just have that little bit of something I can’t explain. Still for whatever reason the next N+1 is going to be mechanical Super-record…..
@Frank “I was recently given a Super Record EPS groupset as part of a 40th birthday gift from Campagnolo.
@Buck Rogers
Please do not, am way too jealous here. How come he gets to post pictures of his bikes while other mere mortals have to suffer that we cannot post any pitchers. And on top of that he gets that as a brib/thday gift.
@Buck Rogers
Bartali – Bartoli was the guy who won those 90s classics. :wink:
Happy Birthday, Frank! Stylie rig, maing!
@KogaLover
Because he can write half-way coherently and us mere mortals love to read the shit he throws on the page (Exhibit A from your post on why he gets fucking awesome gifts and you and I are lucky to get a new tube from the VMH for our birthday: we cannot post any “pitchers”–Don’t you just love the “no Edit” of the V site!).
@Oli
Ahhh FARK! See, we really need that edit function!!!
Must be b/c I literally just watched the ’96 RVV on youtube yesterday while doing an hour on the rollers. Getting so psyched for the 2017 RVV cyclo this spring!!!
@Buck Rogers
Haha, you know it’s better to be wrong and fit than right and fat!
If photo’s worked I could post my collection of Campag Mechs still in use. If…….
I upgraded #1 to Campy SR Mechanical from Chorus this Summer and wondered whether I would tell the difference s Chorus is pretty slick. Happy to say SR is even slicker. Though I couldn’t quite persuade myself to go EPS though I have ridden electronic and it was pretty sweet.
@Buck Rogers
I have a couple of buddies going to the Strada Bianchi – very sorely tempted to join them……be a nice run in for RVV.
Nice article Frank, and timely as always as I’ve been thinking a lot about gearing recently.
I recently acquired a proper set of training wheels (Ultegra hubs, DT spokes and Mavic Open Pro rims), and at the same time as doing the Great Tyre and Cassette swap (old training wheels to commuter, commuter rear wheel to turbo wheel, etc) changed my chain. Made me notice that one of my two road cassettes for the Nr#1 is worn.
I’ve kept the 11-28 (I don’t like it but it’s functional) for the training wheels and have been pondering cassette choice for the ‘race’ wheels. My choice is either a 12-26 105 cassette (can cope with all but the steepest climbs) or an Ultegra 11-23. Both have the sacred 16t which I’m missing more and more on the cassettes I currently own.
I think I may end up with both – 12-26 for general riding on the nice, ‘race’ wheels hilly road races and 11-23 for crits and TTs. The only time I can see me NEEDING the 52×11 is in a crit sprint or on a downhill section of a TT.
@frank Nice article, it’s good to remind our selves not loose the connection with the bike and that shifting is a skill that needs to be honed. On the flip side though, as the shifting gets easier, people shift more often rather than working harder to maintain momentum as the gradients change.
BTW, that crank doesn’t look much like it’s Camagnolo, what is it? The spider looks a lot like one of my Cannondales.
Touched the new ride on Thursday evening, sweet !! It was however not difficult to spot you behind that wispy growth I assume you consider a beard…..article is spot on
@Teocalli
I will, absolutely, WILL ride the Strade Bianche before I leave Europe in four years. That is the number one priority after I ride the RVV this year. Moreso than L’Etape or any other ride that is the one I literally dream of.
Well despite my long-standing disapproval of electronic shifting I’ve just started my 14 y.o. daughter on that dangerous path.
Coincidence more than design, to be fair.
I was looking for a frame and I was going to do some swapping around and put a Campag groupset on. My bike that lives on the trainer really doesn’t need a Super Record drivetrain with ceramic bearings.
However a guy from our club was selling a Ridley Excalibur and offered to leave the Di2 on there for an extra 250 quid. Seemed too good to pass up.
By the time photos work again I should have it in a form suitable for public display. It’s bright green but the saddle is red and white. And the stem angle is not pretty at all. Apart from that it’s all good.
