Show us your bicycles!

[Zensō]

As for pinion/gearbox bikes I think that will be the way designs will eventually go, the drawback at the moment is internel drag and weight but as it’s centralised and low in the frame thankfully it’s not so noticeable when underway, Perhaps combined into a suitable electric drivetrain but talk of such a thing will have the purists spitting feathers. A nice n’ simple internal 3 speed gearbox situated In the hub (sturmey archer throwback?) would have been ideal for me on long tours, gear for hills, gear for flat, gear for down.

Both Bromptons and a Pashley Roadster I owned had three-speed Sturmey-Archer internal gear hubs. They were as you described, one gear for climbing, one for cruising, one for descending. It’s a simple and effective setup for a lot of riding. On the hills that are too steep, you just get off and walk.

A book you may be interested in is Charlie Kelly : Fat Tire Flyer - Repack And The Birth Of Mountain Biking , an outstanding read and very chunky coffee table book chock full of original pics/flyers and details regarding everyone possible who was involved in the scene back in the day x very highly recommended.

Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll check it out. I’ve read a lot about Repack in various articles, but never got around to the definitive book.

 

[Chrispy]

Both Bromptons and a Pashley Roadster I owned had three-speed Sturmey-Archer internal gear hubs. They were as you described, one gear for climbing, one for cruising, one for descending. It’s a simple and effective setup for a lot of riding. On the hills that are too steep, you just get off and walk.

Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll check it out. I’ve read a lot about Repack in various articles, but never got around to the definitive book.

I've ridden Repack, used to live in the area, not particularly the way to spend the elevation loss IMO. For a road descent, it's okay. Hellish with poor brakes like the brakes they used, tho, that would be a bit different

 

[CtheArgie]

Not my bike, but the one I could rent in Bedoin that day. It was quite a bit heavier than mine at home.

 

[Venga Velo]

Not my bike, but the one I could rent in Bedoin that day. It was quiete a bit heavier than mine at home.

View attachment 221776

Ventoux! Pretty intimidating. How did it go?

 

[Somafunk]

Given the gearing on that bike and the fact it is hired, heavy and not optimised for the rider I’d say slow and steady with no heroics

 

[CtheArgie]

Ventoux! Pretty intimidating. How did it go?

Well, it is a long story. During the middle of June we decided to go to Provence. I decided to up with riding. Then, we couldn't find a place. So I stopped. Then we did find a place, training resumed. I couldn't find a bike to rent. It was the week of the Etape du Tour in Alpe D'Huez so no bikes for rent. So I stopped training again. My missus convinced me to take one kit saying that I would probably find a bike to rent there. I obeyed. The last ten days we spent in Brussels and Provence drinking beer, wine and eating. No riding. I went to a store in Bedoin and they had a bike for two days later for half a day. I took it.

In the end, two hours and a few minutes riding time. I also thought it was 7% for the entire ride and it wasn't. Poor planning on my side! Time to really start training to do it correctly. It was the hardest single climb I ever did. Even tougher than D'Huez, Stelvio or the other Dolomite climbs.

 

[CtheArgie]

Given the gearing on that bike and the fact it is hired, heavy and not optimised for the rider I’d say slow and steady with no heroics

No heroics. 34x32 is fine. Training and preparation? Not so good. Bike was heavy!

 

[Somafunk]

In the end, two hours and a few minutes riding time.

That’s a very decent effort for a hire bike with what looks like heavy mavic wheels and puncture proof tyres, you’d prob knock a fair amount of time off on your own bike. Think the record is 55ish minutes but specialist climbers are a strange breed of cyclist.

Heres a comparison between the pinion and rohloff, different styles for similar outcomes, I used to be a host for warmshowers………..stop sniggering at the back, it’s a website to provide overnight accommodation for touring/travelling cyclists. I’ve had 30ish + folk stay over the years and hosted cyclists from all around the world and a very cool way to meet really interesting folk who share a common passion for cycling, exploration and experiencing different cultures. Quite a few folk had rohloff equipped bikes and only ever sang their praises but the most important thing I learned from all my visitors on all sorts of bikes was that it’s never the equipment that ultimately matters, it’s the mindset and drive to explore that matters most of all, whatever bike you have now is the one you need to begin.

