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Belt drive + Internally Geared Hub is a popular combination.
Existing systems are based around a gates carbon belt drive. See the Breezer Beltway series bikes. Also Reeb Cycles began offering belt drives for mountain bikes when they first came to market.
Also, now there is a breakable belt system called Veer that doesn't require a frame cutout (though uses ...
29
Although I support keeping older bikes in circulation in general, this particular bike comes with some caveats. One of my riding buddies had a very similar bike.
The Vitus 979 is a bonded aluminum frame with small-diameter tubes. It was notoriously flexible when new. It was rumored that Sean Kelly, who raced on one of these, had to replace his fork after ...
19
This is one of those questions that can start arguments between bike mechanics--to cross or not to cross the derailer cables. Crossing appears to be becoming more common on new bikes, if the cables aren't internal, but it's also going to depend upon the bike. Smoother shifting is reported by some from crossed cables. I would talk to the mechanic at your LBS ...
19
Depends what is your goal, but personally, I'd go for the modern one. Maybe for this budget, you can find something second hand with Shimano 105, that would be also an option.
The reasons are:
weight is a secondary concern, unless you are in competition and are looking for 1/10th of seconds (and other parameters are similar). The weight that matters is the ...
18
If you carry a multi-tool which happens to include a chain tool, you could also convert your bike to a single speed. If you do so, you would have to replace the chain afterwards as well (since you shorten it) but in some situations it could get you out of a rural area.
If you do so, carefully select the gear you would put it in, as you won't be able to ...
17
"Nothing is so broken you cannot make it worse" - breaking a perfectly good chain in the field, miles from nowhere, with a light weight emergency tool, would be my very last resort.
This will only work if the broken end is not too frayed. Remove the cable completely from the outers and the shifter. Thread the cable though the barrel adjuster on the ...
17
You have a double front, right? The usual advice is to not shift into the highest 3 gears in the rear cassette when in front the chain is on the large chainring, and to not shift into the smallest 3 cogs, when the chain in front is on the small chainring.
This prevents cross-chaining, which wears the chain quickly, produces noise and difficult shifting. ...
16
If the teeth on the jockey wheels appear to be in good shape then you probably have nothing to worry about. Many jockey wheels use bushings instead of bearings, and either way they are not going to spin for very long just because there's not much weight to them and therefore they don't carry much inertia.
If there is noticeable resistance when you try to ...
16
You can see in the video how the teeth on the cassette rotate quickly at the moment it slips(at :05 seconds), while the spokes of the wheel actually stay slow, then jolt forwards to catch up. This means that the freewheel mechanism in the rear hub is failing to engage.
It's actually quite dangerous because as it gets worse it could cause you to lose ...
16
You pays your moneys and you takes your chance
Answer Maybe genuine, but just as likely not.
Essentially by buying discount, you're circumventing any quality and control process from the brand owner.
Costs are a strange thing - what costs you $40 in the shop retail, might be sold on sale for 20% off and the seller isn't making a loss. The various ...
14
The general idea of "lever drive," or a reciprocating pedal motion instead of a rotary pedal motion precedes even the invention of the modern diamond-frame bicycle--consider the Special Star from 1886. More recently, there was the Facet Biocam, the Alenax, and the Wall Walker.
Within the world of reciprocating drivetrains, the String Bike is interesting in ...
13
Derailleurs will last almost indefinitely. The jockey wheels will wear out in time (tens of thousands of km) but the rest of the mechanism shouldn't see significant wear.
13
Another suggestion: Scooter it.
The bike is functional but the drive train cannot transmit power.
So one solution is to scooter along with one foot on the opposite pedal, and your other foot pushing directly on the ground. This can be uncomfortable, so rotating your saddle ~30 degrees to the opposite side from where you're standing can give your hip ...
13
Yes - after that mileage you will need both a new chain and new cassette.
A new chain on the old cassette will not mesh right, and accelerate wear on the new chain.
Depending how much chain elongation has accrued, you may need new chainrings too. They wear slower because more teeth are engaged in the chain. Look at the chainring and see if the scallops are ...
13
The most likely causes are cable friction and derailleur hanger misalignment. Indexing adjustment has gotten more sensitive to both as the speed count has increased.
Derailleur hanger misalignment will tend to reduce the margin for error in the adjustment, and make it hard to avoid certain gears where there's some jumping or noise. When it's aligned, the ...
