Re: [CR]Newbie Question/Gearing

(Example: Framebuilders:Brian Baylis)

Date: Fri, 16 May 2008 22:55:10 -0500
From: "John Thompson" <john@os2.dhs.org>
Organization: TheCrimson Permanent Assurance
To: CR RENDEZVOUS <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: Re: [CR]Newbie Question/Gearing
References: <314632.79677.qm@web82202.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
In-Reply-To: <314632.79677.qm@web82202.mail.mud.yahoo.com>


Jerome & Elizabeth Moos wrote:
> I think it's pretty easy to get classic gearing as low as you want
> it, provided you are willing to use a classic crank like TA
> Cyclotourist or Stronglight 99 that will take a very small inner
> ring. But if you still want a resonably large top gear, you have to
> pair it with a long cage derailleur like Huret Duopar, Campy Rally or
> one of several long cage Suntours.

For me, the problem isn't the rear derailleurs but the front derailleurs. There are any number of on-topic wide range rear derailleurs but fronts are a different matter. I used to run a 14-30 freewheel on my Gitane tandem with a 54T large chainring. I never found a front derailleur that would work on this with anything smaller than a 32T inner ring (54-48-32), even though the Stronglight 99 crank could handle down to a 28T ring.

--
John Thompson (john@os2.dhs.org)
Appleton WI USA