Well, I have no experience with these products. But, I believe bunnyman is a big fan of the Bartol system. (It was a frequent poster who was tinkering with it and I think it was bunny.) If I remember correctly, there was a bit of a break in/tweaking period, but once he was through it he was a fan.

As for the suspension hub, well I'll stick with a comfy pair of gloves, shorts, and 23mm tires.

I have no experience with any other product that you have mentioned except for the Bartol System (yes, Pooks, you were correct).

I would never use the Bartol in a crit. But considering that my Fox will never be put in harm's way in a crit, it's great for TTs and tris. There is a part of the ring that is a pain in the butt (requires filing to get it correct), and I even get an occasional hiccup in a race (usually going up hills), but the mechanical simplicity is still worth it. Think of a TT bike with not else much other than a single front chainring, except that you have hill climbing gears, as well.

Secrets are here: use the supplied inner protection, you need it. It helps you get the chain back onto the small ring without getting off of the bike, with nary a lost pedal stroke. The outer protection also helps. Those two pieces still do not add up to the weight of an additional shifter, cable, housing and the front changer (I have also lost the front mech tab, as well). Also, use the recommended spacers to get your right crank arm to the correct spacing. You can somewhat "choose" your shift point, but I would only make it shift at the second to largest cogs.

Answers to common questions: "Do I lose four gear combinations?" They are two gear combinations that are bad for your drivetrain, anyhow (big/big, small/small), so it is really a misnomer that a nine-speed drivetrain is an "eighteen speed", as the large chainring/large sprocket (as well as the small chainring/small sprocket) should not be used. "What about when I switch to the large chainring, don't I have to go back a couple of cogs?" Of course you do, but don't you have to go back a couple of cogs when you switch to the large chainring to get it going? I know that I shift atleast three hundred times in a 100 mile bike ride, so a few more shifts make no difference to me. It becomes second nature.

I would not use this system in conjunction with Campy 10 speed, as the chain is way too narrow. It only comes in a 130mm bolt circle. I would only use it on 700c bikes, as it does not come in a 54, 55, or 56 tooth outer ring. One other recommendation: get it in black, as the other colours have black outer and inner protection, which looks silly with a coloured chainring.

I have about 3,000 miles (and over 150 race miles, as I do Oly distance and lower races) on this system. I will be using this system as long as I have the drivetrains to support it.

*note: Tiso bike now has a 8/9 speed rear mech that looks pretty promising. I am tempted. This would make my Corima Fox have only Shimano brakes and cassette. But Tiso also makes a rear cluster, as well. Hmmmm...

Thanks bunnyman for your info. Great tips too.

I was wondering if the aerodynamic benefits of not having a casette and rear deraileur overcame whatever disadvantages (ie extra rotational weight, possible power tranfer loss, etc.) a hubgear had. Maybe in a TT/Tri a benefit could be possible, where you're not going to need to shift as quickly "on the gas" to get away or chase someone down. The technology has been around forever. There's gotta be a reason no one uses them. Tradition? Bad marketing? Too heavy? Fashion? Too ugly? Who knows.

The suspension hub looks like a cool device. It would probably be the hub to have on a crit that ran exclusively over cobble stone streets.

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E-Z

--It ain't a good idea to swim near MY bubbles!