The bicycle zenith

[Dogtrousers]

Sign me up ... assuming I can get the App on my Android phone ..

Feature Request:
As your shifter reaches the next index position, could the app make a loud (yet satisfying) "CLUNK" please?

This would need setup/calibration - not everyone has nice carbon rims like mine, so their CLUNK would need to be quieter.

By default it isn't indexed. This is so that hipsters can wax lyrical about the feeling of "oneness with the bike" that it gives them.

But of course, the app will have an indexed option, with a choice of tones, including a basic "clunk", the Starship Enterprise "woop woop" red alert, "The Final Countdown" by Europe and many more.

It will also have an autopilot option, just like airliners, where the levers move on their own when the algorithm (based on GPS location, your age, FTP, inside leg measurement, and other - trade secret - factors) figures that it needs to change gear.

 

[matticus]

By default it isn't indexed. This is so that hipsters can wax lyrical about the feeling of "oneness with the bike" that it gives them.

But of course, the app will have an indexed option, with a choice of tones, including a basic "clunk"

Yes, I yearn to wax lyrically about oneness: that's why I don't want indexing - but I still want the satisfying CLUNK noise transmitted to my earbuds [or cochlear implants, I hope]. The tech should be able to detect when I engage another cog - this isn't the middle ages!!!!

I also want to be able to flick to "Fixie" mode, for when my moustache is looking particularly fine.

 

[rydabent]

I doubt that some that assure us that bikes being produced today are so wonderful, have even closely inspected a late 80s lugged frame bike. If they did they would see the beauty of the lugs that held the frame together. Further, the down tube shifters only have one small piece of sheath back at the RD, so the RD shifting seldom went out of tune. But as you can see from some pictures, the lack of cables flapping in the wind, is what made them look so clean.

 

[Jameshow]

I think the market is ready for wireless friction shifting. A variable resistor in the down tube shifter controls the movement of the motors in the gear mechanism via bluetooth. Solar powered, natch.

Techno retro hipster chic.

Definitely I find the remote buttons a bit hard to press these days and don't get me started on bike light buttons what's wrong with proper Eveready CLICK lights apart from they last 5mins before going out!

 

[Smokin Joe]

I doubt that some that assure us that bikes being produced today are so wonderful, have even closely inspected a late 80s lugged frame bike. If they did they would see the beauty of the lugs that held the frame together. Further, the down tube shifters only have one small piece of sheath back at the RD, so the RD shifting seldom went out of tune. But as you can see from some pictures, the lack of cables flapping in the wind, is what made them look so clean.

Nearly all my racing was done on steel frame bikes with downtube shifters, and probably 90% of that was pre indexing. Would I own one now? Not on your nelly, the bikes I rode before packing up a couple of years ago were far superior to the old kit in virtually every way. Lighter, greater range of gears, better tyres, headsets that can be fitted with just an Allen key and no reaching down to fumble with a gear lever. Anyone who finds that indexed gears need regular adjustment is doing something wrong. Fit, adjust once after the cables have bedded in and forget till you replace them.

And as for lugs, you can keep the ugly things. I always preferred lugless myself.

 

[rydabent]

Nearly all my racing was done on steel frame bikes with downtube shifters, and probably 90% of that was pre indexing. Would I own one now? Not on your nelly, the bikes I rode before packing up a couple of years ago were far superior to the old kit in virtually every way. Lighter, greater range of gears, better tyres, headsets that can be fitted with just an Allen key and no reaching down to fumble with a gear lever. Anyone who finds that indexed gears need regular adjustment is doing something wrong. Fit, adjust once after the cables have bedded in and forget till you replace them.

And as for lugs, you can keep the ugly things. I always preferred lugless myself.

Lugless frames look like the 45 pound bikes of the 1940s. Also the higher temps that it takes to weld a lugless frame weakens the tubes. Brazing the lugs can be done at a lower temp. And again, the lugs on higher priced frames were absolutely beautiful.

 

[Smokin Joe]

And again, the lugs on higher priced frames were absolutely beautiful.

All in the eye of the beholder, personally I thought they were pig ugly. The only lugs I liked were the plain ones, as on the Vitus alu frames and the Raleigh Dyna Techs.

 

[rydabent]

All in the eye of the beholder, personally I thought they were pig ugly. The only lugs I liked were the plain ones, as on the Vitus alu frames and the Raleigh Dyna Techs.

Some of the custom frames that people had to order special, had elaborate and beautiful lugs. It is one of the main reasons people bought them. If you read any of the old bicycle books, the welded frames with no lugs were pretty much described and low class junk.

 

[rydabent]

Again with some riders, it amazes me how reticent they are to accept anything new. For years I went to the Coors Classic bike races in Colo. I remember when click shifting was introduced, and the "real" cyclist turned up their noses at it. And it was the same with clipless pedals. The latest thing they had a hard time accepting was disc brakes, with all their advantages. The number one advantage is that disc brakes dont scab up expensive rims. Several cross country riders have had rim brakes wear down the rims so badly they actually broke. But now after only about 5 years after disc brake become generally available, even low cost Walmart bikes have disc brakes.

 

[matticus]

Again with some riders, it amazes me how reticent they are to accept anything new.

Yup. Like riders who have grown up with brifters, and cannot fathom how downtube shifters work (despite their obvious mechanical and weight advantages). It's human nature to stick with what you know!

 

[Hover Fly]

Lugless frames look like the 45 pound bikes of the 1940s. Also the higher temps that it takes to weld a lugless frame weakens the tubes. Brazing the lugs can be done at a lower temp. And again, the lugs on higher priced frames were absolutely beautiful.

Lugless frames don’t need welding, they can be brazed using the same hard solder as lugs.

Simple truth is most innovations are not pure win right through with no disadvantages, maybe just cost, maybe heavier, maybe flimsier, not as practical for riders who are not just chasing the figures and regard putting a foot down as a ride-ruining failure…

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Eveready CLICK lights apart from they last 5mins before going out!

Which happens to be the same 5 mins after turning them on.

 

[matticus]

Simple truth is most innovations are not pure win right through with no disadvantages, maybe just cost, maybe heavier, maybe flimsier

Bang on. I cringe at every post which clearly fails to appreciate this!
(I have plenty of "modern" tech that I have adopted as the "best available compromise for me". I don't insist that they are 100% perfect, magic wands with no drawbacks!)

 

[Punkawallah]

Yes, I yearn to wax lyrically about oneness: that's why I don't want indexing - but I still want the satisfying CLUNK noise transmitted to my earbuds [or cochlear implants, I hope]. The tech should be able to detect when I engage another cog - this isn't the middle ages!!!!

I also want to be able to flick to "Fixie" mode, for when my moustache is looking particularly fine.

Would an under-saddle gizmo synchronised to give a corresponding ‘thunk’ in the frame be a step too far?

 

[Lone Wolf]

The hand brazed steel framed bikes of the 70s and 80s had a soul. The far eastern machine made CFRP bikes of today are just bikes.