12
Derailleurs, fortunately have been fairly standardized. Simple specs like these can help you determine what derailleur is best for your bike. Here's a brief overview of some of these:
Maximum capacity: The maximum number of teeth between the largest and smallest rings. eg. 48T-22T = 26T.
Top gear teeth: The range available for the largest ring. Any size ...
12
This is an odd question. The sentiment that the only security here is physical security is correct. Think about the following:
The Shimano Di2 components are not mated/matched to a specific computer or instance of E-Tube software. So there's no 1:1 relationship.
Therefore, any computer equipped with the SM-PCE1 or SM-BCR2 programming cables can be used to ...
12
The derailleur is there to act as chain tensioner. In a frame intended for derailleur the rear wheel can't be moved to tighten the chain, so a separate spring-loaded chain tensioner is needed. The cheapest and ugliest way is to just use whatever derailleur was on the bike before conversion.
12
I believe your problem is a mismatch of cable pull ratios between the shifter and derailleur.
The rear derailleur actuation ratio is how far the shifter cage moves for a unit length of cable pulled. The amount of cable a shifter needs to pull for each gear shift is determined by the actuation ratio and the spacing between the cassette sprockets.
Generally,...
12
The reason why shifting is arranged this way:
Shifting to a larger chainring at the front gives a higher gear ratio, shifting to a larger sprocket at the rear gives a lower gear ratio.
Shifting to larger chainring/sprocket requires positive pulling force from the shifter whereas shifting to smaller chainring/sprocket can be done with derailleur spring ...
12
There is no good way. One could imagine ways of contriving a low-end claw-type derailleur on. Don't do that.
Nexus hubs are usually reliable. In some places in the world, there are lot running around without issue. That you've had chronic issues suggests either damage, defect, or a setup issue.
Some number of Nexus and Alfine bikes have made it into the ...
11
20,000km's in 2 years on Ultegra Di2. It performs very well. Shifts are smooth, crisp, quick and effortless. I have a few other road bikes running various mechanical shifters, but have preferred the electronic shifters during the past two years. No need for adjustment due to no more cable stretch. The front derailleur auto trims and follows the rear ...
11
The picture is a RD-M780-SGS long cage.
Shimano have three codes for rear derailleur length:
Short - SS
Medium - GS
Long - SGS
I'm not aware of where this is printed on the RD though so not so helpful.
However Shimano only have one non-clutched XT Dyna-Sys (10 speed) RD the RD-M780-SGS (long cage 43t capacity). The clutched (shadow+) RDs come in GS (...
11
Not using the upper and lower gears is a very effective solution. Stupid, but effective.
Traditionally one would simply use the limit screws (at the rear derailleur, often marked L(ow) and H(igh)). Shift to the lowest/highest gear (front and rear) and tighten the screw so that it only allows the mech to move ever so slightly over the edge of the largest/...
11
The allen is almost certainly metric. Both 2.5mm and 3mm are reasonably close to 7/64 inch. 3mm is a very common size on bikes. If you are going to do any work on a bike you need metric allen wrenches.
11
Confirming @Swifty's diagnosis. It's the freewheel mechanism. Take it back to where you purchased it and demand full refund or at least a complete new rear wheel.
Don't let them try to repair the freewheel or the hub. Accept replacement only. The store has already demonstrated incompetence and a disregard for customer satisfaction by being unable or ...
11
The key aspect of the GS cage is the length of the cage. The other key aspect of derailleurs is the geometry of the parallelogram.
Because the design has been adapted to suit more modern gearing with larger max sprockets, it moves downwards at a steeper angle, with room to accommodate the larger cogs. Therefore if a tighter range cassette is fitted, the ...
11
I'll weigh in as the single person in this thread who actually seems to have ridden, and owned, multiple Vituses. I love them, always have, mainly for their history, their gorgeous looks, their light weight. I ride my current one in blue daily, as a city bike, have for several years. As a relatively inexpensive mid-range frame, it handles nimbly, and the ...
10
I have seen this frequently and routed my cables this way. By routing the shifter cable from the right side of the handlebar around the stem to the cable boss on the left side of the frame (and visa versa) I create a more gentle bend in the in the cable housing. A gentler bend creates less internal friction on the cable. Another benefit is less stress on the ...
10
Here's a photo of RD-M970 from behind. As you can see, the slotted (guide) pulley goes to knuckle and solid one (tension) to the bottom of cage. I'd align the arrows with chain movement direction that happens when you pedal forward.
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