Category: Shifting
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The GRX 810 Clutch Debate: On or Off for Pavement Riding?
written by Danny G. Let’s face it, cycling is one of those hobbies that will make you question every decision, even the most trivial ones. You’ll debate tire pressure, handlebar position, and whether or not your bike’s frame needs one more layer of carbon fiber. And one of the possible questions is whether you should…
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8 Ways Shimano 105 Di2 Handles Harsh Winter Conditions Better than Traditional Shifters
written by Danny G Winter. The season of numb fingers, slick roads, and mud-spattered bikes. The season where everything is colder than your ex’s heart, and every ride feels like you’re fighting off the apocalypse. You’re trying to stay warm while keeping the bike on the road, your tires like slick wheels of fortune, every…
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7 Popular Mechanical Groupsets That Make ‘Set and Forget’ Shifting Possible
written by Danny G. We’ve all been there. You’re out for a ride, the wind in your face, the road stretching ahead like an endless ribbon of asphalt, when—crunch—you feel the dreaded shift misfire. Your gears are out of whack, the trim needs adjusting, and you’re left in the middle of a ride, fiddling with…
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Bicycle Gears Were Invented For a Reason (we might just as well use them)
from Rookie’s keyboard, Hello, friends Bikes are awesome. If you have enough time, clothing gear and energy, they will allow you to reach practically any point on dry land. And that applies to even less sophisticated models. How do you think people toured back in the day? They would take their heavy, single-speed monstrosity and…
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Three Years Later, I Still Prefer Downtube Shifters….
from Rookie’s keyboards I received an e-mail from a reader asking me whether he should replace his downtube shifters (DT shifters) with something more modern or one of those bar-end versions that go into the handlebars. While I have nothing against modern shifters and bar-ends, I personally wouldn’t bother. I actually enjoy the downtube shifters…
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Shifting Issues In The Middle
from Rookie’s keyboard Happy Sunday, friends Today, I’m going to talk about a very common problem, namely – inadequate mid-gear shifting. When that happens the derailleur shifts fine when the chain is on the smallest or largest cogs at the back, but the shifting in the middle of the cassette is quite poor. Possible Sources…
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Explaining The “Lazy” Front Derailleur Phenomenon
from Rookie’s keyboard, Hello, friends Another busy day. This morning I got a bit of backpain from working at the warehouse and repairing the two bikes that I had on my line was…less than ideal. But I managed. On the positive side, one of the repairs gave an idea for a new post (writing this…
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When 10+9 works…
from Rookie’s keyboard Hello, friends It’s Saturday morning. And I went to the bike shop where I work part-time early. Because later I am going on a fairly long ride, and I wanted to complete the work on a client’s bike beforehand. It’s nothing complicated – just a transition from a 9 to a 10-speed…
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When Derailleurs “Slap”
from Rookie’s keyboard, Hello, friends The other day a confused young girl entered the bike shop and said something I couldn’t quite understand so I asked her to repeat her sentence. “It slaps,” she said. “What slaps,” I asked. “Back wheel….slaps,” she repeated. I grabbed the bike saddle, lifted the bike and spinned the pedals…
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Bar End Shifters = The Classic Long-distance Choice
from Rookie’s keyboard Hello, friends Long-distance cyclists are not as crazy about new technology as the MTB and road racing maniacs. Instead, the main priorities are reliability, serviceability, and convenience rather than speed. For that reason, many equip their adventure bikes with bar-end shifters (BESs). Below is a list containing detailed characteristics that make bar-ends…