Have I learnt something new at Halfrauds today?

[Munkul]

a front sprocket that is very slightly out-of-round to compensate for the change in the force you can exert on the pedals as the crank revolves. I seem to remember it was called biopace gearing. It never caught on!

You can still get them these days for single ring cranks, i fancied trying one but didn't want to fork out for it incase it was a disappointment

Mountain bikes these days are much much improved in every way over those of 20 years ago, but I'd say if one single thing has been the best thing, it would be dropper posts. No more riding with a seat in a stupid position.

 

[DanZac]

Chris Froome used ovalised chainrings throughout his career.

Supposedly provide smoother power delivery throughout the cranks rotation.

 

[pedrobedro]

Bicycles, ok going downhill.

Not up. Too much effort.

PITA to fix, less so than an outboard motor.

I've some bike someone left at my parents, I use it regularly, every couple of years, did 90 kms on it last year or the year before, can't remember, nice gentle slope following the canal, down the tow path.

Yes, I am that lazy, uphill, well that involves physical effort, not for me.

I remember my dad always had a bike, an old Hercules lady's bike with the 3 speed locked in 1st gear. He said it was good to have a bike as you could sit on it going downhill and lean on it walking uphill. When we got to a hill he used to say, rule 1, get off and walk.

 

[Rudi McAnichal]

They were not very good, thats what was wrong.
Way to fidly, unable to shift under load and only had 3 gears, which is not suitable for most touring , mountain or racing bikes.

Easy to change gear while stationary - very handy if traffic forced you to halt when travelling in top gear (which usually seemed to happen just before a steep climb). And 4-speed Sturmey-Archer gears were already in common use when I was cycling to school in the mid 1950s.

 

[GRW]

I've used oval Chainring on my last analogue mtb. I liked it.
Not that I want the expense or needless complexity, the latest 12-speed stuff is electric - a servo and battery does the shifting - no cables.
My e-mtb is 12-speed - but as the chain has to have the flexibility to cover a 12-speed rear cassette, the chain is narrower and flexible.... Not brilliant for longevity.
On an analogue bike- fair enough the range and close ratios are very handy.
On an e-mtb with motor assistance, 9-speeds would be ample (with similar hi/lo ratio) meaning a thicker, stronger chain could be used.
Of course, the mfrs don't bother, cos the 12-speed is the go-to mass produced, so it's cheaper to sling one of those on, & then cash in on replacements.

 

[Farside]

I popped up to Carmarthen branch today to pick up a set of pedals for grandson's bike, as well as a new chain to replace the snapped one on my tourer thing. So I cleaned the chain and took it with me, asked the guy at the desk if he had a replacement. How many speeds is it? He asked? Er, dunno 18 I think. Well he said, "the no of speeds is the number of sprockets on the back, the front one is just to line up the chain with the back set"
Well, if this is the case, surely the crank sprockets would all be the same size?? Is this a classification thing?
The one thing I agree with (which I never knew or thought about tbh, is that the chain width is dictated by the nymber of sprockets on the back. At second look we had the correct looking chain, I asked if he had a vernier - no, so eyball it was.

Halfrauds droid strikes again with unmitigated bullchyt. He was making it up as he went along, with no clue.

 

[Farside]

They were not very good, thats what was wrong.
Way to fidly, unable to shift under load and only had 3 gears, which is not suitable for most touring , mountain or racing bikes.

Of course they could shift under load.
They didn't last very long, though.
Few years ago I bought a Shimano S-A hub, never got around to fitting it as the power hub got in the way.

 

[Farside]

I didn't realise how old they were until I watched an episode of the repair shop where they had a WW2 bike with one in, first made in 1938 apparently.

I have a recollection of them being much older than that. Circa WW1.

 

[minimutly]

Easy to change gear while stationary - very handy if traffic forced you to halt when travelling in top gear (which usually seemed to happen just before a steep climb). And 4-speed Sturmey-Archer gears were already in common use when I was cycling to school in the mid 1950s.

Tick tick tick as you went allong, I spent my childhood stripping and repairing sturmy archer 3 speeds

 

[skotl]

Off at a tangent here...

We all know what Halfords is, and isn't. And we all choose whether to shop there. Or not.

So referring to it as "Halfrauds" is really more a commentary on us rather then them, isn't it? Halfords provides a service at a price and if it's getting either wrong it will pay the price. I don't think it's fair to the business or people who work there to reframe it like this.

 

[Seadog]

Was that the one with the homebrewed gearbox built into the frame? was quite successful too.

That's the one.

 

[GRW]

Halfords actually own Chain Reaction Cycles & Wiggle - 2 specialist online bicycle stores.
If you want bicycle stuff, far better to get them off these than going into a branch of Halfords... as the stores don't tend to stock anything you're likely to need that's worth buying, & there's a high chance the assistant won't be able to provide much assistance.

 

[DanZac]

Halfords actually own Chain Reaction Cycles & Wiggle - 2 specialist online bicycle stores.
If you want bicycle stuff, far better to get them off these than going into a branch of Halfords... as the stores don't tend to stock anything you're likely to need that's worth buying, & there's a high chance the assistant won't be able to provide much assistance.

But if you actually need something right now to get you out of the proverbial then they're a god send.

Saved my bacon a few times on the bike. A couple that spring to mind include a new rear wheel in Carlisle on a Sunday afternoon when doing Lands End John-O-Groats after mine tore half the spokes out. A new tire when the sidewall split half way round a 400km Audax, and a puncture repair kit and cheap pump when I'd started another long ride and suddenly realised I'd left mine at home.

I'll admit that it does help if you can go in knowing what you want, or what you can bodge a fix from out of their random selection of stuff and not have to interact with the highly skilled and qualified staff.

 

[northwest]

Bike riding as a yooof: Lake district in 1900 after the war with the lovely Rosie Kitson*, god she was gorgeous!



*the girl, not the bike!

 

[Eric the chicken]

Bike riding as a yooof: Lake district in 1900 after the war with the lovely Rosie Kitson*, god she was gorgeous!



*the girl, not the bike!

That would be the Boer War then? (just joking, honest)

 

[8ob]

Bike riding as a yooof: Lake district in 1900 after the war with the lovely Rosie Kitson*, god she was gorgeous!



*the girl, not the bike!

You know the rules, pictures or it never happened. Could of looked like Nora Batty for all we know

 

[RichardM]

Bike riding as a yooof: Lake district in 1900 after the war with the lovely Rosie Kitson*, god she was gorgeous!



*the girl, not the bike!

Boer War I assume!

 

[PhillipM]

I've a nice 9 speed hub gearset and it's lovely, smooth as butter, and an oval chainring, they're worth using tbfh. Although it makes it interesting with a mid-drive motor...

 

[northwest]

You know the rules, pictures or it never happened. Could of looked like Nora Batty for all we know

I can assure you she was (still is probably) bloody lovely! Happy happy days they were!

 

[Cobbler]

I had a two speed Sturmey Archer hub gear on a bike as a kid, it was many years old, bought second hand, I've never seen another one, or seen it on the SA web site with their history on. it was a 2 speed changer on the cross bar, like the 3 speed of that era, & a freewheel on the end of the hub as there was no internal freewheel like on a 3 speed.