In Memoriam: The Straight Block
Disc brakes and 1x drivetrains. These are the sort of things that belong on mountainbikes, are questionable on cross bikes, and should make an immediate trip to the rubbish bin when it comes to road bikes. Change for the sake of change; gimmickry masquerading as innovation. And to make matters worse, the appearance of 11-speed blocks has killed the last vestige of the complexity of our sport: block composition and size.
The question of gear choice was once one of the most critical decisions a Cyclist could make when tackling a course. In The Rider, Tim Krabé describes his gear choice and those of his competitors; throughout the book, he fixates upon which gear he is riding in. José Manuel Fuente used to use higher gears that the other climbers to intimidate them. Andy Hampsten famously rode only odd-numbered gears because obviously even-sized gears made his palms go sweaty.
Sean Kelly belabored his choice to use a 13-25 block versus a 12-23 for the 1989 World Championship Road Race. He knew he couldn’t climb as well as the other favorites and wanted a 25 to save his legs over the final climb. If, however, he managed to get over the hill, he would surely need the 12 in order to win the sprint. It was a classic catch-22; use a block that he could win the sprint with but get dropped on the climb, or get over the hill and lose the sprint. The race lay in the balance of a single tooth on a cog.
We used to build our blocks, not buy a complete cassette on ebay. The idea was to keep the gears as close together as possible with a straight block being the holy grail and the relative smallness of the biggest gear being a declaration of your status as Hardman. Every tooth beyond a 1 tooth jump was a sacrifice; every step beyond a 21 or 23 tooth cog was a silent admission of your sissiness as a Cyclist. The Pros today are riding 11-28 blocks on every kind of terrain, every day. Even at Paris-Roubaix, one of the only races flat enough to still require little more than a 19 even for us mortals.
Committing to nothing lower than a 19-tooth gear requires a suitcase of courage, poor planning, or both. And it looks tough as nails, that tight cluster of gears at the back wheel. Not like these big dinner plates we see riding around all over the place these days. You could serve a nice helping of Steak Frites on some of these modern blocks. Disgraceful. And while I’m not building my blocks anymore, I’m certainly still choosing a cassette for the terrain and plan to continue doing so until I’m pushing up daisies, thank you very much.
@gilvelo
Rule #47
@frank
My Haleakala FW build was 14-16-19-20-21-22 with a 42/45 up front. Spent most of the time in the 42 x 20/21 mode. 22t was only used for last km at summit. My favorite silent shifters were Gipiemme friction shifters. It was an art to not be heard shifting behind your opponent. When you made that jump you had pick a big enough gear, so you would not have to sit down to shift.
@frank
The brakes or the tire……..
Cant have one without the other I guess (unless you do the old Flintstones manoueuvre and put your feet down to brake)
Hydraulic brakes work better at “braking”…. be it good tyre / bad tyre / wet surface / dry surface / uphill / downhill…
Are they necessary though ? Not really I would suggest….. The carbon surfaces and brake pad development have come on leaps and bounds in the last few seasons.
I have never been, (and no doubt will never go), the speeds down hill at which the semi pro / continental or pro teams go… but one thing I do know, if I was going downhill as fast as they can I would want hydraulic disc brakes….they fucking work better !
Other thing that is in the photo that is sadly lacking on bikes these days – even bespoke steel ones… the chain hanger. Why don’t they install those anymore?
@Puffy
Some still do, my steel bike has one.
Ahhh, frankenbike!
god that’s so fugly.
I aint riding ’em yet, but next upgrade, 2017, I will be. They work better. End of. Looks? well beauty is in the eye of the beholder, they don’t look that bad, just different and new. I hear they halve your breaking distance, and don’t underestimate the handling improvements of breaking at the hub instead of the rim, whole new ball game. Once a few disc clad missiles have blown past you through your favourite descent, I’m sure they will grow on you.
@Puffy
Columbine brazes a clever little spur on their chain stays, and they offer a clamp on version that should also work on seat stays. On the chain stay it catches the chain as you pull the wheel, without having to lift it onto the peg.
Cable ties with the nubbin rounded work too.
