Saturday's ride in the heat had me thinking... mostly cause i went to the front and just rode... rode a bit too fast for the ride 'leader' but on the other hand it was techically the BTH ride and by definition ya go as hard as ya want... cept we deviated through dighton and taunton... That Tremont road TT is wicked fast, and much flatter than the P Velo TT, at least based on the terrain.
But this thinking thing - and the power thing... i'm grasping again, but i'm still fuddling around with bigger gears (mentally) and specifically more teeth front and back... in that sure the force applied at the pedal is going to translate to the wheel and that's pretty much a straight force with the gearing and speed determining the duration of the force. But. When you increase the number of teeth you increase the surface contact with the chain, which should decrease the acting forces at each tooth, and while without question reducing wear (less force = less metal disturbed) the benefits i would think should some how tangible transfer to more efficiency and more of the power headed to the wheel.
Gotta be something to it... that and i do recall coming across certain discussions about it in the past, but my engineering/math sucks too much to try and put values to paper/bits...
Oh and that prompted this recall: ProLink. I gotta try it. Why? Well cause Mr Zinn swears by it. And the method/application is very consistent with my tune... velonews.com/tech pop over to the entry there - worth reading i think...
Biggest problem with people's bikes i notice is lack of chain lube. I'll say it again, and again. If you can hear it... that's bad. Or more importantly if someone riding next to you who is listening for it can hear it... in almost all cases those loud noisy chains look dry. They may look clean, but they are dry and that's baaaaaad... esp bad if ya using compact gearing... but that's me, the mechanic thinkin...
tryin to wrap my head around the financing options is tough... man they don't make it terribly simple do they... i guess its not much of a debate - but switching from one lender who i've been working with to another that i just started talkin to is a bit weird for me... although, $$ wise the new one kicks ass over the other one, which really wasn't that bad... oh and ya know... gettin the house means interent at home... i think i'm almost as excited about that as i am about having all the bikes under one roof!! not to mention the spare parts, workstand and the tool box (for the bikes)...
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3 comments:
Although I think the difference is probably too small to matter in most situations (like anything except maybe the world hour record), I think using larger cogs means a "straighter" path for the chain (link to link angle reduced) so therefore less sideplate friction (lubed or not).
In practice, I think clean and lubed, and especially clean, free turning jockey wheels is noticeable.
I have a 56x17 on my track bike. Just about the same as a 47x14, 50x15, or 53x16, but the look of it scares people off...
PS - the elastic worked on the brifter, but made it too hard to squeeze. So I tried tightening the cable, which seemed to help. I suspect maybe having non-Shimano (Cane Creek) calipers could be part of the problem. The housing is cut a bit long too, but I am too lazy to trim it.
-DF
Using compact gearing can work in your favor here (with respect to wear and tear). Most mileage gets ridden in "middle" gearing, 60-80 gear inches. Rolling up the miles in a 50x19 uses a lot more teeth than an equivalent 42x16.
Rare is the cogset with even wear across all cogs. The compact alternative provides an opportunity to "share the wear." I'm not so sure about your even numbered chainrings wear faster theory either. This would only hold true with a single chainring. With more than one, the chain has an equal chance of orienting to one type of chain link as the other every time you shift the front derailleur. Not that chainring wear keeps me up at night anyway.
My new drivetrain is noisy. From what I can tell, it seems like the width of the 10 speed leads to more rubbing on the front derailleur and big ring when in the little ring, and just noisier chain angles all around.
Financing isn't that bad. I do a lot of it now in my job.
A few things to remember which often get overlooked:
1) Variable rates: Dangerous, dangerous. Unless you KNOW FOR SURE you are willing to sell your house if the rates go up too far, and live without a house until you can afford one later.
However, they're great options if you know you're going to leave.
Consider a balloon, though. They will often have lower rates than an equivalent ARM. And if you're not willing to take the risk of a balloon (refinance or sell) that's a good sign an ARM isn't right for you either.
2)Don't neglect closing costs. When you add in the interest on the closing costs, they can make a surprisingly large difference in your ultimate rate.
3) APR is your friend. Only APR matters. Not interest rate. Make SURE someone calculates the APR with closing costs AND FEES included.
4) IF you are using 'standard' documents (usually supplied by your agent) then you might as well shop around for cheap lawyers. At my office the docs are all custom but them again they're all buying 10 million dollar houses so the risk of a fuckup justifies the higher attorney's fees. Only you can decide how you want to spend your $$$.
They will offer to sell you title insurance. This is a way of guaranteeing that if something is wrong in your title, the company will pay you up to your purchase price (note: they will NOT pay you what your house is "worth" in most policies).
A good attorney will read and certify the title himself before insurance. That way they can advise you on how the title "looks" and let you make your own choice. A bad attorney will not read it at all. This is definitely worth asking about before you hire them: Does their fee include reading the title? Or not?
5) Mortgage brokers are often good options. They can shop around pretty well. However, locan banks can sometimes have excellent rates so long as you fit into their very limited categories of in house loans.
6) If you haven't gotten your credit report, do so. Check it.
7) The brokers will always give up a few thou. Make them do it. Call me if you want advice on that.
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