so i’ve got my rim brake bikes and soon i hope to have a disc roadbike. after thinking about it and not actually riding one i realize that rim brakes are going to take a long while to phase out but considering a new rim + wheel build $$ vs new DBrake pads + rotor $, it just makes more sense to have the discs. the only “problem” is having a bike that can be ridden with 23s or 35s.
Except for the Trek 890 and perhaps a couple of other outliers (I have not done an exhaustive study), most have a pretty damn slack head tube and aren’t that great with drop bars.
-Edit, look to the early 90s for better choices.
I don’t like 26" wheels on the road. If I did I would still own an XO-2.
All the decent hydro dicks I’ve owned, Maguras, Shimanos, higher end Avids, even Clarkes, have been a bleed once a year, then set and forget part. YMMV, just sayin.
Edit: I mean, I guess that bleeding constitutes a substantial asspain if you’re not used to it, so nevermind.
Except for the Trek 890 and perhaps a couple of other outliers (I have not done an exhaustive study), most have a pretty damn slack head tube and aren’t that great with drop bars.
-Edit, look to the early 90s for better choices.[/quote]
jimmy beat me to it. basically look for something modern enough to have 7s index shifting and you’ll be getting in the right ballpark.
something like this: http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bik/2866095024.html
All the decent hydro dicks I’ve owned, Maguras, Shimanos, higher end Avids, even Clarkes, have been a bleed once a year, then set and forget part. YMMV, just sayin.
Edit: I mean, I guess that bleeding constitutes a substantial asspain if you’re not used to it, so nevermind.[/quote]
Well we’re talking about a road-ish build with a specific budget. Hydros will likely not be a part of it.
Anyway, I seem to have frequent rubbage issues that require realigning the caliper, fucking with the rear wheel in the dropouts, burning sage, etc…This was the case with my old frame as well, so I don’t think it’s the frame. Once I get it it tends to be fine, but any time I have to take the rear wheel out I have to repeat the process.
[quote=jimmythefly]We need to conference call. I’ve been back-and-forthing a build like this for a long time.
I’m being picky, too. Mostly because A) trying to keep sub-custom price and b) like dicking around with bikes. I’ve got lots of little stupid reasons for wanting feature X but not feature Y and only if feature Q.
The truth is that my Novara Randonee with 700x42 tires, canti brakes, front rack, and fenders is good for 90% of the riding I do. Anything too gnarly for it means the 29er comes out. Anything racier means I ride it and am just a touch slow (until I get my 700x32 rando-esque Trek in action).
The Singular Peregrine is top of my list, right under a custom. We’ll see how much cash I can round up in a couple of months after I get back from vacation (where current funds are going).[/quote]
Your bikes were/are actually a big inspiration for the direction I want to go with this bike. Especially the Novara Randonee (which I have been looking for on ebay for awhile now to no avail).
The brake situation is not a dealbreaker for me either way. I don’t necessarily want disc brakes, but if they are offered, I will accept them.
There are pros and cons to discs, and there are pros/cons to rim brakes. I do think that discs would be worth pursuing for this particular bike, for their pros, and also because I think there will be a good amount of advancement for them re: drop bar brakes in the next couple years.
Totally true. I did some rough calculations on parts/projects/bikes I could sell to fund this project, and I think I may actually make out pretty even if I got rid of everything that is not relevant to my ‘two-bike stable’ idea - which is something I am very interested in because of my future living arrangements/being able to justify my possessions.
Haha, I’m fully aware. I have a set of 46cm Noodles, and have ridden the 48cm versions. I like wide bars, and especially for this particular bike, I want 'em real wide.
It’s not like dick brakes are asspain-free.
The thing with this kind of bike is you have to choose a place in the road/mountain continuum and make your choices accordingly.
There’s a lot to be said for the unsexy Cross Check if you don’t afraid of cantis or V’s. They are cheap and plentiful and and can fit fairly huge tires. With the money you’d save you could spring for some balleur rim brakes.[/quote]
I know that I don’t necessarily need disc brakes for this bike, but like I said before, to get the specs that I am interested in with rim brakes, I’d likely have to go custom - and I don’t think I am willing to make that splurge right now. I do think the pros of the discs outweigh the cons, as miguel talked about.