@Sparty
The future is already there if you can handle or want it. See old article from Sheldon Brown on his 63 speed bike, combining Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub, combined with 7 speed freewheel and triple up front. 63 speed bike
If you continue to use 11 speed FW but use 7 speed hub and double up front, you get 11x7x2=154 gears. Need more? Technically can be done now already, but for sure heavy and ugly and probably too much overlap and getting lost in the multitude of combinations.
On disc brakes: I understood Campagnolo has yet to come out with disc brakes? Cannot imagine they would allow Gruppo drivetrain to be mixed with Groupsan brakes. (Does not matter to me, as I have Groupsan on all bikes, and only disc brakes on the MTB, and that’s how it will remain).
Used a 12-18 on the rear and upped to a 53/44 on the front ’cause that’s what I read Eddie used for one race somewhere; damn near killed me on the climbs, but I got stronger and faster.
(Hailing from the Midlands where we don’t really do climbs. I moved down to Dorset and asked for the same set up of the bike shop owner who was building a new bike for me and he looked at me like I came from Mars)
Some kind of embroidery?
@Phillip Mercer
There still will be problems, unless all cyclists have the rotor in exactly the same place. Hence the move to through-axles for disk brakes, with QRs you can have problems with rubbing when replacing the wheel. I suspect that there use will be limited, depending conditions – expect to see cyclists switching to bikes with disks in the wet on a long descent.
@frank
Mmm yeah er – I got me a 1 x 11 SRAM set up on the CX V-bike rig I rode on the Heck and KT. Idea was to replicate a compact range but with less mechanical bits to fall off/get clogged up/break and that would also work as a #2/rain bike.
It does work but there are trade offs: the jump between ratios means there’s a fair bit of hunting for the the right ratio going uphill (usually you end up on the soup plate after going through the Richard and Jesus gears), the chain angles make for a noisy drive train after a messy day – it sounds like you’re being followed by a panzer if I’m honest, and the set up is prone to eating front chain rings – you’ll do well to get 2,500kms out of one – but that might be a function of the crap I put the thing through.
That said, it did the job in Minnesota and on PR in the mud and kept up with G’rilla and the Lion.
It’s also the rig I’m going to use if I get me an entry for next year’s Transcontinental if Mrs Engine doesn’t bury me under the patio first.
@The Engine
What’s the Richard gear?
I have to admit I’m a pussy – compact up front and 11-28 out back.
The short, very steep hills round here means a low gear is required, although all things being equal I can cope with 11-25 at the back.
As of the autumn I will be making the leap to mid-compact 52/36, and hopefully by the spring I’ll be strong enough to ride that with the 11-25. Can’t see me going any bigger on the chainrings or smaller on the cassette, however. Unless I move to Norfolk.
As an aside, is there any mathematical reason that a 10T cog can’t be made?
@KogaLover
The one that’s a bit of a dick.
@KogaLover
From @universo a few weeks back “Richard Gear — The final sprocket on the back of a cassette deemed good enough for climbing” – it’s in the Lexicon comments ” I just can’t go on” – from an Officer and a Gentleman
Electric groupsets? What the fuckety fuck is THAT all about?
@RobSandy
11T are the fewest number of teeth you can get on the current sized freehub. You’d need to go to a smaller radius freehub. Plus I suspect you may also find that by tightening the turning radius of the chain you will start to get chain issues and power loss and you may not have enough teeth “engaged” so chain skipping may also result. Finally you’d probably get through them pretty quick through wear.
Not sure whether I should point this out but……we do harp on about running 52/39 vs compact but then run 12/x cassette or even 13/x. A short while ago (running compact ‘coz I’m old) I went to an 11/28 cassette. I then thought I must really be getting old as I found I don’t often use the 11 vs when I ran 52/39 and 12/26. Then I looked up the gearing (25mm tyres). 52×12 = 114.6 inches, 52×13 = 105.8 inches but 50×11 = 120.4 inches. Don’t knock that old geezer on his compact – they may be pulling a higher gear than you think. Of course if you are still young enough to pull 52×11 you are at 125.1, but lets not let scientific fact get in the way of good V science! My main cycling buddy still has not twigged why I pull away from him on the flats and downhill as I have 10 inches over his 50×12. 1 tooth more or less has a greater effect on the cassette than the chainring.
