Half-step and granny.

Your 53 is so close to your 50, have you considered just going to a 2 chainwheel front?

Alpha Beta said:

Having read the following article:
geocities.comGears.htmlOpen ↗

I want to try the half-step and granny crankset setup describe below:

For my RANS Rocket I want a 53-50-30 crankset. (The Rocket comes with a 62-52-39 so I won't be
chaning the teeth count differential.) I have been experimenting a little the problem seems to be
the impossiblity of finding a front derailer which will allow this. A inner plate of the triple
front derailleur chain guide cage, because the plate is so deep, seems to get blocked by the
middle chainwheel when trying to shift into the large chainwheel.

I though of using a double derailleur since the inner plate is shallower. I thought that if I
loosening the low stop as much as I can, this might work but the double does not have enough
travel to accomodate the a triple crankset.

Does anyone know of derailleur which will allow this odd crankset setup? Has anyone had experience
with a half-step and granny setup?

Since Ultegras have replaceable chain guide cages, I was thinking of buying a Ultegra triple front
derailleur, but replacing the chain guide cage with a double's chain cage.

Does anyone know if the the mount of the replaceable chain cages allow for this swap?

Can anyone having both a double and triple Ultegra front derailleur take a look and tell me if
they judge the chain cages to be swapable?

While I can't comment on newer components, you should be able to find nos or used Huret Shimano, and
Suntour front derailers at your LBS or at an auction sight. Rivendell bicycles might also be worth a
try. They had an article in the Rivendell Reader some time ago about half step. I have half step on
my old Bridgestone touring wedgie, and it is quite elegant. My old Shimano unit has a sticker on it
that says "for half-step gearing."

In an era of 9 speed cassettes, half-step and its near perfect spacing isn't really necessary
anymore. One of the primary advantages for old touring bikes was a reduction in wheel dish and chain
deflection. With the advent of wider dropout spacing as a trickle-down from mountain bike
components, these advantages became somewhat irrelevant. Since the long chain line of a bent makes
chain deflection even more of a non-factor, I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish with half-step.
If it is the novelty of an old system that worked very well in its era, then by all means, go for
it. 🙂 But if you expect to make any significant gain in useable gearing for your Rocket, I think
you will be disappointed.

Rob, who marvels at the dishless wheel of his Vision R40, but is still adjusting to the inability to
get out of the saddle for bumps to protect his wheel.

"Alpha Beta" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Having read the following article:
geocities.comGears.htmlOpen ↗

I want to try the half-step and granny crankset setup describe below:

For my RANS Rocket I want a 53-50-30 crankset. (The Rocket comes with a 62-52-39 so I won't
be chaning the teeth count differential.) I have been experimenting a little the problem
seems to be the

impossiblity

Quoted message said:

of finding a front derailer which will allow this. A inner plate of the triple front derailleur
chain guide cage, because the plate is so deep, seems to get blocked by the middle chainwheel when

trying

Quoted message said:

to shift into the large chainwheel.

I though of using a double derailleur since the inner plate is shallower.

I

Quoted message said:

thought that if I loosening the low stop as much as I can, this might work but the double does not
have enough travel to accomodate the a triple crankset.

Does anyone know of derailleur which will allow this odd crankset setup?

Has

Quoted message said:

anyone had experience with a half-step and granny setup?

Since Ultegras have replaceable chain guide cages, I was thinking of

buying

Quoted message said:

a Ultegra triple front derailleur, but replacing the chain guide cage with

a

Quoted message said:

double's chain cage.

Does anyone know if the the mount of the replaceable chain cages allow for this swap?

Can anyone having both a double and triple Ultegra front derailleur take a look and tell me if
they judge the chain cages to be swapable?

I have heard it said that with a little judicious work with a grinding wheel on a Dremel or similar,
a modern front mech can be modified to work with half-step gearing.

Dave Larrington - legslarry.crosswinds.netlegslarry.crosswinds.netOpen ↗
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
bhpc.org.ukbhpc.org.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================

"Rob Kopp" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

While I can't comment on newer components, you should be able to find nos or used Huret Shimano,
and Suntour front derailers at your LBS or at an auction sight. Rivendell bicycles might also be
worth a try. They had an article in the Rivendell Reader some time ago about half step. I have
half step on my old Bridgestone touring wedgie, and it is quite elegant. My old Shimano unit has a
sticker on it that says "for half-step gearing."

