The day past night time, driving house at the Hudson River Greenway, I got here around the aftermath of a nasty-looking collision. The police have been already at the scene and I didn’t need to get in the way in which, nor did I need to stand round snapping footage, which felt sleazy and disrespectful. On the other hand, I did permit myself to rubberneck as I handed, and probably the most other folks concerned used to be on the sort of issues:
Now, I do know the outdated announcing: “Whilst you leap to conclusions you are making an ass out of you and me.” So I do know I shouldn’t suppose that it used to be the scooter rider’s fault. Additionally, the scooter rider regarded beautiful harm, and I am hoping he’s k.
HAVING SAID THAT…
This stuff move instant. Truly instant. What began out as some little motorized gizmos that have been intended to switch quick automobile journeys has now morphed into other folks in frame armor rushing by means of you at the motorbike trail at 30mph browsing like they’re mining for valuable minerals at the floor of an alien planet. Then mere yards from the scene of the crash you’ve were given those bruhtzes whipping round on electrical dirtbikes or one thing:
And by the point to get to the George Washington Bridge it’s principally all gas-powered bikes:
Apparently, riders of high-powered electrical “micromobility” gizmos nearly all the time put on full-faced helmets, while riders of unregistered gasoline-powered bikes nearly all the time put on no helmet in any respect. I don’t have any explicit emotions about this, thoughts you, I’m simply documenting their folkways.
As for my emotions about fast-moving motorized contraptions at the motorbike lane (be they powered by means of electrical energy or fuel) I’m no longer positive what to do about it, and at this level I don’t know that there’s anything else you’ll be able to do about it, but it surely’s in reality beginning to suck ass. Everywhere the remainder of the rustic it kind of feels like persons are increasingly more turning to gravel driving and mountain cycling as a result of they now not really feel relaxed at the roads, however right here in New York Town we’re getting on the subject of the purpose the place as a substitute of driving within the motorbike lane you’d moderately experience on the street the place it’s “protected.”
Transferring on, it is a derailleur weblog now, and a commenter the day past discussed this:
What’s the level of weighing an electrical derailleur with out the battery?
It makes about as a lot sense as a “wi-fi crankset:”
However sure, in its pointless battery-free state the most recent Tremendous Document derailleur–which is one of the vital dear derailleur you’ll be able to purchase with the exception of that atypical Jan Heine factor–weighs most effective relatively lower than a protracted cage SunTour CX Comp derailleur from the overdue Eighties:
Which is the following chain-moving tool we’ll be browsing at within the increasingly more tedious Vintage Cycle twenty first Century Friction Shifter Shootout:
Now, clearly the SunTour is best than the Tremendous Document Wi-fi unit in each approach–and should you don’t imagine me, move purchase a Tremendous Document Wi-fi derailleur and spot if it’ll paintings on any of your motorcycles. However how does it rise up to the opposite derailleurs in our check? Smartly, regardless of its age it’s were given all of the trendy options, together with the much-vaunted slant parallelogram, which in fact SunTour invented:
It used to be additionally designed to paintings with an listed gadget:
I do know firsthand that it didn’t click on rather well since the Rock Combo got here with SunTour so-called “Accushift” shifters, and it’s a just right factor the rear one had a friction mode as it listed very poorly certainly. Moreover, once I modified the rear wheel to Hyperglide, I discovered that the XC Comp rear derailleur would hit the spokes when within the lowest equipment at the 8-speed cassette. Because of this on my own, I used to be skeptical. On the other hand, browsing on the inboard aspect of the cage, it did appear to be the profile used to be so much smoother than the only I were the usage of, so perhaps there used to be hope:
Certainly, my skepticism grew to become out to be unfounded, and as soon as fastened there used to be no spoke touch. Right here’s the derailleur within the massive cog and small chainring:
And right here it’s within the massive cog and big chainring:
Clearly that is relatively a stretch for a long-cage derailleur intended to wrap a triple-length chain, however I doubt it’s sufficient to motive any injury if I have been to shift into that combo unintentionally.
Shifter place in low equipment used to be proper in between the 90-degrees-from-downtube place of the older derailleurs and the parallel-with-the-floor place of the more moderen ones:
And so far as efficiency, it labored completely smartly:
I assume it looked as if it would run rather less quietly than the more moderen derailleurs, however if that is so I’d consider that used to be more than likely a results of the 10-speed chain operating on 7-speed-era pulleys. I additionally didn’t have that “Holy crap, that is very best!” second I had with the Veloce, which in some way felt extra “actual,” despite the fact that that would simply be a serve as of the SunTour’s relatively dowdy look:
Pretend crabon weave parallelogram however, when driving a street motorbike it’s pointless to faux you wouldn’t moderately glance down and spot a sparkly silver Campagnolo derailleur, so whilst it’s tempting to mention the Veloce objectively feels higher I will be able to’t cut price the chance I’m merely imagining it:
That apart, it incorporates all of the cassette, it really works nice, it’s were given all of the trendy options, and in contrast to Campy stuff it isn’t pointlessly dear at the used marketplace:
(Although given my enjoy with spoke clearance at the Rock Combo it’s conceivable some style years paintings higher than others on more moderen motorcycles.)
So sure, as Paul’s Submit-it portended, friction is certainly the solution right here, and if I didn’t have an entire field filled with glossy derailleurs there can be no reason why to not stay the usage of this one:
And sure, I will be able to’t wait to in spite of everything choose a winner and tidy up that cable, despite the fact that I’m more or less stunned no longer doing so hasn’t transform a pattern. Finally, like uncut guitar strings, an uncircumcised cable does have kind of a beatnik insouciance:
I’ll look ahead to my Nobel Prize.