Mind you, how a 14 year old who can’t keep her phone charged is going to cope with electronic gears is going to be interesting.
@Buck Rogers
I thought I had a great line here…..
Me: How about going to Florence for my birthday?
VMW: That’s an idea, where did that come from?
Me: Seemed like a change.
VMW: There wouldn’t be a cycling event there would there?
errrrr…..maybe……..
@ChrisO
See @Chris‘ advice: “On the flip side though, as the shifting gets easier, people shift more often rather than working harder to maintain momentum as the gradients change.”
@KogaLover
I was thinking of it from the point of view of being stuck in the big ring because she forgot to charge the bloody battery.
Seen more than a few adults do it !
@Teocalli
If you’ve never been then just do it. It is a superb event, in a beautiful country. I can’t wait to do it again (though won’t be 2017). I wrote about it and added a few photographs) in my sports blog, that I think you can find by clicking my name.
David
@ChrisO
That’s exactly my point! Not charging the battery means she’ll get stuck in the same gear which is better for training one’s guns.I also note that I go faster on my old steel bike when going uphill because it has less gears and downtube-shifting is more cumbersome.
@KogaLover
I’ve noticed that on a few routes I have when I have gone faster on sections on the Gios with Down Tube shifters. Partly I put this down to the cassette having a smallest cog of 14 so I am naturally spinning vs a 12 or 11 on 11sp rigs. Also on steel bikes I have a couple of places where the road surface is really coarse and rough and I’m faster on steel on those sections as the ride is smoother.
Though back to @ChrisO‘s post, at 14 yrs I’m not sure she should be grinding out big gears.
@Teocalli
That reminds me I’ve got to find a 16t cassette for Angus’ bike for the next road season.
@KogaLover
Ah, I see, I thought you were referring to the ease of shifting with Di2.
Not sure teenage girls are keen on developing heavy artillery… although horse-riding is her main sport so I guess it might help.
@chris
I think they’re Rotor cranks with round rings?
My cycling journey has taken me through all manner of shifting. My first bike, a Raleigh touring model, featured friction shifters. The first road bike that I owned, a Bottecchia, was an upgrade to indexing on the down tube. The nine speed Trek 5200 that I rode for years shifted via the brake lever, which was a quantum leap in shifting ease. My current eleven speed Ultegra is very similar to the nine speed with the exception of having a 22.2% increase in gear choices.
I loved riding each of these machines. The experience of riding each one was a bit different but the enjoyment of the ride was always the same. The more the technology changed, the more the joy of riding stayed the same. Oddly, I think my favorite ride was the Bottecchia that had indexed shifters on the down tube. There was something very pure and old school about riding a Chromor frame that necessitated reaching down for shifting gears.
Enjoy your new Groupo Frank, and happy belated birthday.
Both have the sacred 16t which I’m missing more and more on the cassettes I currently own.
cannot do without a 16t. i spend 90% of my life in a 42×15 or 16.
I’m thinking about going to a 42/52 with an 11/32, but I’d like to have it go 11/13–25/27/32 so I effectively have 8 very useful gears in the middle and three at the extremes. The smaller gap up front would make for seamless shifts and the 42 would allow me to cruise efficiently up to 22-24mph before up shifting.
Here’s an example of a dual lever racer from 1948 – ‘The Lightning’ – a version of Bianchi’s Tipo Corsa. This bike is, appropriately enough, from the Gino Bartali Museum, which is a great museum across the street from Gino’s birthplace on the outskirts of Florence. The museum is notably on the route of the 2017 Giro.
@Oli
I know we’ve been out of rotation, but hands down, that wins the +1 badge right there!
@Buck Rogers
Me this! My 90’s steed, 00’s steed, and current steed, just add air and ride. (Slowly building 80’s steed). i can imagine when my time is down here and my Pedalwan’s see my collection, they can just pump up the tyres and ride. If there was batteries involved, it would ruin the experience!
