Intego & roller brakes

Michael Klontzas said:

I am looking at Ridgeback Electron:

http://tinyurl.com/7mvk5

and I am trying to figure out what that 'Shimano Intego 24spd
groupset' with the 'Practical single chainwheel' is about. Never
heard of that thing before. As I understand it, there is only one
ring, but how does this thing work?

3-speed hub gear in the rear wheel, with an 8-speed derraileur attached.
Gives similar range to a normal 3x8 transmission.

SRAM have made a 3x7 for a number of years which is probably better known.

Advantage - one front chainring.
Disadvantage - cannot change the spacing of the 3-speed. The combined
disadvantages of hub gear and derraileur in one complete package :-(.

Quoted message said:

Is there any particular reason why someone should avoid this?

Not a strong disincentive, and if the bike is otherwise "right" then its
fine. The SRAM version works as claimed.
But having had a bike with a SRAM 3x7, I'd select something else given a
choice.

The hub gear has typical "hub draggy feel" and weight. The derraileur needs
the usual levels of cleaning and maintenance.

Quoted message said:

And while we are still at it, what do you think of roller brakes? It's
nice to know they are not affected by the rain but I hear they are
heavier.

They work. They are low maintenance.

Quoted message said:

My impression is this bike is designed with low maintenance and
reliability in mind (at the expense of performance).

Probably.
Though I'd expect a full hub gear to achieve proper low maintenance.
An 8-speed such as that seen on the often recommended Halfords Subway-8
would be affordable given that Halfords can put it on a £350 (list price,
often discounted to less) bike.

The similarly priced Rapide Neutron (8 speed hub gear) is probably much
lower maintenance (even with the rim brakes), and comes with a hub dynamo
and what looks like B&M lights.

If after a low maintenance commuting machine, I'd give that one some
consideration (though it needs mudguards, luggage racks, etc)..

Quoted message said:

I'll give it try tomorrow and compare it to Trek 1000c:
http://tinyurl.com/a24ra

Completely different type of machine. Tight clearances, racing machine.

You'll be doing the equivalent of comparing a VW Golf with a Ford Transit
and deciding which is best.

Quoted message said:

Hopefully one of the two will do.

The two will tell you which style of bike you might like. Then having got
the style, narrow it down to which within that style does what you need.

- Nigel

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

Nigel Cliffe said:

Michael Klontzas wrote:

Thanks for the useful info. All clear now.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Hopefully one of the two will do.

The two will tell you which style of bike you might like. Then having got
the style, narrow it down to which within that style does what you need.

True. Both bikes are listed under hybrids. I need a hybrid bike for
enjoyable commuting. To me the Electron stands for a dependable, low-ish
maintenance but boring machine, whereas the Trek is much sexier and I
like it more, although I'll have to fit it with mudguards, rack, lights
etc, which is almost sacrilegious. I think Trek 1000c is a racer with
comfort features for commuting -- even a suspension post =🙂

--
Michael Klontzas
'If everything seems to be coming your way,
you're probably in the wrong lane'
(Borstelmann's Rule)

Michael Klontzas said:

And while we are still at it, what do you think of roller brakes? It's
nice to know they are not affected by the rain but I hear they are
heavier.

Also nice that they don't mess up and wear out the rims, nor require true
rims. Not as powerful as rim brakes but that's not a bad thing at the
rear. I wouldn't be quite so keen on using a front one.

~PB

"Michael Klontzas" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Nigel Cliffe said:

Michael Klontzas wrote:

Thanks for the useful info. All clear now.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Hopefully one of the two will do.

The two will tell you which style of bike you might like. Then having got
the style, narrow it down to which within that style does what you need.

True. Both bikes are listed under hybrids. I need a hybrid bike for
enjoyable commuting. To me the Electron stands for a dependable, low-ish
maintenance but boring machine, whereas the Trek is much sexier and I
like it more, although I'll have to fit it with mudguards, rack, lights
etc, which is almost sacrilegious. I think Trek 1000c is a racer with
comfort features for commuting -- even a suspension post =🙂

--
Michael Klontzas
'If everything seems to be coming your way,
you're probably in the wrong lane'
(Borstelmann's Rule)

Sorry Michael but the trek - like your Scott - will be more of a theif
magnet . Have you looked at the Decathlon Triban Road 5 as an option?

HTH
Julia

in message <[email hidden]>, Michael Klontzas

(') said:

I am looking at Ridgeback Electron:

http://tinyurl.com/7mvk5

and I am trying to figure out what that 'Shimano Intego 24spd groupset'
with the 'Practical single chainwheel' is about. Never heard of that
thing before. As I understand it, there is only one ring, but how does
this thing work? Is there any particular reason why someone should
avoid this?

Three speed epicyclic at the rear; SRAM also do a similar transmission.
This is a compromise setup, and not as good from a low maintenance point
of view as an eight-speed epicyclic which Ridgeback also offer.

