Re: Thoughts on industrial design

Am Sun, 27 Apr 2025 21:26:23 -0400 schrieb Frank Krygowski
<frkrygow@sbcglobal.net>:

On 4/27/2025 2:32 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Sun, 27 Apr 2025 09:47:23 -0500, AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
 

He did dump the slushbox for an actual gearbox, which is nice.

 
Yep.  I looked around for a stick shift model.  Except for my first
car, all have been stick shifts.  Driving an automatic makes me feel
like I'm the passenger instead of the driver.  With a stick shift, I'm
part of the machine.  If I live long enough to need a new car, it will
probably be another stick shift.

>
I got in a conversation with a Tesla owner last week. He proudly showed
me a video shot from his driver's seat showing the car self-driving from
his garage to a coffee shop. The ultimate non-driving experience!
>
I've never owned a car with automatic transmission. Of course, my
current EV has only one fixed ratio reduction gear, so I've moved beyond
playing with multiple ratios. Just step on the gas ... no, throttle ...
no, accelerator, and it goes.
>
Half of my bikes are friction shifting, which is a vaguely similar issue
for discussion.

I never owned a car with automatic transmission, either. If I rent a
car, I don't care, but why should I get used to something that I don't
need and that only costs money?

We still own a car manufactured 25 years ago, that we bought 20 years
ago, for less money than we spent for the parts of the two bikes I built
in early 2023.  A car that is driven infrequently, carefully and only on
a few long journeys and that is properly maintained can last that long -
at least some of those produced before 2000 do.

Our bikes have wireless electronic 1x12 shifting with two simple
switches. It  isn't automatic, if you take it literally, but simple
enough. My wife likes it, and so do I.  I see no value in memorizing
irregular gear ratios or guessing these on the fly while riding. I can
do that but don't miss it.


--
Bicycle helmets are the Bach flower remedies of traffic