Gawd, that must be ancient. Shimano made "half-step" and "alpine" versions of the same front
derailleur in the late '80's. I think they were available in Deore and Deore XT grades.

Jeff

ancient, hey...

oh nevermind. The derailler I was refering to is 1985. Doesn't really seem that long ago. It was
also match to the 'antelope' rear derailler with three jockey pulleys. Alas, my poor antelope died,
so I replaced with a Duopar. Those were the days of big chain wrap.

Rob Kopp "Jeff Wills" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Rob Kopp" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

While I can't comment on newer components, you should be able to find

nos or

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

used Huret Shimano, and Suntour front derailers at your LBS or at an

auction

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

sight. Rivendell bicycles might also be worth a try. They had an

article

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

in the Rivendell Reader some time ago about half step. I have half step

on

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

my old Bridgestone touring wedgie, and it is quite elegant. My old

Shimano

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

unit has a sticker on it that says "for half-step gearing."

Gawd, that must be ancient. Shimano made "half-step" and "alpine" versions of the same front
derailleur in the late '80's. I think they were available in Deore and Deore XT grades.

Jeff

"Rob Kopp" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

ancient, hey...

oh nevermind. The derailler I was refering to is 1985. Doesn't really seem that long ago. It was
also match to the 'antelope' rear derailler with three jockey pulleys. Alas, my poor antelope
died, so I replaced with a Duopar. Those were the days of big chain wrap.

Geez... ancient *weird* parts- right down my alley. I used to have one of those Suntour LePree
3-pulley derailleurs: members.jcom.home.ne.jparx3.htmlOpen ↗ At least it worked better
than the Huret Duopar titanium rear that I had. I could never get the Duopar to work right.

The kids today don't know how good they got it.

Jeff

Ahhh, Jeff

Here I am, trying out this whole new thing, buying a recumbent to (prematurely) celebrate my 40
years, and you have me back on memory lane. I sitll have the old B-Stone with the eco version of the
duopar, which works great. Now that I have the R40, that poor old bike will probably collect some
dust. As one of the few true mass-market touring bicycles, I don't really want to let it go. Maybe
an occassional ride when I get over the comfort of sitting on this lawnchair with pedals.

Rob, who should really be paper-writing for his seminary class right now 🙂 "Jeff Wills"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Rob Kopp" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ancient, hey...

oh nevermind. The derailler I was refering to is 1985. Doesn't really

seem

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

that long ago. It was also match to the 'antelope' rear derailler with three jockey pulleys.
Alas, my poor antelope died, so I replaced with a Duopar. Those were the days of big chain wrap.

Geez... ancient *weird* parts- right down my alley. I used to have one of those Suntour LePree
3-pulley derailleurs: members.jcom.home.ne.jparx3.htmlOpen ↗ At least it worked
better than the Huret Duopar titanium rear that I had. I could never get the Duopar to work right.

The kids today don't know how good they got it.

Jeff

"Rob Kopp" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Ahhh, Jeff

Here I am, trying out this whole new thing, buying a recumbent to (prematurely) celebrate my 40
years, and you have me back on memory lane. I sitll have the old B-Stone with the eco version of
the duopar, which works great. Now that I have the R40, that poor old bike will probably collect
some dust. As one of the few true mass-market touring bicycles, I don't really want to let it go.
Maybe an occassional ride when I get over the comfort of sitting on this lawnchair with pedals.

:-))

I'll be 40 in May... but I've been around recumbents and HPV's since the late '70's and the Human
Powered Speed Championships at Ontario Motor Speedway. Now that I no longer work in the bike
business, I can afford some luxuries: a wife (OK, she's a necessity), 3 'bents, 2 uprights and a
garage full of bike parts. The only thing better than a recumbent bike is... two recumbents!!

A little history and pictures of my collection: home.pacifier.comindex.htmlOpen ↗

Jeff

Jeff Wills said:

... Now that I no longer work in the bike business, I can afford some luxuries: a wife (OK, she's
a necessity), 3 'bents, 2 uprights and a garage full of bike parts....

... and I hope new tube socks. 🙂

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side) RANS "Wavewind" and Rocket, Earth Cycles Sunset and
Dragonflyer

OK, Rob, it sounds like your memories go back a ways.

Whenever I hear 'half step and granny' I think of Frank Berto, a writer for Bicycling magazine back,
in the days when it was a GREAT magazine. ( IMHO )

In my mind he has always been Mr. Half Step and, back in the early eighties, Bicycling magazine put
out a very nice, glossy, wall chart (I think it was an inducement to re-subscribe) that explained
his idea and showed all the combinations of gear inches for whichever sprocket/chainring combination
you were using.

