The bikes run again

[TMan]

So I have done a lot of my own gunsmithing, which has built up some degree of confidence.  Added to that is the fact that my wife's 1987 BMW 325 has never been into a shop for anything other than body work.  So having set for over 10 years while we were on International Assignments, I finally tackled my Cannondale and my wife's Trek bicycle.

Why does a bicycle need 24 gears?  You need a low, an intermediate, and a high gear like was on my Raleigh when I was a kid.  My first car, a Chevy Malibu only had two gears.

The front dérailleur on my Cannondale was a real bear to get adjusted right. These are indexed gears and getting the front to shift properly through all 3 gears while the rear dérailleur was in any of its 8 gears was a real pain in the butt.  It reminded me of the S&W 22A that I never could get error free where it wouldn't stove-pipe at least once in a box of 100 rounds.

Life was much simpler when I was a kid and my 3 speed with all the gears internal to the rear hub, never failed in any way.  I really think this system of pushing the chain up and over gears had to be invented by the French.  

[MLB]

The Harley has but 5, and it's coming out this weekend too. Finally getting nice out.

[TMan]

MLB, my Honda CB900 has 10. The rear end has two ranges so it is kind of like a 10 speed bicycle backwards. The problem is that in the low range on the rear, if you fully let off the gas you hear the rear tire chirping on the pavement. If that happens going around a curve on the end of your street, you end up spending the next two weeks in the hospital with a ruptured kidney. I think Honda realized that it was dangerous and only made it for two years.