Then what would you call a crown designed for a single leg?
Sam Lingo
pleasanton tx
>From: Louis Schulman
>Reply-To: Louis Schulman
>To: Sheldon Brown
,REClassicBikes@aol.com, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>Subject: [CR]Fork vs. Forks, was Fixed Wheels & track bikes
>Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 15:04:12 -0500 (GMT-05:00)
>
>My pet peeve is the use of the term "forks" on the east side of the Atlantic to refer to the front fork. Evidently, our Anglo-Saxon cousins view each leg of the front fork as a "mini-fork". Presumably, the tines of the fork are the small points on each side of the dropout. It would seem more intuitive that the entire structure be viewed as a large fork, with two legs. After all, even across the lake, they speak of a "fork crown," not a "forks crown."
>
>Louis Schulman
>Tampa, Florida (contemplating the assembly of my very English Holdsworth Italia Strada Specialissimo.)
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Sheldon Brown
>Sent: Feb 23, 2004 2:30 PM
>To: REClassicBikes@aol.com, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>Subject: Re: [CR]Fixed Wheels & track bikes
>
>http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/unabridged?va=freewheel&x=0&y=0
>Main Entry: 1freewheel Pronunciation Guide
>Pronunciation: |
>Function: noun
>1 : a power-transmission system in a motor vehicle comprising an
>overrunning clutch that is interposed between the gearbox mechanism
>and the final drive and that makes the connection for a positive
>drive between the engine shaft and propeller shaft but permits the
>propeller shaft to run freely when its speed is greater than that of
>the engine shaft
>2 : a clutch that is fitted in the rear hub of a bicycle and that
>engages the rear sprocket with the rear wheel when the pedals are
>rotated forward and permits the rear wheel to run on free from the
>rear sprocket when the pedals are stopped or rotated backward --
>compare COASTER BRAKE
>
>
>Martin Coopland wrote:
>
> >It is one of my most irk some missed used phrases.
>
>One of my bit peeves is when folks from Great Britain don't realize
>that there are legitimate differences in English usage on the two
>sides of the Atlantic, and that these differences don't mean that
>Yanks are ignorant, just that the languages have evolved differently.
>
>This is particularly noticeable in technical matters involving
>technologies that have evolved since our nations came to the parting
>of the ways in 1783. For instance, almost every part of an
>automobile has a different name depending on where you are.
>
>When an American fits "fenders" to his bike to keep dry, he doesn't
>call them "fenders" because he's so stupid that he doesn't know the
>"correct" term is "mudguards." In fact, the correct term in the U.S.
>_is_ fenders, and it is generally considered rather affected to call
>them by the British term "mudguards," if it is even understood at all.
>
>_Correct_ usage of many terms does differ across the Atlantic. It's
>patronizing and offensive to accuse those on the opposite shore of
>being "incorrect" or "ignorant" when they use the appropriate
>terms/spellings for their location.
>
> >I have now been told in no uncertain terms, by Sheldon, that I am wrong.
>
>You're not wrong to use the term "fixed wheel", but you are wrong to
>criticize those who use the term "fixed gear" in its standard sense.
>
> >However I do not see it that way. Several things suggest otherwise to me.
> >
> >We (English speakers) call a freewheel a freeWHEEL, because it not a fixed
> >WHEEL.
> >
> >If we were trying to distinguish a freewheel from something described as a
> >fixed GEAR, a freewheel would be know as a Free GEAR. It is not.
>
>OK, I think I see the problem. If you loosen the axle nuts of a
>track bicycle and remove the wheel, the thing you hold in your hand
>is a "fixed wheel."
>
>However, if you loosen the axle nuts and remove the rear wheel of a
>one-speed freewheeling bike, the thing you hold in your had is _not_
>a "freewheel." It is a _wheel_ with a freehweel attached.
>
>A "freewheel" is not actually a wheel, it is a mechanism. Another
>name for a freewheel is "ratchet."
>
>Note that "fixed wheel" is two words, but "freewheel" is a single
>word. Here's the entry from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary:
>
>Main Entry: 1freewheel Pronunciation Guide
>Pronunciation: |
>Function: noun
>1 : a power-transmission system in a motor vehicle comprising an
>overrunning clutch that is interposed between the gearbox mechanism
>and the final drive and that makes the connection for a positive
>drive between the engine shaft and propeller shaft but permits the
>propeller shaft to run freely when its speed is greater than that of
>the engine shaft
>2 : a clutch that is fitted in the rear hub of a bicycle and that
>engages the rear sprocket with the rear wheel when the pedals are
>rotated forward and permits the rear wheel to run on free from the
>rear sprocket when the pedals are stopped or rotated backward --
>compare COASTER BRAKE
>
> >So despite Sheldon's posting, containing several sophistries,
>
>If you're going to accuse me of sophism, you should at least have the
>decency to be specific. This is out of line.
>
> >I believe the correct term to be Fixed wheel.
>
>_A_ correct term is "fixed wheel" particularly East of the Atlantic.
>
> >I will freely accede that the term "fixed gear" is widely missed used and
> >widely misunderstood. This is as much in print as in everyday verbal use.
>
>Will you tell us that we're "wrong" to spell "colour" as "color", or
>"aluminium" as "aluminum" next?
>
> >I once read a cycling manual that advised me to "sleep on my back, with the
> >window open and wear goggles" if I wanted to be a racing cyclist. Print is not
> >proof.
>
>Sophistry...?
>
> >The term "freewheel" is not really applicable to direct drive (ordinary)
> >bicycles, because in their heyday, before the common up take of the non direct
> >drive (safety) bicycling, freewheels were not generally used and there was no
> >need to differentiate between fixed and free wheels.
>
>There is a difference between a free wheel and a freewheel. See above.
>
> >A Sturmey Archer ASC, is a three speed hub, providing a fixed wheel in each
> >gear. It is not a fixed gear.
>
>Sturmey-Archer didn't agree. See: http://sheldonbrown.com/
>where they refer to it as a "variable fixed gear."
>
>Sheldon "Yank, And Not Ashamed Of It" Brown
>Newtonville, Massachusetts
>+---------------------------------------------------+
>| Two countries, divided by a common language. |
>| -- George Bernard Shaw |
>+---------------------------------------------------+
>--
> Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
> Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
> http://harriscyclery.com
> Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
> http://captainbike.com
> Useful articles about bicycles and cycling
> http://sheldonbrown.com
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