Of course, in those days, bikes were 10 speeds. A chart of today's gearing, with 27 - 30 possible
gears, would be kind of a headache to follow. :-)

Lewis.

home.earthlink.netindex.htmlOpen ↗

.............................

"Rob Kopp" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

ancient, hey...

oh nevermind. The derailler I was refering to is 1985. Doesn't really seem that long ago. It was
also match to the 'antelope' rear derailler with three jockey pulleys. Alas, my poor antelope
died, so I replaced with a Duopar. Those were the days of big chain wrap.

Rob Kopp "Jeff Wills" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Rob Kopp" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

While I can't comment on newer components, you should be able to find

nos or

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

used Huret Shimano, and Suntour front derailers at your LBS or at an

auction

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

sight. Rivendell bicycles might also be worth a try. They had an

article

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

in the Rivendell Reader some time ago about half step. I have half step

on

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

my old Bridgestone touring wedgie, and it is quite elegant. My old

Shimano

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

unit has a sticker on it that says "for half-step gearing."

Gawd, that must be ancient. Shimano made "half-step" and "alpine" versions of the same front
derailleur in the late '80's. I think they were available in Deore and Deore XT grades.

Jeff

Lewis,

Plus, the advantage of half-step gearing was more available gears with closer spacing between the
gears than the usual bike setup. I set up my Santana with a half-step and an 8 speed cluster in
1997. Even with a 11-32 eight speed, the tooth difference between the large and the middle chain
ring is 3 teeth. Hardly seems worth it. The Record road derailleur handles the front shifts
smoothly, even though it is 7 years old.

Tim Storey

"Lewis Campbell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

OK, Rob, it sounds like your memories go back a ways.

Whenever I hear 'half step and granny' I think of Frank Berto, a writer for Bicycling magazine
back, in the days when it was a GREAT magazine. ( IMHO )

In my mind he has always been Mr. Half Step and, back in the early eighties, Bicycling magazine
put out a very nice, glossy, wall chart (I think it was an inducement to re-subscribe) that
explained his idea and showed all the combinations of gear inches for whichever sprocket/chainring
combination you were using.

Of course, in those days, bikes were 10 speeds. A chart of today's gearing, with 27 - 30 possible
gears, would be kind of a headache to follow. :-)

Lewis.

home.earthlink.netindex.htmlOpen ↗

.............................

"Rob Kopp" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ancient, hey...

oh nevermind. The derailler I was refering to is 1985. Doesn't really

seem

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

that long ago. It was also match to the 'antelope' rear derailler with three jockey pulleys.
Alas, my poor antelope died, so I replaced with a Duopar. Those were the days of big chain wrap.

Rob Kopp "Jeff Wills" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Rob Kopp" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

> While I can't comment on newer components, you should be able to

find

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

nos or

Quoted message said:

> used Huret Shimano, and Suntour front derailers at your LBS or at an

auction

Quoted message said:

> sight. Rivendell bicycles might also be worth a try. They had an

article

Quoted message said:

> in the Rivendell Reader some time ago about half step. I have half

step

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

on

Quoted message said:

> my old Bridgestone touring wedgie, and it is quite elegant. My old

Shimano

Quoted message said:

> unit has a sticker on it that says "for half-step gearing."
>

Gawd, that must be ancient. Shimano made "half-step" and "alpine" versions of the same front
derailleur in the late '80's. I think they were available in Deore and Deore XT grades.

Jeff

Tom Sherman <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Jeff Wills said:

... Now that I no longer work in the bike business, I can afford some luxuries: a wife (OK,
she's a necessity), 3 'bents, 2 uprights and a garage full of bike parts....

... and I hope new tube socks. 🙂

Nuthin' but wool socks nowadays. Vurry comfie. 8-)

Jeff

Lewis,

Yes I remember it well. The younger, faster riders and the older wiser riders. At the time of those
tests I was a younger, not so wise rider. I ran a 14-19 straight block 6 on my Motobecane racing
bike. While it is trick for a High Schooler, I think I'm paying the price for it now. While I
haven't had any knee surgeries, my knees are a little tender when standing for the last five or six
years. Purchasing the Vision 40 for road riding should just about take care of this little problem.