 

[CtheArgie]

I am not really a gizmo rider. I just like to ride, preferentially up hill. Unfortunately, my missus prefers to ride in the flat. But we did many climbs together. I have a nice bike because my son used to work at a fancy bike shop and got everything for me.

I don't want to be confused with being a "dentist"or "lawyer", so I work out relatively hard.

I joke that I am the fastest Argentine living in California that is over 60 years old and weighs over 80 kilos...It is all about finding your "segment".

 

[Blumlein 88]

You might have 650B rims and thus suitable for "27.5" size tires which there is a great variety of....

No they were definitely 28 x 1 inches. Unfortunately it was stolen from me 3 years ago. Had it stored in a garage that was broken into. Got that bike and a pristine Super V 500 mtb I had. Only full suspension bike I've owned.

 

[MRC01]

Both Bromptons and a Pashley Roadster I owned had three-speed Sturmey-Archer internal gear hubs. They were as you described, one gear for climbing, one for cruising, one for descending. It’s a simple and effective setup for a lot of riding. On the hills that are too steep, you just get off and walk.
...

This reminds me of an bicycling oddity I acquired several years ago to satisfy curiousity about internal/planetary geared hubs. I restored my late Brother's old Trek 330 from the 1980s. Converted it to a single speed (new bottom bracket & drivetrain) with wrap-back mustache bars. But not really a single-speed - it has the Sturmey Archer S2 2-speed kickback hub. Not the coaster brake version as this bike has side-pull brakes with hand levers. Of course with that hub I had to built a set of wheels too. Fortunately I'm a pack rat when it comes to mechanical stuff. I found the dusty old Mavic E2 rims from the Vitus 979 that I used to race back in the 1980s, and put them back into service, building a new set of wheels for this bike. These E2 rims were left over because all those years ago I built new stronger wheels for that bike on G40 rims.

With the S2 hub, the low gear is 1:1 and the high is about 38% taller. I sized the chainrings so the high gear is used most of the time and the low is for climbing hills. No shifters needed, so it has that clean single-speed look. Just backpedal about 1/8 turn and it toggles the gear. Takes some getting used to during stops, to avoid accidental shifting as you position the pedals. It's an ugly Frankenbike sort of contraption, but it's comfortable and rides smooth, silent and fast/efficient. From what I read, the S2 is a cheap implementation of internally geared hubs, I would not trust it for heavy duty service, but it does the job for local city riding.

 

[Zensō]

This reminds me of an bicycling oddity I acquired several years ago to satisfy curiousity about internal/planetary geared hubs. I restored my late Brother's old Trek 330 from the 1980s. Converted it to a single speed (new bottom bracket & drivetrain) with wrap-back mustache bars. But not really a single-speed - it has the Sturmey Archer S2 2-speed kickback hub. Not the coaster brake version as this bike has side-pull brakes with hand levers. Of course with that hub I had to built a set of wheels too. Fortunately I'm a pack rat when it comes to mechanical stuff. I found the dusty old Mavic E2 rims from the Vitus 979 that I used to race back in the 1980s, and put them back into service, building a new set of wheels for this bike. These E2 rims were left over because all those years ago I built new stronger wheels for that bike on G40 rims.

With the S2 hub, the low gear is 1:1 and the high is about 38% taller. I sized the chainrings so the high gear is used most of the time and the low is for climbing hills. No shifters needed, so it has that clean single-speed look. Just backpedal about 1/8 turn and it toggles the gear. Takes some getting used to during stops, to avoid accidental shifting as you position the pedals. It's an ugly Frankenbike sort of contraption, but it's comfortable and rides smooth, silent and fast/efficient. From what I read, the S2 is a cheap implementation of internally geared hubs, I would not trust it for heavy duty service, but it does the job for local city riding.

