Further to yesterday’s post, Paul at Classic Cycle confirms the front derailleur is in fact a part of the Simplex “Fun Bike” group, which is easily the 19th- or 20th-finest cyclng component selection France has ever produced:
Indeed, the rear derailler adorns their Seinfeld Tribute Bike, which people travel from as far as the other side of the shop to admire:
[Photo: Classic Cycle]
But the true pearl in the oyster that is the Fun Bike group is the shifter, which I’d never seen before, and which was nothing less than a revelation:
[Photo: Classic Cycle]
I’m pretty sure Shimano debuted the whole trigger shifter concept in 1992 with XTR M900, but Simplex clearly had them beat (in principle, anyway) by a good three years with this clothespin-like design.
Also related to the aforementioned post, I put in a proper ride on the triple-ized Homer today:
Everything was working fantastically, until I dropped it into the granny for a particularly steep climb and experienced the phenomenon known as “chainsuck,” which is the velocipedal drivetrain equivalent of getting your genitals caught in your zipper:
It can be difficult to diagnose a case of chainsuck, but inasmuch as I’d shifted into the granny ring innumerable times before the conversion without incident I knew it was probably something simple. For example, I’d left the new chain conservatively long since I don’t like worrying about accidentally shifting into the dreaded big/big combo and thought maybe that was it, so I tightened the derailleur B screw to see if it would help in the meantime:
But a little while later it happened again:
And on closer inspection I noticed that both times the chain seemed to be catching the chainring right at the Wipperman quick link thingy:
The oblong shape of the Wipperman link is what makes it easy to open, but I could see how maybe it’s also grabbing the base of the chainring teeth just enough to create a problem. So I switched it for another link when I got home and we’ll see what happens on the next ride. Hopefully that fixes it, but if not I’ll shorten the chain next. By the way, I used to scrupulously match quick links and chains, but I now wantonly mix different manufacturers and speeds, sometimes even on the same chain:
I have no idea what chain the new one I put on there goes with, and hopefully I’m not flying too close to the sun.
Hey, I have to get my thrills somewhere.
Lastly, you may or may not be pleased to learn that Jonathan Vaughters scoffs at Zwift:
He talks a big game, but I’m pretty sure I’d beat him in a scoff-off.