It was not until a friend offered his Bridgestone T700 that I played with half-step, and my memory
served me well. I set up the T700 with an alpine 14-32 cluster and 24/44/48 chainrings. For those
who are really interested in playing with half-step, an old alpine cluster combined with a 4 tooth
difference is about the easiest way to set it up. (Typical alpine is 14-17-20-24-28)

I'm not sure what use my blathering is in relation to recumbents. With the advent of 9 speed
cassettes and dishless wheels, half-step is a wistful memory. It worked at least as well as having
all of those duplicate gears does now. But most folks didn't get the shift pattern (witness the
other posts questioning the small difference in chainring teeth). I wonder what ol' Frank thinks
about this new stuff.

Rob ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lewis Campbell" <[email hidden]> Newsgroups:
alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent Sent: Sunday, January 26, 2003 10:24 AM Subject: Re: Half-step
and granny.

Quoted message said:

OK, Rob, it sounds like your memories go back a ways.

Whenever I hear 'half step and granny' I think of Frank Berto, a writer for Bicycling magazine
back, in the days when it was a GREAT magazine. ( IMHO )

In my mind he has always been Mr. Half Step and, back in the early eighties, Bicycling magazine
put out a very nice, glossy, wall chart (I think it was an inducement to re-subscribe) that
explained his idea and showed all the combinations of gear inches for whichever sprocket/chainring
combination you were using.

Of course, in those days, bikes were 10 speeds. A chart of today's gearing, with 27 - 30 possible
gears, would be kind of a headache to follow. :-)

Lewis.

home.earthlink.netindex.htmlOpen ↗

.............................

(Jeff Wills) said:

Geez... ancient *weird* parts- right down my alley. I used to have one of those Suntour LePree
3-pulley derailleurs: members.jcom.home.ne.jparx3.htmlOpen ↗ At least it worked
better than the Huret Duopar titanium rear that I had. I could never get the Duopar to work right.

Most of the problems weren't with the DuoPar itself. Most people didn't know how to orient them on
the hangers, I saw very few at 45 degrees to the ground.

Also they were designed to work with very little cable travel and high cable tension. Most people
used them with SunTour BarCon shifters, which were designed to work with derailleuers requiring a
lot of cable travel at low cable tension. When using them with a DuoPar you had to crank the
friction screw down to where the shifters no longer moved smoothly. So when you used the best
derailleur, with the best shifters, you got lousy shifting. Especially with closely spaced, wide
ratio cogs.

I wonder if Frank Berto ever figured out that his dislike of SunTour's Ultra 6 & 7 speed freewheels
stemed from his using BarCons with Huret and Shimano derailleurs.

I had a little business back then modifying DuoPars. See
bikesmithdesign.comDuoParMods.jpgOpen ↗

1. Relocating the cable stop and anchor point further from the pivot, to change leverage, making
them compatable with BarCons. The one shown in the picture is the 7 speed version for those who
were "pushing the envelope". (To get Shimano to work well with BarCons, you needed a Simplex
Demultiplicator Relais, or to make a differential pulley.)

2. Adding a 3rd pulley (several years before the LePree)

3. Machining off the idler pulley cone to allow installation of Bulseye Pulleys. (The stock pulleys
had adjustable ball and cone bearings.

4. Raising the inner cage plate to keep the chain on if you backpedalled. (I sold some of these to
Lon Haldeman.)

I was getting $200 for a fully tricked out Ti version. Rather a lot for a derailleur back then, but
if you needed great wide ratio shifting, with the chains and cogs of the day, it was worth it.

Back to 1/2 step shifting.....

Whether it makes sense in a world with 9 speed cassettes depends on where you are. If you live in an
area where you will spend long periods at the same gradient and wind velocities are relatively
constant. (ie. Minnesota's Red River Valley) then it makes sense.

In rolling or urban terrain you would spend all your time shifting.

BTW Back in the Jurrassic era, I tried 1/3 step shifting, using a 14-34 5 speed and 44-47-50 rings.
Drove me nuts.

Hi, Rob, you say, "I wonder what ol' Frank thinks about this new stuff."

Yup, I hope he is still around to ponder these things.

I corresponded with him a couple of times while I was trying to set up my new bike with 'half-step'
and he always wrote back and treated me like I was his #1 project.

Have you tried Glucosamine Chondroitin for those tender knees? This stuff seems to help me.

Lewis.

home.earthlink.netindex.htmlOpen ↗

....................

