Decisions, decisions...

"Don Whybrow" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

After 3 hard years of commuting my current bike has reached the point
where the TLC required (new gears, chainset, front & rear mechs, etc...)
will cost more than it is worth so I am on the hunt for a replacement.

Before getting my current bike I hadn't cycled seriously for a long while
and did not really know what I was looking for so my research consisted of
going to the nearest shop and picking one off the rack. This time round I
have a better understanding of what I am looking for. My basic
requirements are:
1. To be as low maintenance as possible.
2. I do not like using a backpack to carry stuff so either a pannier rack
as standard or the ability to fit one.
3. It is not so bad in the summer, but in the winter I get through V brake
blocks quite fast. My initial thought was to use disks, but there can be
fixing problems for pannier racks.
4. A gearing system that is tough enough to last and covers enough range

After a bit of searching, I think that the Ridgeback Switch Nemesis would
probably suit so long as I can get a rack and a set of mudguards on.

A doubt in my mind is over the range of gears in the hub. will they go low
enough for the uphill climb at night and do they go high enough for the
downhill scream in the morning.

I would appreciate any comments anyone has about this bike.

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

Question _your own_ authority.

I'm not sure of the point of disk brakes on the back anyway - I seldom use
my rear brakes and V-brakes suffice for the odd occasion.

Tony B said:

Ways to make it the ultimate no-brainer do anything bike:

Add bar ends for hand position options
Shimano front hub dynamo and lights
Vee brakes on front instead of roller brake
decent mudguards and lights

And decent tyres to minimise punctures (Google for "I'm sick of
punctures" thread)

--
Tony

"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the
right."
- Lord Hailsham

in message <[email hidden]>, Tony B

(') said:

Anyway, Mrs B has a Ridgeback Nemesis and I think it's great. It has
mounting points for a rack, the hub gear is pretty well perfect and the
roller brakes actually work quite well. The whole bike is very well put
together and detail quality (of which I am particularly critical) even
passes MY muster.

[snip]

Quoted message said:

Ways to make it the ultimate no-brainer do anything bike:

Add bar ends for hand position options
Shimano front hub dynamo and lights
Vee brakes on front instead of roller brake
decent mudguards and lights

That makes for a very similar spec to the Ridgeback Neutron (which is the
same price as the Neutron). Of course it would still need barends and
mudguards (and a chaincase would seem to me a sensible addition to
either of these). Why did you choose the Nemesis over the Neutron, and
do you think you were right?

The other thing might be the Zero City shaft drive bike (VeloVision
review here:
<URL:http://www.velovision.co.uk/mag/issue10/shaftdrive.pdf>, makers
here <URL:http://www.ethicalwebsites.co.uk/zero/bikes.php>😉. Shaft drive
with Nexus 7 speed for low maintenance, mudguards and rack as standard
for £499. Kinetics in Glasgow used to stock them, don't know if they
still do.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
Wannabe a Web designer?
<URL:http://userfriendly.org/cartoons/archives/97dec/19971206.html>

"Don Whybrow" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

After 3 hard years of commuting my current bike has reached the point
where the TLC required (new gears, chainset, front & rear mechs, etc...)
will cost more than it is worth so I am on the hunt for a replacement.

Is that what happens to modern bikes, the bike I used lasted me more than 15
years and was still in good condition when I gave it away.

But, that was a proper bike not at all like the rubbish which is sold today.

Alan

Don Whybrow said:

A doubt in my mind is over the range of gears in the hub. will they go
low enough for the uphill climb at night and do they go high enough for
the downhill scream in the morning.

I wouldn't worry about the gears. My fondly remembered 1970s Peugot 10
speed tourer had only 6 effective gears. (52X40 and 14-17-20-24-28) I
didn't use the big front to big back or small front to small back
combos due to excessive crossover. There was a duplicate gear midrange
and the top gear was a for me unusable 100 inch. So an 8 speed evenly
spread gear range will be ample.
My current commuter is a 24 speed. But I do at least 95% of my
mileage on the center chainring and 7 of the back cogs.
Iain
PS. Non cyclists might find it strange I can remember the cog numbers
on a bike I sold 27 years ago.

Quoted message said:

PS. Non cyclists might find it strange I can remember the cog numbers
on a bike I sold 27 years ago.

So might quite a few cyclists.
--
Chris

"I have a very firm grasp on reality! I can reach out and strangle it
any time!"

Simon Brooke said:

That makes for a very similar spec to the Ridgeback Neutron

It does, I agree. However we were after a bike for Mrs B to chase about
the woods on with the kids, the roller brakes seemed a bit lower
maintenance than the vee's and the dynohub was not really needed...
there was also a preference for the MTB stylee thing.

Quoted message said:

Why did you choose the Nemesis over the Neutron, and
do you think you were right?

Dunno really, either then or now. They are both very similar. Although
of course, the shop had a Nemesis in stock and knocked a hundred quid
off the price...

Quoted message said:

The other thing might be the Zero City shaft drive bike

A lovely thing indeed, there is also a US outfit doing shafties with
Nexus8 back end IIRC. Wheel removal MUST be a chore, the shaft would
surely be heavier than a chain arrangement and really, a chain which is
never bullied across a load of sprockets should last ages. So maybe
shaft drive is a solution looking for a problem? Cute engineering though.

bfn,

Tony B

in message <[email hidden]>, Don Whybrow
([email hidden]'😉 wrote:

In addition to things suggested already, there was a Nexus 8 geared
Specialized Crossroads in the bike shop today, which looked reasonably
practical. Again, no mudguards, no chaincase, and V brakes, but a
reasonable quality bike for UKP400. I still think the Ridgeback Neutron
at UKP450 with hub dynamo and lights is the value to beat, though.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Do not sail on uphill water.
- Bill Lee

Thanks for the feedback.

I went for a test ride today on one, and even though it was a size too
small, it felt good with the gears giving a nice range.

By this time next week I will have a nice shiny new one with rack and
mudguards fitted.

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

After things go from bad to worse, the cycle will repeat itself.

in message <[email hidden]>, Don Whybrow

(') said:

Thanks for the feedback.

I went for a test ride today on one, and even though it was a size too
small, it felt good with the gears giving a nice range.

By this time next week I will have a nice shiny new one with rack and
mudguards fitted.

Which one?

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; An enamorata is for life, not just for weekends.

Simon Brooke said:

Which one?

A Nemesis.

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

"So tell me, just how long have you had this feeling that no one
is watching you?" (Christopher Locke: Entropy Gradient Reversals)

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Don Whybrow
([email hidden]'😉 wrote:

In addition to things suggested already, there was a Nexus 8 geared
Specialized Crossroads in the bike shop today, which looked reasonably
practical. Again, no mudguards, no chaincase, and V brakes, but a
reasonable quality bike for UKP400. I still think the Ridgeback Neutron
at UKP450 with hub dynamo and lights is the value to beat, though.

I got a Spesh Crossroads Hu8 in December and I'm well pleased. It's a
nice commuter, feels bombproof and the Nexus hub shift is fine for my
needs. I added racks and mudguards. I never tried the Neutron, but I
preferred the Specialized over the Nemesis - just a comfort thing
really, as I'm 6'2", the biggest Nemesis just felt a bit small.