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New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

cyclingtips.com

201–210 of 226 posts

Re: New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

#201
post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Derailleur systems receiving a similar lack of maintenance are what turns people into short distance drivers. Funny, I thought it was my three young kids that did that. I always had a mountain bike growing up. Having now transitioned to more of a road bike, the difference in rideability is pretty stark. I guess it could be the derailleur, but I assumed it was the tires and gearset that made it a pain to get places.…

The only reasons for needing to reinflate every day should be: 1) using latex inner tubes. They’re lighter, but don’t hold air so well. Fine for racing, impractical for normal use 2) a slow puncture

3) broken valve

4) badly seated valve tip (dirt?)

Re: New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

#202
post #9

Great chain, but the Gates Carbon Drive is likely a superior technology. Europe has largely adopted it, but it is rare in the states. I have a Riese & Müller bike with a Gates Carbon Drive and it is absolutely lovely. Silent, but best of all, no grease on my pants or hands, ever. They handle dirt and dust super well (just dry off and wipe down with a cloth/no gears get jammed with a sealed planetary gear system). It…

I disagree both about the adoption rate and the superiority of the tech. It only works if the frame can be opened up and this means the whole bike has to be designed around the belt drive system. It's a slow thing to do and quite expensive, whereas replacing a regular chain takes less than five minutes (it's a bit more messy though).

Re: New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

#203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want to shift gears using the carbon drive you have to use an internal gear hub, which has a lot less range than a traditional derailleur and is less efficient. So if you are riding a racing or mountain bike a chain system is probably a better way to go. Also it looks like you can't shift under load with the internal hubs which is a problem if you are trying to climb hills quickly.

My previous bike had a Shimano Nexus 8 speed. It would shift just fine under load. My current bike has a Sturmy Archer 3 speed and doesn't. Geared hubs are great for riding in traffic because you can shift while stopped. Pulling harder with traffic up to a light and braking aggressively, and switching to the right gear while waiting for the light to change. Like everything it's a tradeoff. For me, geared hubs make a…

8 speed is a bit delicate to shift under load, if you plan on doing that a lot a 5 speed would be a better choice (also better for e-bikes, it will deal much better with the torque).

Re: New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

#205
post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Internal hubs are amazing for the kind of bike that's always outside and gets maintenance beyond occasional tire pumping about as often as summer olympics are opened. Unfortunately SRAM stopped production of the T3 years ago, it was the perfect drive for a low maintenance, low value practical utility bike, providing the easy 80% of everything you want from bicycle gears for short distance commuting. Derailleur system…

> Derailleur systems receiving a similar lack of maintenance are what turns people into short distance drivers. Funny, I thought it was my three young kids that did that. I always had a mountain bike growing up. Having now transitioned to more of a road bike, the difference in rideability is pretty stark. I guess it could be the derailleur, but I assumed it was the tires and gearset that made it a pain to get places.…

Schwalbe recommends inflating once a month on butyl tubes.

Re: New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

#207
post #144
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh god. I have a Ghost commuter bike with belt drive (came with Continental, but it broke and couldn't be replaced, so it was swapped to gates). Not only is a it a huge pain in the ass to carry two identical heavy wrenches in case you have to remove the wheel+belt in the field, and tension is hard to get right even at home, but of course the cable is extremely hard to remove the first handful of times (and which gear…

Do you know you don't have to remove the wheel to repair a puncture ? Remove one side of the tire from the rim and pull the inner tube, then patch it.

Isn't hard to find small punctures with the tube still stuck around the wheel?

Re: New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

#208
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, but you can see those from time to time Belgium. Largely adopted? No, not at all.

Cube has one https://www.cube.eu/en/2020/bikes/urban/hyde/cube-hyde-pro-b... , I bought the 2018 model it's really nice and convenient to drive. Going back to traditional chain once you drove one of these may be similar to automatic vs manual gear shift in a car, why would you? Note: I'm a casual cyclist.

Nice one, thank you. Love the 2021 models colours.

Re: New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

#209
post #24
post #9

Great chain, but the Gates Carbon Drive is likely a superior technology. Europe has largely adopted it, but it is rare in the states. I have a Riese & Müller bike with a Gates Carbon Drive and it is absolutely lovely. Silent, but best of all, no grease on my pants or hands, ever. They handle dirt and dust super well (just dry off and wipe down with a cloth/no gears get jammed with a sealed planetary gear system). It…

I have seen maybe one driveshaft based bike, and I’m European, and that was at the school of mechanical engineering.

There was/is? a danish company building those, seems they switched to belts though.

Re: New bike chain claims to be faster, more durable

#210
post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the pro level, bicycles are regularly below regulation weight, and then dead weight is added to get back to spec. So, there is budget for extra weight for higher performance parts. However, the rule of thumb is to minimize rotational weight (e.g., wheels) due to the increase in rotational inertia. I wonder whether chain weight is similarly problematic.

Just for argument’s sake, does rotational weight really give a performance impact? I expect it marginally improves initial acceleration but I also expect top speed is unchanged. Heavier wheels would allow you to coast for longer without needing to pedal (conservation of momentum) but besides the initial acceleration performance is mostly unchanged. Unless you’re constantly stopping and starting idk if it makes much d…

No.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=0QDnUkUaQfk

It's interesting to look into what's actually scientifically supported in biking and other sports, and the implied effect sizes.

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