@Teocalli
I worked this out, it’s why I wouldn’t change the block if/when I change the chainrings.
It’s just maths, man.
If I went from 11-25 or 11-28 on a compact to a 12-25 on a mid compact or standard, I’d lose loads of gears.
@piwakawaka
Yep, I’ll go with that before I move to electronic gears. I’d rather be ugly than wrong.
Let the current first generation go through, see what evolves and buy in 2017 when it becomes standard.
As for their uses, I suspect that it won’t be the people going fast on descents who have most cause to bless them. It will be the people who currently sit on their brakes and wear their rims.
Whenever any of the bigger groups from Dubai goes to do a ride in the mountains you can be sure there will be a good selection who will blow on the way down. We’re talking about curves even I can take at 70km/h with some light braking, if at all. They will heat those discs to atmospheric re-entry temperatures.
@ChrisO
Replace the sound of exploding tyres with exploding hydraulics as the oil boils?
@Teocalli
Off topic, but I once accidentally pressed my leg against a rotor after a long mtn bike descent in the Alps. Perfect crescent shaped brand on my shin.
Wimps! Rule #5 should imply fixed wheel training with a 42×17 off season and a straight block unless you have alpine climbs nearby!
Okay, “wimps” is a bit harsh . . .
The mech/hydraulic shimano levers are friggen bull horns on the front of a bike and weigh a ton. You want hydraulic disc brakes? Then you want little electronic buttons and junction boxes in your levers, not mech shifters I promise ya that.
Fab stuff. I rode the seven speed 12 straight-through in the 80s. What was sweet that as you tended to ride a couple of cogs more than others, you could simply buy a replacement cog. Now you have to buy the whole damn cassette. I used to know guys who had the gear/inches ratios down pat.
One thing that’s not mentioned here is that unless you had some esoteric chainset, the smallest chainring was a 42. Try getting up something steep in a 42-18 compared to the life o’reilly we have today. I currently ride 36-50 up front and 11-23 at the back. Gets me where I need to go and the 23 is rarely used.
@piwakawaka
Breaking at the rim or braking? lol
@piwakawaka
*hub, I meant to say…
Whenever such analytical talk of gearing comes up, I can’t help but laugh at the “it’s as easy as riding a bike.” Yes, bicycles are simple machines, but there is definitely a lot going on if you are a serious aficionado of awesome bikes.
As a point of clarification: if a fella was to have four road bikes, is it okay to have one dressed with a compact? Instead of changing out gears, the fella can just grab that bike if he’s heading for the mountains.
@Ron
I’d have thought that the last point was an essential part of the n+1 justification to the VMW.
@wiscot
Campagnolo single replacement cogs are available.
@Teocalli
Ha, yes, that is a great point that you make!
To be honest, my VMH is pretty supportive of my cyclo-habit and even likes nice bikes herself. We’ve been to two NAHBSs and we’re headed to the Worlds next month. Oh, and we went to the CX Worlds in Louisville. I recently set her up on my former #9 bike, a nice steel De Bernardi. She’s in heaven, was using DT shifters before, and now LOVES integrated shifters. Just got her some sweet Gaerne shoes so she can ride cliplessly.
I also played my cards right; I stocked up on bikes while we were dating and haven’t bought any since we’ve been married. I know it’s blasphemous, but I’m pretty happy with the current herd. I’m saving my Budgetatus to build a proper bike shed/workshop in our backyard, we’ve got an acre despite living downtown in a mid-sized city. The house is reaching maximum bike capacity.
@Ron
strd 53-39 with 11-25 on my alloy CAAD 10 and Jet wheels
mid-compact (?) 52-36 with 11-28 on my C Roubaix with Ardennes
Pretty straight forward which one I use for crits and short road races and TNW rides. And guess which one I use for the hills and centuries and casual Sunday club rides.