"Rob Kopp" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Lewis,

Yes I remember it well. The younger, faster riders and the older wiser riders. At the time of
those tests I was a younger, not so wise rider. I ran a 14-19 straight block 6 on my Motobecane
racing bike. While it is trick for a High Schooler, I think I'm paying the price for it now. While
I haven't had any knee surgeries, my knees are a little tender when standing for the last five or
six years. Purchasing the Vision 40 for road riding should just about take care of this little
problem.

It was not until a friend offered his Bridgestone T700 that I played with half-step, and my memory
served me well. I set up the T700 with an alpine 14-32 cluster and 24/44/48 chainrings. For those
who are really interested in playing with half-step, an old alpine cluster combined with a 4 tooth
difference is about the easiest way to set it up. (Typical alpine is 14-17-20-24-28)

I'm not sure what use my blathering is in relation to recumbents. With the advent of 9 speed
cassettes and dishless wheels, half-step is a wistful memory. It worked at least as well as having
all of those duplicate gears does now. But most folks didn't get the shift pattern (witness the
other posts questioning the small difference in chainring teeth). I wonder what ol' Frank thinks
about this new stuff.

Rob ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lewis Campbell" <[email hidden]> Newsgroups:
alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent Sent: Sunday, January 26, 2003 10:24 AM Subject: Re: Half-step
and granny.

Quoted message said:

OK, Rob, it sounds like your memories go back a ways.

Whenever I hear 'half step and granny' I think of Frank Berto, a writer for Bicycling magazine
back, in the days when it was a GREAT magazine. ( IMHO )

In my mind he has always been Mr. Half Step and, back in the early eighties, Bicycling magazine
put out a very nice, glossy, wall chart (I think it was an inducement to re-subscribe) that
explained his idea and showed all the combinations of gear inches for whichever
sprocket/chainring combination you were using.

Of course, in those days, bikes were 10 speeds. A chart of today's gearing, with 27 - 30
possible gears, would be kind of a headache to follow. :-)

Lewis.

home.earthlink.netindex.htmlOpen ↗

.............................

Lewis,

Maybe I will give Glucosamine Chondroitin a try. I suspect I have some degeneration, although I
really haven't had a problem since I stopped standing up hills. For all the stink about not being
able to stand on a 'bent, I think it is probably healthier for your knees.

I missed out on the whole fixed gear fetish that is still going strong in the Twin Cities. I've yet
to see a express bike that wasn't a fixie in downtown Minneapolis. I wonder how they do it on hills.
Genetics, perhapps.

Anyway, thanks for the tip. My wife has been taking GC for a bunch of years, just had not really
thought of it as degeneration at this point.

Rob

"Lewis Campbell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi, Rob, you say, "I wonder what ol' Frank thinks about this new stuff."

Yup, I hope he is still around to ponder these things.

I corresponded with him a couple of times while I was trying to set up my new bike with
'half-step' and he always wrote back and treated me like I was his #1 project.

Have you tried Glucosamine Chondroitin for those tender knees? This stuff seems to help me.

Lewis.

home.earthlink.netindex.htmlOpen ↗

....................

"Rob Kopp" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Lewis,

Yes I remember it well. The younger, faster riders and the older wiser riders. At the time of
those tests I was a younger, not so wise rider.

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ran a 14-19 straight block 6 on my Motobecane racing bike. While it is trick for a High
Schooler, I think I'm paying the price for it now.

While I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

haven't had any knee surgeries, my knees are a little tender when

standing

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

for the last five or six years. Purchasing the Vision 40 for road

riding

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

should just about take care of this little problem.

It was not until a friend offered his Bridgestone T700 that I played

with

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

half-step, and my memory served me well. I set up the T700 with an

alpine

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

14-32 cluster and 24/44/48 chainrings. For those who are really

interested

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

in playing with half-step, an old alpine cluster combined with a 4 tooth difference is about the
easiest way to set it up. (Typical alpine is 14-17-20-24-28)

I'm not sure what use my blathering is in relation to recumbents. With

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

advent of 9 speed cassettes and dishless wheels, half-step is a wistful memory. It worked at
least as well as having all of those duplicate

gears

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

does now. But most folks didn't get the shift pattern (witness the

other

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

posts questioning the small difference in chainring teeth). I wonder

what

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ol' Frank thinks about this new stuff.

Rob ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lewis Campbell" <[email hidden]> Newsgroups:
alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent Sent: Sunday, January 26, 2003 10:24 AM Subject: Re: Half-step and
granny.

