cheelogoTHE BARTOL SYSTEM



Update April 2002
We now have about a dozen sets of Bartols (52 tooth) in stock. The price is 300 SFr / 210 Euros / US$ 200 including airmail postage. us if you'd like a set before they're all gone. (You need Javascript turned on to use this email link)

So how does it work ?
OK, guys and gals. Rudi actually more or less dictated this to me in reply to a question from a customer in England. And seeing as I don't do shorthand, don't complain if I got something wrong. What I do know, is that Rudi thinks this Italian invention is the best thing since ...umm... the 26 inch wheel.

The Bartol system is a patented invention by the Bartolozzi brothers who have this system manufacturered exclusively by the TISO Bicycle Company in Italy. The wonder of this system is, that it makes the front derailleur completely unnecessary. For prices etc. go to Tiso's website. At the moment they only make a 53 as their largest chainwheel size, but this can change in the near future. Please email us to be kept up to date on the current status of the 56 tooth size.

HOW IT WORKS
Say you're currently riding using your big chainring. With the Bartol System, to gear down, you change down on your sprockets until you reach the second biggest sprocket. By this time the chain is misaligned enough to "activate" the change-down to the smallest chainring. To achieve this, three teeth on the large chainring are ground at an angle, to make the chain mount them, and this in turn throws the chain onto the small chainring.

When you're on the small chainring, you can use all your sprockets down to the second smallest. When you're on that, the chain is again misaligned in the other direction. On the large chainring are four recessed Allen screws which act as hooks, which lift the chain and feed it over the large chainring, which also has some specially ground teeth to help the chain up.
From there you can use all your gears including the third largest sprocket.

Like I said, this isn't a high-tech description using long-winded words or hype. And Tiso isn't paying us to support their product - they don't need to. The Bartolozzi brothers should get the Nobel Prize for technology or something.
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