Wonder how well that Dual Rod actually worked and/or whether they had to spin backwards to shift. Still having the option of additional gears, even if sketchy, has to be better than none. With no chain tension and the roads they raced on , I have to imagine dropped chains were frequent – though cogs did tent to have bigger teeth back then (at least they appeared to be bigger).
@Teocalli
Ditto. Tried already to find something with Sheldon Brown, but no description of how the Dual Rod works. Looks life a “lift and drop” type of lever: you lift the chain, shift it onto another cog and then drop it. I think I see a mechanism to adjust the chain tension, but just a bit.
Btw: while the world has changed today and not necessarily for the better, am glad to announce that the weather in South England remains stable. Awesome 9-weather….
@Teocalli
It was called the Cambio Corsa and you certainly did have to pedal backwards to shift. I’ve tried one and it’s fiendishly hard to use at first!
@frank
Thanks mate!
…now can we have our photo privileges back please?
@Cary
I think I can live without it on my training wheels, but I’m sure I’d use it a lot TTing and racing.
In fact, 52×16 is about 42kph at about 100rpm so I’d probably be shifting between the 15t and the 16t.
It’d be quite nice to have an 18t too.
@GogglesPizano
There was something amuck with the shifting for a moment (which somehow resolved itself magically) but I do remember that moment where I realized I couldn’t do anything about it; I felt very disconnected from the bike for a second there.
We’ll see. I do imagine I’ll start shifting the front mech a lot more, that shit works amazingly well compared to mechanical.
@KogaLover
I’ll try to get to that…not sure what’s gone sideways here with that.
@Teocalli
Well, given the development here yesterday, I may move to London which would make doing both those rides a lot easier!
FFS.
@frank
You may be better going back to the NL!
The good news is that the Vbugetatis has OKed the Strada Bianchi. So just need to be online for the next release slot on the 26th.
@frank
After the EU vote I was thinking about where I could move. After the result yesterday I think that place might be Mars.
But the rocky surface of Mars means I could probably finally justify getting a cross bike.
@Teocalli
If he went back to the NL, Frank would be the least Dutch guy in the room. I’m not sure he could cope with that.
In Hoxton, Frank would feel at home with all the other Rule #50 deniers…
@chris
Shit, I read that as a different meaning of “deniers” and was worried you knew something about @Frohnkk we did not……….
@Oli
That is just soooo COOL that you have actually ridden this mech before. I should not be surprised but I am, surprised and amazed! I did not know that there were still working ones out there.
@Teocalli
Oi!!! You lucky bastardo!!! I felt lucky to have cleared the RVV with the VMH and kiddos!
Next year I will either ride the LBL or the Strade Bianchi cyclo. I really think it will be the Strade as that is just a dream for me.
We’ll have to meet up at the RVV for a pint (or three) and you can tell me all about it!
Super jealous here that you are doing both!
@frank
Well, you do know that we have a room reserved for you at our place in Germany if you need a place to crash while getting the London flat worked out!
@Buck Rogers
Entered. I think. Not the easiest web site I’ve ever used…………
@Oli
Presumably the lever lifted to come over the chain to push “the other way” for up and down shifting? On the colour photo it’s not obvious that the lever can do that. Though is that the other lever and it worked on the feed side of the chain that is out of shot. In the lead photo there only seems to be a single lever that must have been able to push both ways……….
Photo uploads are working again. Sidebar: When David saw my bike and the seatpin height he said, “Well, it’s got to look good when it’s just sitting there, doesn’t it?”
@chris
I got a good laugh out of that!
Speaking of old shifters, my front downtube shifter on the Somec isn’t tightening down properly. I have to use so much force that I’m sure the D-ring is going to snap off. Hand-tightening is not possible. I’ve taken it apart and everything appears to be assembled correctly. Maybe one of you seasoned mechanics like @Oli can help me. It’s C Record, Syncros era.