My daughter races Jr’s gearing and can still stay under roll out using 11 sp cassette provide the CX front chain rings at 44-36. 44×12 works for rollout. She mostly likes the 12-25 cassette DA C35’s combo but for races w/lotta climbing or steep TTs she wants the DA C24 12-28 combo.
12-25 is a great 11 sp cassette. For fun every now and then I’ll run with her C35’s just to get a welcome change of scenery from the HED +’s. It’s a whole different vibe/feel from the narrow DAs vs fat HEDs and I love the tight ratio cassette.
I do have a 11-32 cassette mounted on a Stan’s disc brake wheel set I’ll use on my steel frame CX bike w/long cage 105 RD. That bike I run with 52-36 during summer on dirt roads and I’m swapping now the big ring (easy peasy on the Ultegra crank) to a 46 for CX season. 2nd Industry Nine wheel set is set up with 11-28. I’m not sure which way I’ll go this season on cassettes. A 36×32 could be interesting but how often will need it? We’ll see.
I guess the point of all that is why not have a bunch of different options/flavors if have a bunch of bikes? I don’t see the point otherwise of maintaining a herd of bikes.
Cheers
@Teocalli
Agreed! And a bike of a different color should be a good reason to add another machine to the stable. “But honey, it’s blue and I don’t have a blue bike yet.”
@Nate
Alas, I’m a SRAM/Shimano guy these days. When I had my Colnago I tried to put as much Campag on there as possible.
@KogaLover
Richard Gear — The final sprocket on the back of a cassette deemed good enough for climbing.
“I got nowhere else to go! I got nowhere else to g… I got nothin’ else.”
@frank
The fucking insane thing about it is, as soon as the new XTR 11 speed came out, 3rd party companies released a 45t extension cog. FORTY-FIVE TEETH. What the fuck?! I could eat nachos off that. If you need a 45 tooth cog you’re missing the point of Mountain Biking. If you happen to regularly ride hellaciously steep climbs, jump off the hype train and just put the front derailleur back on. The sport* is becoming too damn easy. FFS.
*Mountain Biking specifically, not Cycling.
In other news, my 12-23 always treats me right.
@Matt
Fuck! Talk about dinner plates, you could eat off of that!
@Teocalli
Unless you break off one of the teeth on your 11 and are too cheap a bastard to get a new one. Not that I would know who that might be.
@wiscot
Darned good point, and the VMW should relate to that as it works with dresses.
@Ccos
I fear that a) the result might be a bit, shall we say, lumpy and b) would also not quite have the desired effect of increasing the gearing.
@piwakawaka that kind of statement puts you dangerously close to @Gianni and his fetish for EPMS & ugly saddles. Disc brakes were a leap forward in mountain biking because it’s a sport that requires the rider to brake frequently and aggressively on steep terrain with inconsistent traction. That, coupled with the frequency at which you could warp your rim from bouncing off logs, rocks, & woodland creatures (thereby detrimentally affecting your ability to brake and avoid further woodland creatures) made the disc brake a logical choice and a massive leap forward for the sport.
But for road biking, where the tarmac is consistent (relative to off-piste), your contact patch with the road is equivalent to the surface area of your thumbs, and the chance of you tacoing a rim bad enough to affect your braking but not end your ride is non-existent, disc brakes have no place and no advantage. The aerodynamic loss from all that shit on your wheels, fork, and frame far exceeds any marginal gain from the one Rule #9 ride where they might come in handy. I suspect any “trials” for the pro teams are due to sponsor pressure and not from any demand for improved braking.
@Teocalli
Assuming it wasn’t a) intentional and b) yes indeedy “lumpy” during the sprint, I’ll just say said individual probably should have inspected his drivetrain a little more thoroughly back then. It’s sorta like the opposite of “it goes up to eleven.”
@unversio
That is pure genius right there.
@unversio
Which one is the end of the cassette? The Richard or the Jesus?
@unversio
But I have a 56-54-52 up front!
But seriously, what’s wrong with running a single chain ring 50 with a 11 to 20 something in back.
After all, it forces compliance with Rule #90.
@bob droege
If a single ring could be counted as the Big Ring, couldn’t it also be counted as the little ring?