Can 10 Speed Friction Shifting Work?
Some people have commented on the video that they have succeeded in making 10 speed friction shifting work. I accept that some set ups could function, but the precision involved would surely cause two issues:
- All parts would need to be correct and working perfectly
- The precision in shifter adjustment would be very challenging
Why Even Try?
Chains lengthen in time, cables slip by micro amounts and as there are so many moving parts, I don’t believe it is a viable gear system in the real world. Am I wrong? If you had a triple crank, would you seriously want to try and shift though 30 gears? It seems crazy, but it’s interesting to experiment with the idea. Here is a post of on adapting a vintage 10 speed into an 18 speed.
12 Speed Worked Better
As a Simpler 6 x2 Speed
I gave up on my 10 x 2 experiment, as I found that some gears would just not work properly. If you got gears 4,5,6,7 and 8 in tune, then 2 and 3 didn’t move without jumping or clicking. The extremes, gear 1 and 10, were like no-go areas in a sketchy neighbourhood; why would you even try to enter into those extremes when you know the dangers ahead? I believe an 8 speed cassette or freewheel is the most you should have on a friction shifting bike, otherwise the act of tuning will become a daily chore.
The Canelli
I bought this Canelli in France and was impressed with its quality. It came with Campagnolo Mirage components and though the brand doesn’t have the prestige of other Italian bike firms, I would definitely buy another. It has Columbus tubing and a nice rounded chrome fork, simple lugs and clean lines, with no decoration or stamps around the seat lug or head tube. It seemed to me a more utilitarian Italian bike, nicely presented with good components but made for the practical rider who didn’t want to part with his month’s wages. Heres a Pista version of the same era.
My permanent turbo set up is an old Raleigh ‘gas pipe’ sports fame with bits from the ‘almost scrap’ box. With a turbo bike the only really important thing are the dimensions and geometry saddle/pedals/handlebars to perfectly replicate road bike position. I could go on about that but to get to the point: it uses a ‘cast off’ 10 speed cassette with an early 80s Suntour rear gear (and Huret front) I do change my road bike chains regularly and so it does get pretty good cast offs for that component but the change with 1960s down tube Campag shifters is fine. with the only compromise being no top as the bolt-on gear hangar bolt catches the chain ie nothing to do with changing sensitivity.