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Indeed, the chain+derailleur system is incredibly lightweight, efficient, simple, and also fairly reliable. It's one of the most elegant solutions in mechanical

Indeed, the chain+derailleur system is incredibly lightweight, efficient, simple, and also fairly reliable. It's one of the most elegant solutions in mechanical engineering, imo.

aidenn0 4y ago
I find the chain+derailleur system to be less reliable than drive-shafts, but it's trivially repairable for a 10 year old with no tools, which is a huge win.
brnaftr361 4y ago
I disagree, I find chain and derailleurs to be annoying and unreliable in the worst way. I'll grant them their crown of efficiency, but I hope to see more refined CVTs. I currently have a bike with a NuVinci and I strongly prefer the way it functions over the clunky must-be-pedalling shifts of a derailleur. As an added benefit the system is contained, presumably hardening it against damage and reducing maintenance.
- potta_coffee 4y ago
  I have 30 year old derailleurs with thousands of miles on them that are still going strong. I don't really understand the reliability complaint here.
- asdff 4y ago
  How do you find it unreliable? I put a couple thousand miles on mine a year and it sits outside. Occasionally it gets hit with wd40 then lube and a rag. That's all I do with this thing. I don't get all the complaints from people on the fiddling with derailleurs. I've never had to fiddle despite years of riding. Just some shimano components mostly 105 and ultegra but nothing special or too new. I'm still riding 2x8 actually. Maybe the fewer rear gears leads to fewer issues with alignment? I do find that I can shift into any of the rear cogs easily with either front cogs, very permissive groupset to being in the wrong gear at the wrong time too and sloppily finding another one (a lot of chaos sharing the road). Maybe I'm just not attuned enough to feel when the gearing is going out though.
  - thghtihadanacct 4y ago
    I think the key is matching up the right parts. I ride with a 1x11 mid grade set up that was made for each other and after dialing it in I have no issues either.
    - skeeter2020 4y ago
      Today's mid and even sub-mid tier Shimano drivetrains are an amazing combination of performance, reliability and price. 4-piston disc brakes are also fantastic and suspension forks are great too. There's a lot of BS in bike manufacturing (ex: new standards) and carbon frames need a serious rethink but bikes today rock!
  - brnaftr361 4y ago
    Maybe I've just had bad luck, but two of the bikes I've had have come apart. The derailleur gets misaligned for whatever reason. One of them I had to take to a shop because despite extensive experiment I could not get it to properly align, and I don't know that they did either. The other was perhaps just old - an '80's era steel frame road bike from a Sears catalogue I donated to a repair shop, and it eventually got exploded for parts. I suspect the third would've succumbed to the same fate. It may just be me mishandling them, but if they can't handle this style they're not fit to ride. :cool: Also I hate dropping gears in the middle of an intersection.
    - bagels 4y ago
      They got a lot better if you were buying quality bikes (not department store bikes) in the 2000s. I have a road bike that has 20k miles that never needed shifting adjustments besides replacing worn out chainrings and chains.
      - brnaftr361 4y ago
        I busted a Kona Splice's drive train, started ghost shifting and I couldn't figure out how to get it adjusted. I had a Cannondale that I never had problems with but it didn't get used a lot. Maybe it's hopping curbs? Can't be helped here, the roads just aren't designed for bike commuting and everybody has a lifted 3/4 ton they can't fineagle into their garage. It's lovely.
redprince 4y ago
I have left this behind for a Rohloff Speedhub 500/14 and I'm not looking back. The chain runs inside a Hebie Chainglider protected from the elements and is lubricated with a nice mineral oil. I can run this setup without any maintenance whatsoever for 2000km in every weather. The Rohloff itself will likely outlive me, provided it gets its oil change every 5000 km or so. I do utility cycling and long distance tour cycling.

Indeed, the chain+derailleur system is incredibly lightweight, efficient, simple, and also fairly reliable. It's one of the most elegant solutions in mechanical engineering, imo.

aidenn0 4y ago

I find the chain+derailleur system to be less reliable than drive-shafts, but it's trivially repairable for a 10 year old with no tools, which is a huge win.

brnaftr361 4y ago

I disagree, I find chain and derailleurs to be annoying and unreliable in the worst way. I'll grant them their crown of efficiency, but I hope to see more refined CVTs. I currently have a bike with a NuVinci and I strongly prefer the way it functions over the clunky must-be-pedalling shifts of a derailleur. As an added benefit the system is contained, presumably hardening it against damage and reducing maintenance.

potta_coffee 4y ago
I have 30 year old derailleurs with thousands of miles on them that are still going strong. I don't really understand the reliability complaint here.
asdff 4y ago
How do you find it unreliable? I put a couple thousand miles on mine a year and it sits outside. Occasionally it gets hit with wd40 then lube and a rag. That's all I do with this thing. I don't get all the complaints from people on the fiddling with derailleurs. I've never had to fiddle despite years of riding. Just some shimano components mostly 105 and ultegra but nothing special or too new. I'm still riding 2x8 actually. Maybe the fewer rear gears leads to fewer issues with alignment? I do find that I can shift into any of the rear cogs easily with either front cogs, very permissive groupset to being in the wrong gear at the wrong time too and sloppily finding another one (a lot of chaos sharing the road). Maybe I'm just not attuned enough to feel when the gearing is going out though.
- thghtihadanacct 4y ago
  I think the key is matching up the right parts. I ride with a 1x11 mid grade set up that was made for each other and after dialing it in I have no issues either.
  - skeeter2020 4y ago
    Today's mid and even sub-mid tier Shimano drivetrains are an amazing combination of performance, reliability and price. 4-piston disc brakes are also fantastic and suspension forks are great too. There's a lot of BS in bike manufacturing (ex: new standards) and carbon frames need a serious rethink but bikes today rock!
- brnaftr361 4y ago
  Maybe I've just had bad luck, but two of the bikes I've had have come apart. The derailleur gets misaligned for whatever reason. One of them I had to take to a shop because despite extensive experiment I could not get it to properly align, and I don't know that they did either. The other was perhaps just old - an '80's era steel frame road bike from a Sears catalogue I donated to a repair shop, and it eventually got exploded for parts. I suspect the third would've succumbed to the same fate. It may just be me mishandling them, but if they can't handle this style they're not fit to ride. :cool: Also I hate dropping gears in the middle of an intersection.
  - bagels 4y ago
    They got a lot better if you were buying quality bikes (not department store bikes) in the 2000s. I have a road bike that has 20k miles that never needed shifting adjustments besides replacing worn out chainrings and chains.
    - brnaftr361 4y ago
      I busted a Kona Splice's drive train, started ghost shifting and I couldn't figure out how to get it adjusted. I had a Cannondale that I never had problems with but it didn't get used a lot. Maybe it's hopping curbs? Can't be helped here, the roads just aren't designed for bike commuting and everybody has a lifted 3/4 ton they can't fineagle into their garage. It's lovely.

redprince 4y ago

I have left this behind for a Rohloff Speedhub 500/14 and I'm not looking back. The chain runs inside a Hebie Chainglider protected from the elements and is lubricated with a nice mineral oil. I can run this setup without any maintenance whatsoever for 2000km in every weather. The Rohloff itself will likely outlive me, provided it gets its oil change every 5000 km or so. I do utility cycling and long distance tour cycling.