Any random quartz watch keeps better time than the priciest mechanical Swiss marvel. But like that my mechanical watches are powered by me moving around- that there are tiny physical gears and springs that regulate and keep time. I don't want to change batteries in my watch. I don't want my watch to "notify" me of anything but the time.
And so it goes with my bikes: I like that Campy Ergo levers are full of what look like watch parts. I like that a clean, fresh cable costs a couple of dollars and can provide exceptional shifting (with some modicum of skill and patience setting it up). I'm unmoved by the "cables are ugly" arguments. I have enough things in my life that require charging- I ride bikes to escape a good many of those.
Good mechanical shifting is a marvel of accessibility and performance. It's a testament to ingenuity and it's welcoming to those that tinker to make their drivetrain work for them- fewer gears, more range- whatever. There are enough black boxes that we can't get inside in our lives, and I'm disinterested in my bicycle becoming another.
Sept. 24, 2021, 6:56 a.m. - nothingfuture
Any random quartz watch keeps better time than the priciest mechanical Swiss marvel. But like that my mechanical watches are powered by me moving around- that there are tiny physical gears and springs that regulate and keep time. I don't want to change batteries in my watch. I don't want my watch to "notify" me of anything but the time. And so it goes with my bikes: I like that Campy Ergo levers are full of what look like watch parts. I like that a clean, fresh cable costs a couple of dollars and can provide exceptional shifting (with some modicum of skill and patience setting it up). I'm unmoved by the "cables are ugly" arguments. I have enough things in my life that require charging- I ride bikes to escape a good many of those. Good mechanical shifting is a marvel of accessibility and performance. It's a testament to ingenuity and it's welcoming to those that tinker to make their drivetrain work for them- fewer gears, more range- whatever. There are enough black boxes that we can't get inside in our lives, and I'm disinterested in my bicycle becoming another.