Sorry, I best write friction propaganda now:
Sure, I’ve since reverted the Jones to the inventory clickety-click moving however that was once once I wrote this. (If it wasn’t for that pesky Spice up spacing I’d most certainly do one thing foolish like put at the drivetrain I stole off the Softride prior to giving it away.) Additionally, the Litespeed has Campagnolo Ergo shifters on it, even though I’m these days calling it “my son’s motorcycle” so technically it doesn’t depend. Anyway, whilst you write for publications like this you’ll be able to’t simply say, “I to find friction moving each enticing and sensible and you could wish to imagine making an attempt it.” As a substitute you need to made dumb, sweeping pronouncements like, “I’M ALL IN ON FRICTION AND I’M NEVER GOING BACK AND HERE’S WHY,” although I absolutely reserve the best to return at any time, like if I think like driving “my son’s motorcycle” with the ones oddly enjoyable Campagnolo Ergo shifters.
In the meantime, right here I’m thigh-deep in derailleurs as I proceed to execute the Vintage Cycle twenty first Century Friction Shifter Shootout, and I feel perhaps that is the worst factor Paul of Vintage Cycle has ever carried out to me. This isn’t as a result of I don’t love enjoying with motorcycle portions and delving into the historical past of derailleurs, as a result of I maximum usually do. No, it’s as it triggers all my anal retentive impulses, and switching out the derailleur on my street motorcycle each few days makes me know the way Rain Guy should have felt when somebody modified the channel right through Wapner. (Are we allowed to reference Rain Guy nonetheless?) On one hand, when one thing like the Veloce is on there and dealing completely I wish to stay it on there ceaselessly and make it an everlasting a part of the motorcycle, however then again I will be able to’t wait to check out the entire different derailleurs! For sure I may trade them much less steadily, however I’m too impatient to determine which one’s the most productive, and in addition if I stay writing about derailleurs for for much longer my few last readers are going to desert me ceaselessly, and rightly so.
So yeah, it’s even worse than the entire occasions he’s attempted to kill me via hanging me on motorcycles just like the Teledyne Titan, a motorcycle so disconcertingly flexy it rivaled the Softride in sheer floppiness:
Anyway, to convey you up to the moment, right here’s the place we’re thus far:
- Shimano 105 5700 — Authentic derailleur, works excellent
- Shimano Altus LT — Relic from like 1980, additionally works excellent
- Shimano 600 — DNS
- Shimano M700 “Deerhead” — DQ
- Campagnolo Veloce 9-Velocity — Highest one thus far
And that brings us to the Dura Ace 7700:
Does it have what it takes to knock out the Veloce?
It’s a pleasant deralleur:
A very great deralleur:
Compact and stylish, it’s one of these factor you wish to have to hold round for your pocket all day:
I will be able to see why Paul’s rooting for it:
The Dura Ace 7700 crew, of which this derailleur was once a component, may really well be probably the most chic one Shimano ever produced within the STI generation, or perhaps even any generation:
[Photo via here.]
It seems that it was once additionally a “idea” crew, and that idea was once “enjoyable:”
Dura-Ace 7700 was once my first enjoy with the usage of actual pro-level probably the greatest biking parts, and so they did paintings flawlessly, even though I will be able to guarantee you that in spite of the entire “enjoyable” idea the pricing certainly led to me an excessive amount of tension. Sure, it sort of feels like best the day past I extremely joyful to the feeling of lightening each my motorcycle and my pockets via upgrading to Dura Ace 7700, however observing this video makes me understand numerous time has handed since then:
Numerous folks say that professional biking performances within the ’90s had been pushed via EPO, but it surely was once in fact the 500-gram weight loss Shimano accomplished with this part collection:
That and the additional equipment, in fact:
Ah, the profound utterances of Abraham Olano. You’ll inform via his expression that he’s in point of fact considering:
Alas, we might by no means know.
As for our verify topics, the Dura Ace 7700 is the lightest of the bunch, weighing in at lower than 200 grams:
In contrast to the 600, which was once additionally fairly gentle, this one includes a barrel adjuster, a B-screw, and naturally a slant parallelogram design. But it surely’s additionally fairly compact, and Shimano says the most important cog it is going to settle for is a 26:
26 enamel or FEWER, Shimano, FEWER!!!
In fact as everyone knows you’ll be able to most often omit those so-called limits, which is what I did. On the other hand, in terms of the 7700, even with the B-screw the entire manner in, I may nonetheless pay attention what gave the impression of somewhat pulley touch at the 29-tooth cog of the test-cycle. In that equipment, lever place was once about the place we’ve come to be expecting it to be with more moderen derailleurs, which is to mention roughly point with the ground:
It seemed excellent within the little ring:
And when you wouldn’t wish to journey round with it within the large-large combo for terribly lengthy, moving into it accidentally undoubtedly wouldn’t wreck anything else:
Nonetheless, that pulley wheel gave the impression just a bit bit too shut for convenience:
In all different respects it labored flawlessly, or even within the 29 there was once simply the faintest little purring noise. I doubt very a lot this can be a downside, and taking a handy guide a rough glance I’ve undoubtedly were given different motorcycles the place the pulley’s operating about this shut. In truth, prior to this verify began destroying my psyche I rarely even considered derailleur pulley place, and I’m positive somebody will weigh in with one thing like, “You fool, that’s precisely how the pulley is meant to be!” On the other hand, the truth that the B-screw must be utterly maxed out (or in, technically talking) for the pulley to transparent would motive me fear and exacerbate my aforementioned anal retentive inclinations. It is a disgrace, as it’s a wonderful section:
In fact there’s a easy strategy to all this, which might be to switch the cassette to a 25. I have one sitting in my portions bin. However alas, this verify is to decide which aggregate yields the most productive modern day friction drivetrain, and I’d argue that as a way to win in 2023 you’d higher be capable of run a 29 and even decrease and not using a tension–even on a street motorcycle. (Sure, there was once a medium-cage model that would nominally care for a bigger cog, however I ain’t were given one, and I ain’t purchasing one, both.) So in addition to it really works another way, and as low as it weighs, and as nice because it appears at the motorcycle, it merely lacks the capability to be the total winner:
You understand it’s a tricky contest when even the Dura Ace can’t get to the entrance.
