On 12/7/2004 9:14 PM Bill Berckman wrote:

> Mike wrote:
>
>
>>Dan, when's the last time you were in a bicycle shop? Basic bikes these
>>days have 27 gears!
>>--
>>Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
>
>
> I still have my old 10 speed from the 70's. Don't really know why someone
> would need 27 speeds, but I guess that more is better. )
>

It's all about matching a low-power engine (human body - at least mine)
to the load (uphill, downhill, etc.) the fewer gears you have, you
either have to space them so far apart that you're either in one too
hard for the terrain or too easy for the terrain, or if you space them
closely enough to match under one kind of load (flats with varying
degrees of headwinds, for example) you don't have any left over for
hills. With lots and lots of gears, the steps between them are small,
making it easy to find a comfortable gear for most conditions AND you
have enough gears at the extremes for better climbing and faster descents.

--

Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westphalia: "Mellow Yellow (The Electrical Banana)"
KG6RCR
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Today's Deep Thought:

If it can't be understood, it's not finished yet.
-- Paul Herbig
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