Quoted message said:

OK, Rob, it sounds like your memories go back a ways.

Whenever I hear 'half step and granny' I think of Frank Berto, a writer for Bicycling magazine
back, in the days when it was a GREAT magazine. ( IMHO )

In my mind he has always been Mr. Half Step and, back in the early eighties, Bicycling
magazine put out a very nice, glossy, wall chart (I think it was an inducement to
re-subscribe) that explained his idea and showed all the combinations of gear inches for
whichever sprocket/chainring combination you were using.

Of course, in those days, bikes were 10 speeds. A chart of today's gearing, with 27 - 30
possible gears, would be kind of a headache to follow. :-)

Lewis.

home.earthlink.netindex.htmlOpen ↗

.............................

I LOVE riding a fixed gear bike, Rob, although I don't do it often enough. :-(

The trick is to set it up so you can ride the local, steepest, hill.

For me, thats about a 42 - 17 and with this I can cruise along at 18 - 20mph without TOO
much effort.

They just feel very 'efficient' to me.

Lewis.

home.earthlink.netindex.htmlOpen ↗

.............

"Rob Kopp" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Lewis,

Maybe I will give Glucosamine Chondroitin a try. I suspect I have some degeneration, although I
really haven't had a problem since I stopped standing up hills. For all the stink about not being
able to stand on a 'bent, I think it is probably healthier for your knees.

I missed out on the whole fixed gear fetish that is still going strong in the Twin Cities. I've
yet to see a express bike that wasn't a fixie in downtown Minneapolis. I wonder how they do it on
hills. Genetics, perhapps.

Anyway, thanks for the tip. My wife has been taking GC for a bunch of years, just had not really
thought of it as degeneration at this point.

Rob

"Lewis Campbell" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi, Rob, you say, "I wonder what ol' Frank thinks about this new stuff."

Yup, I hope he is still around to ponder these things.

I corresponded with him a couple of times while I was trying to set up my new bike with
'half-step' and he always wrote back and treated me like I was his #1 project.

Have you tried Glucosamine Chondroitin for those tender knees? This stuff seems to help me.

Lewis.

home.earthlink.netindex.htmlOpen ↗

....................

"Rob Kopp" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Lewis,

Yes I remember it well. The younger, faster riders and the older wiser riders. At the time of
those tests I was a younger, not so wise rider.

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ran a 14-19 straight block 6 on my Motobecane racing bike. While it is trick for a High
Schooler, I think I'm paying the price for it now.

While I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

haven't had any knee surgeries, my knees are a little tender when

standing

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

for the last five or six years. Purchasing the Vision 40 for road

riding

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

should just about take care of this little problem.

It was not until a friend offered his Bridgestone T700 that I played

with

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

half-step, and my memory served me well. I set up the T700 with an

alpine

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

14-32 cluster and 24/44/48 chainrings. For those who are really

interested

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

in playing with half-step, an old alpine cluster combined with a 4 tooth difference is about
the easiest way to set it up. (Typical alpine is 14-17-20-24-28)

I'm not sure what use my blathering is in relation to recumbents. With

the

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

advent of 9 speed cassettes and dishless wheels, half-step is a wistful memory. It worked at
least as well as having all of those duplicate

gears

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

does now. But most folks didn't get the shift pattern (witness the

other

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

posts questioning the small difference in chainring teeth). I wonder

what

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ol' Frank thinks about this new stuff.

Rob ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lewis Campbell" <[email hidden]> Newsgroups:
alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent Sent: Sunday, January 26, 2003 10:24 AM Subject: Re: Half-step and
granny.

> OK, Rob, it sounds like your memories go back a ways.
>
> Whenever I hear 'half step and granny' I think of Frank Berto, a writer for Bicycling
> magazine back, in the days when it was a GREAT magazine. ( IMHO )
>
> In my mind he has always been Mr. Half Step and, back in the early eighties, Bicycling
> magazine put out a very nice, glossy, wall chart (I think it was an inducement to
> re-subscribe) that explained his idea and showed all the combinations of gear inches for
> whichever sprocket/chainring combination you were using.
>
> Of course, in those days, bikes were 10 speeds. A chart of today's gearing, with 27 - 30
> possible gears, would be kind of a headache to follow. :-)
>
> Lewis.
>
> home.earthlink.netindex.htmlOpen ↗
>
> .............................
>
>