Nice, that sounds like a great setup. I rode a kickback 2-speed briefly at one of our local coffee rides and really liked it. I wouldn’t mind building up a bike around one sometime. Thanks for the info!

 

[Zensō]

Civia Bryant commuter with an 8-speed Alfine internal gear hub and Gates belt drive. Pass & Stow porteur rack in front, Tubus rack in back, Avid BB7 mechanical discs, Selle Anatomica saddle, and… a Pletscher kickstand.

 

[Zaireeka]

This reminds me of an bicycling oddity I acquired several years ago to satisfy curiousity about internal/planetary geared hubs. I restored my late Brother's old Trek 330 from the 1980s. Converted it to a single speed (new bottom bracket & drivetrain) with wrap-back mustache bars. But not really a single-speed - it has the Sturmey Archer S2 2-speed kickback hub. Not the coaster brake version as this bike has side-pull brakes with hand levers. Of course with that hub I had to built a set of wheels too. Fortunately I'm a pack rat when it comes to mechanical stuff. I found the dusty old Mavic E2 rims from the Vitus 979 that I used to race back in the 1980s, and put them back into service, building a new set of wheels for this bike. These E2 rims were left over because all those years ago I built new stronger wheels for that bike on G40 rims.

With the S2 hub, the low gear is 1:1 and the high is about 38% taller. I sized the chainrings so the high gear is used most of the time and the low is for climbing hills. No shifters needed, so it has that clean single-speed look. Just backpedal about 1/8 turn and it toggles the gear. Takes some getting used to during stops, to avoid accidental shifting as you position the pedals. It's an ugly Frankenbike sort of contraption, but it's comfortable and rides smooth, silent and fast/efficient. From what I read, the S2 is a cheap implementation of internally geared hubs, I would not trust it for heavy duty service, but it does the job for local city riding.

I installed a similar hub on a bike that a friend gave me when I used to live near Bordeaux. 2 speeds, coaster-brake, 0% maintenance, it was perfect! And it was so ugly and crusty that nobody ever tried stealing it

 

[Chrispy]

No they were definitely 28 x 1 inches. Unfortunately it was stolen from me 3 years ago. Had it stored in a garage that was broken into. Got that bike and a pristine Super V 500 mtb I had. Only full suspension bike I've owned.

Just seemed I'd read of some crossover with certain rim sizes for tires designated 28". Bike thieves suck. Much better suspension on bikes these days in any case....

 

[MRC01]

... I restored my late Brother's old Trek 330 from the 1980s. Converted it to a single speed (new bottom bracket & drivetrain) with wrap-back mustache bars. But not really a single-speed - it has the Sturmey Archer S2 2-speed kickback hub. ...

I realize I was amiss in not providing photos of Frankenbike. Here ya go!

 

[MRC01]

Nice, that sounds like a great setup. I rode a kickback 2-speed briefly at one of our local coffee rides and really liked it. I wouldn’t mind building up a bike around one sometime. Thanks for the info!

I love the clean looks - no shifter cables. The drawback is that you have to build a wheel around it. It's smooth and reliable, and while mine has a few thousand miles without breaking, it doesn't seem very robust. Great for casual use but not for heavy duty. I've read about problems with the coaster brake version overheating, or having metal bits jam up the gears. So I stuck with the freewheeling version and the bike's hand brakes.

 

[Zensō]

Surly Long Haul Trucker

 

[MRC01]

Nice composition in that photo - perfectly suited to the bicycle.

 

[Somafunk]

Surly Long Haul Trucker

Cockroaches and Surlys, the only things left standing come the end of the world

I had a karate monkey set up as a bombproof single speed with the obligatory CK headset, not much fun going up but going down it ploughed it’s own furrow and it would take a small thermobaric explosion to knock it off line, brilliant bikes and I like the surly ethos.