<URL:http://www.ridgeback.co.uk/bikes/bike.asp?bikeID=117>
<URL:http://www.ridgeback.co.uk/bikes/bike.asp?bikeID=122>

The Neutron (with the addition of mudguards and a rack - why on earth are
these not standard) would make a /very/ practical commuter.

Quoted message said:

And while we are still at it, what do you think of roller brakes? It's
nice to know they are not affected by the rain but I hear they are
heavier.

Fine in reasonably flat places; may fade on prolonged descents.

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

;; Good grief, I can remember when England won the Ashes.

Simon Brooke said:

The Neutron (with the addition of mudguards and a rack - why on earth are
these not standard) would make a /very/ practical commuter.

It looks very interesting. I tried the Electron and I was happily
surprised. It rides a lot smoother and it is a lot more responsive and
lighter than I expected, which made choosing between this and the Trek
more difficult than I thought. I don't know how low-maintenance these
Ridgebacks really are in the long term, but it looks like a bike like
the Electron or the Neutron would make an excellent commuter bike. They
may be the sensible choice but in the end I opted for the Trek because
it was sexier really, and as I don't have the storage space for more
than one bike, I decided to go for the one I liked most, although of
course it is a lot more stealable unfortunately and I may regret this!
Now I have to develop anti-theft strategies 🙁

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

And while we are still at it, what do you think of roller brakes? It's
nice to know they are not affected by the rain but I hear they are
heavier.

Fine in reasonably flat places; may fade on prolonged descents.

I didn't try this on prolonged descents but I was surprised to find out
they are a lot more powerful than I expected. Certainly more than some
V-brakes or callipers I used in the past. I found callipers very
disappointing from day 1 but it was probably the specific setup,
otherwise I can't explain why they are used on professional bikes.
V-brakes are hugely more powerful in my experience (to the point of
being dangerous), but like all rim brakes they take a lot of
maintenance. A couple of weeks after adjustment they perform worse than
the roller brakes I just tested.

--
Michael Klontzas

Yes, I know but in the end I decided to opt for the Trek, since I can
only have one, all-purpose bike at the moment because of lack of
storage space. So I went for the one I liked most. Not the sensible
thing to do, I am sure!

I saw the Decathlon bike and I see why it would be a good alternative,
but I was looking at those two bikes specifically because they were
heavily discounted here http://www.awcycles.co.uk/offers.php?cat=1 as
'Smoke Damaged Stock'. Actually, there is nothing wrong with the bikes
(and there are many more bikes available there for anyone interested).
After they clean them you can hardly tell the difference from the brand
new ones -- except for that BBQ smell (literally) I hope will go away
soon! At 350 pounds, down from 500 pounds, they were a bargain I
couldn't ignore.

Now I have to make sure my Trek is not stollen, so I am looking for
ways to make it look less desirable. The mudguards and the rack helped
a bit but not much. I am thinking about covering as much of the tubing
as possible with tape (possibly reflective tape that will serve as a
safety feature as well). I met once a bloke on a train who had been
very creative with his Cannondale. You really couldn't guess his bike
was worth more than 20 pounds!

I am also looking into datatagging but there are several competiting
systems, many of them approved by the police apparently. Then again,
the whole point of datatagging is deterring a thief and those warning
stickers may actually draw someone's attention. The good thing is that
datatagging may pay for itself over time, since some insurance
companies offer discounts for having your bike datagged. Would anyone
recommend any particular datatag system?

--
Michael Klontzas

Quoted message said:

I didn't try this on prolonged descents but I was surprised to find out
they are a lot more powerful than I expected. Certainly more than some
V-brakes or callipers I used in the past. I found callipers very
disappointing from day 1 but it was probably the specific setup,
otherwise I can't explain why they are used on professional bikes.
V-brakes are hugely more powerful in my experience (to the point of
being dangerous), but like all rim brakes they take a lot of
maintenance. A couple of weeks after adjustment they perform worse than
the roller brakes I just tested.

FSVO V-brake. I've been running Tektro ones (I can't recommend them,
they're squeaky) and Shimano Deore ones now for some time. Adjustment is
limited to compensation for pad wear, and the performance is so far in
excess of any roller brakes I've used. Admittedly, the first thing I did
with my Vees was to replace the pads. Now amount of design can
compensate for [censored] pads.

Jon

in message <[email hidden]>,

(') said:

I found callipers very
disappointing from day 1 but it was probably the specific setup,
otherwise I can't explain why they are used on professional bikes.

Single pivot callipers are generally pretty poor. The brakes used on
the /front/ of professional racing bikes are all dual pivot callipers
(although many use single pivot callipers on the back). All the dual
pivot callipers I've used have been very good.

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

;; Diplomacy, American: see Intelligence, Military

in message <[email hidden]>,

(') said:

Now I have to make sure my Trek is not stollen, so I am looking for
ways to make it look less desirable.

Wrap the frame in clingfilm, and then cover the clingfilm by winding on
electrician's insulating tape. This is said to make the bike look old,
cheap, and naff, and the clingfilm protects the frame from the glue on
the tape so that later you can strip it all off cleanly. Allegedly. I
haven't tried this, but it sounds convincing.

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

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