Ever wonder which chain or pedal is the most efficient ?

[mattsbeers]

This guy found out! Friction Facts: Measuring Drivetrain Efficiency | Cyclingnews.com

[thollandpe]

Fascinating!

I may have to plunk down some beer money to support this guy and get the results. I like his approach.

Those of us that plunked down hard-earned beer money for Bullseye pulleys back in the 70's and 80's are very familiar with the arguments for low-friction derailleur pulleys. I'm on the bandwagon for ceramic (Si-N) bearings ever since a bud hooked me up w/ Cerbecs for my TT wheels a decade ago. Those things spin forever.

I am very curious if he has tested a Gates belt drive (holy hysteresis, Batman).

And regarding the recent discussion on old-school vs new-school BB's, I'd love to see tests on those. I won't waste space here theorizing on what's more important, bearing drag or spindle stiffness, but you might guess what I think is more important.

[Scott G.]

If pulleys are robbing power, how about bringing back chain de-tensioners ?
A de-tensioner lets you run a slack chain on the lower run after shifting.
First you shift, then a second lever lets you remove tension from the pulley cage
or tension arm. Osgear Super Champion and early Simplex derailleurs had them.

[lumpy]

I'd like to see numbers for cross-chaining.

[AngryScientist]

i've wondered which make the best hanging art:

[houston]

Can you imagine how much this mofo weighs? I don't know if my ceiling/joists/rafters would support this much badassery. I still want it.

i've wondered which make the best hanging art:

[lumpy]

And how much solvent and time it took to get all that chain clean?

[Noteddy]

So, no wiring. Mechanical chandelier?

[rabo]

I said it before , Phinney would have been TT worldchamp if he would have the analysis the Germans had to propel Tony Martin to the title by 6 seconds. (58 tooth front chainring gives you a straighter shot at the larger gears to start with). Friction matters sometimes.

[caleb]

I have never once needed to know the answers to any of these questions.

[deepsix]

I bought the reports right when CN posted the article.

All of them are packaged together for about $10. I respect the methodology.

One problem with the results is there really isn't a huge variety of components tested. The results are more or less predictable wrt what the lowest friction components are. The value is seeing the differences between components with variables like lube normalized. He also establishes a benefit to running in chains.
The differences between nice stuff is marginal. Most often a fraction of a watt. The pedal sample size does not contain many of the popular choices cyclists use. I think for what I paid I'll be alerted to updated reports as data is added.

In respecting this gentleman's efforts to run a business, I won't divulge the results of his testing. He makes that available for a fee.

[SteveP]

pulley bearings are long time drag reducer.

spin yr crank backwards and see how long it turns
then by hand unload the rear derailleur and do the same thing.

lotta drag there, eh?
plz send me $10 for this test.

[suhacycles]

pulley bearings are long time drag reducer.

spin yr crank backwards and see how long it turns
then by hand unload the rear derailleur and do the same thing.

lotta drag there, eh?
plz send me $10 for this test.

Yeah, which always makes me wonder why the big three don't make derailleurs with like 14-15t pulleys with substantial bearings. Guess the weight weenies would freak out...

[SteveP]

funny enough
i just had to clean out my da cage return spring cause it had 7 yrs of shiite in it clogging it up.
the pulleys ( which are sealed bearings ) were totally fine.
just cleaned them out a little... they were ok.
10 minute job every 7 yrs... shiite is so undependable..

[Bssc]

today's bearings have tons of watt robbing friction most of the aero parts hung on a bike theses days only help to get the lost wattage back

ceramics are better because the seals are looser like the old school bearings , ceramics last longer because if they get contaminated they crush that contamination into oblivion, full ceramics are impervious to water so they do not pit or brinell

[Saab2000]

My single speed has massively lower drivetrain drag. Spin the pedals backwards and there's simply no comparison. The SS spins very, very easily backwards and keeps going for several revolutions.

Shimano may well do pulleys better than Campagnolo. The Campagnolo bushing ones work fine but I have seen them gunk up to the point of barely turning and I keep a reasonably clean drivetrain. Also, the bushings they use seem fairly primitive. They used to use ball bearings. Seems for the price they charge they could design a superior bushing for the upper race and use the ball bearing lower race.

Suntour used to make sealed bearing pulleys that were very nice, like Bullseye, but didn't make noise because they were plastic and not aluminum.