vince pitelka on wed 28 aug 02
> Not only a little compassion but more than a little lust! This is an RK2
> folks! The "Classic" Shimpo. This wheel is the reason why a lot of
> people still by Shimpos thinking that they're getting that great,
> powerful cone drive.
I am sorry to be a hard realist here, but unfortunately, this IS an RK-2,
poor sibling to the RK-1, which is the true classic Shimpo mechanical-drive
wheel, and FAR superior to the RK-2. In designing the RK-2 they tried to
come up with a much less expensive mechanical drive system, and in
succeeding they settled for a far less effective system. What a shame. The
older RK-1 and the newer metallic traction-drive wheels (RK-10) are both far
superior to the RK-2.
The RK-1 has the true cone drive, with a straight-sided cone. It rarely
requires adjustment, and you can take your foot off the pedal and the speed
remains constant. The RK-2 has a tilting motor mounted directly on the
pedal shaft, which is simple in design and cumbersome in operation. The
drive cone has a curved face to coincide with the arc of the motor-swing
when you step on the pedal. Unless you constantly adjust the pedal drag,
the speed changes spontaneously whenever you remove your foot from the
pedal. It is also very difficult to adjust the motor mount for constant
cone pressure, so the drive tends to slip at certain points in the speed
range. Like the RK-1, the RK-2 is indestructible. But what good does that
do when it is an inferior wheel?
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@worldnet.att.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
Carl Finch on fri 30 aug 02
At 07:41 PM 8/28/02 -0500, vince pitelka, quoting Russel Fouts, wrote:
> > Not only a little compassion but more than a little lust! This is an RK2
> > folks! The "Classic" Shimpo. This wheel is the reason why a lot of
> > people still by Shimpos thinking that they're getting that great,
> > powerful cone drive.
>
>I am sorry to be a hard realist here, but unfortunately, this IS an RK-2,
>poor sibling to the RK-1, which is the true classic Shimpo mechanical-drive
>wheel, and FAR superior to the RK-2. In designing the RK-2 they tried to
>come up with a much less expensive mechanical drive system, and in
>succeeding they settled for a far less effective system. What a shame. The
>older RK-1 and the newer metallic traction-drive wheels (RK-10) are both far
>superior to the RK-2.
>
>The RK-1 has the true cone drive, with a straight-sided cone. It rarely
>requires adjustment, and you can take your foot off the pedal and the speed
>remains constant. The RK-2 has a tilting motor mounted directly on the
>pedal shaft, which is simple in design and cumbersome in operation. The
>drive cone has a curved face to coincide with the arc of the motor-swing
>when you step on the pedal. Unless you constantly adjust the pedal drag,
>the speed changes spontaneously whenever you remove your foot from the
>pedal. It is also very difficult to adjust the motor mount for constant
>cone pressure, so the drive tends to slip at certain points in the speed
>range. Like the RK-1, the RK-2 is indestructible. But what good does that
>do when it is an inferior wheel?
Something's amiss here, Vince. The "RK-1" you describe here is EXACTLY the
RK-2 I own. It has none the design short-cuts or deficits you ascribe to it.
--Carl
vince pitelka on fri 30 aug 02
> Something's amiss here, Vince. The "RK-1" you describe here is EXACTLY
the
> RK-2 I own. It has none the design short-cuts or deficits you ascribe to
it.
Carl -
That is indeed odd. Maybe someone from Shimpo can weigh in on this. When I
came to the Appalachian Center for Crafts we had a whole fleet of RK-2s, all
with the curved face on the drive cone, and the motor mounted right on the
pedal shaft. I have slowly been replacing those wheels with electronic
variable speed wheels. All the other RK-2s I have encountered have been the
same design. The RK-1 is the original Shimpo, which was imported to the US
starting in the 1950s or 60s. It is a beautiful wheel. I wonder if Shimpo
started making RK-2s with the original RK-1 design, and then changed to the
cheaper design? Hopefully someone can address this discrepancy.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@worldnet.att.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
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