Now that one of the topics has shifted to tandems, another (often controversial) thought arises in
my alleged mind.
For background, I've been riding since my teens, which means that I started with friction shifting.
I also started to learn about bicycling from a book by Fred DeLong, which I think I may still have.
I'd have to think that that book and other similar ones taught me to shift "properly" by easing back
on pedal pressure (clutching) and making as precise a shift as possible.
Since our first DF tandem was of the late seventies, it too had friction shifting and I taught my
navigator to ease back on command, and in time, by feel and sound. Now we are riding a contemporary
bike and the habits carried over nicely.
We have had occasion to ride next to many riders who apparently have started with index shifting and
were not aware of the above concepts. The clunk accompanying each gear change made for interesting
audio punctuation. The same thing applies to tandem riders, although they seem to be more skilled,
generally speaking.
On the same topic, IPS tandem riders seem to have severe clunk along with the occasional grind and
crunch. Are there IPS riders on this forum who wish to offer up experiences? ..or anyone else?
thanks
fred