I am very much a supporter of products that last one’s entire lifetime. I don’t want to romanticize it right now, but the bottom line is I want this bike, and my road bike to last me until I die. Period. So it becomes sort of like an ‘I might as well, right?’ situation…
I have no interest in dealing with an 80’s/90’s project bike again. It’s a pain in the ass, and I won’t be happy with a kludged solution to my wants/needs - especially with the 26" wheels.
Edit: Re: Crosscheck. I thought about this option for awhile, and while it is a decent one - there are several things that would make it less than ideal. The bottom bracket drop, and short headtube are the main culprits.
i was thinking that what he wants sound just like how i use my fat chance.
paul brakes are worth the money if you have cantis. plus you can find baller wheelsets for cheap for 26, i got a wifebike set of ck/mavic wheels barely ridden for $250. fat chance has 71/72 hta/sta, so not too relaxed is both stable and agile.
one of these days i’m going to put some drops on it and take it out for longer rides to see how i like it.
I think this is a nice idea. What you want out of a bike and how you fit on a bike are going to change. That said I have two bikes running XT and 600 7 speed that still works really damn well and both bikes are awesome for what I use them for.
[quote=hiljentaa]
Edit: Re: Crosscheck. I thought about this option for awhile, and while it is a decent one - there are several things that would make it less than ideal. The bottom bracket drop, and short headtube are the main culprits.[/quote]
BB too high? Too low?
I was a short head tube hater until recently. It does look kinda bad. No getting around that, but if you have a fork mounted cable hanger locking everything down it doesn’t feel bad. Smaller main triangle means you can still have some needed gonad clearance when it’s running hueg tires, and if you’re running a canti in front with a hanger on the steerer you need a little spacerage to get a smooth curve in the housing from the bars to the hanger anyway. It’s not a bike for slammin dat stem.
That is true, fit will change over time, but for the most part stem changes can accomplish that goal.
IMO, the BB is too high on the Crosscheck for what I want to do with it. You’re right though, the steerer mounted hanger does neutralize a bit of the HT length thing. Even still, I want this fit to be pretty neutral - bars level with saddle.
I really hate the look of a spacer stack/bonar stem. I know, I know… How my bikes look is important to me, though.
Now you guys are making me think I should inquire about commissioning a custom. Blargh.
Nah. You are talking yourself through it.
I guess I am just thinking that if I really want to do it once and be done, it might be worth it. I dig what Waltworks does, and he has nice parts packages/prices as well.
Any Shiftmate users who can comment on their experiences? How accurate is shifting? Worth it, or PITA?
Fuck yeah!
Nah. You are talking yourself through it.[/quote]
according to that one dude, you are not truly a biker unless you have a custom bike made for oyu.
What is it you actually want to accomplish by crossing the streams? Unless you love thumb levers or wanna brift a triple it’s pretty silly on a new build atmo.
used SRAM Red shifters, X7/X9 dangler, PG-1070 cassette & Wipperman 10sX chain is the way to go.
They’re fine, at least for going down from 9x to 8x; I’d had one on my trek when I was halfway through converting it down to a (much cheaper) 8x2 gearset and only pulled it when I got fed up with the crud-filled 9-speed STI levers that were on the xtracycle in the first place.
hiljentaa, what size are you looking for?
we have a team of experts compulsively combing ebay for this shit. there was a couple Jamis disc completes that went for $6XXish each a month or 2 ago.
also, how old are you?
because everytime I think about/build a forever bike, I remember 6 months later that I like new bikes. a lot. and building them.
or for example here’s a rad big tire bike at a decent price
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bianchi-San-Remo-Cyclocross-/180831640158?pt=Road_Bikes&hash=item2a1a67da5e#ht_500wt_1065
[quote=Buffalo Bill]What is it you actually want to accomplish by crossing the streams? Unless you love thumb levers or wanna brift a triple it’s pretty silly on a new build atmo.
used SRAM Red shifters, X7/X9 dangler, PG-1070 cassette & Wipperman 10sX chain is the way to go.[/quote]
I have a set of Record 9s shifters that I am not using at the moment. Was thinking of employing them for frugality, comfort, rebuildability, and because it would be sweet to have the same shifters on both of my bikes. 9s for cheapness of chains, cassettes, and durability.
The Sram option is intriguing as well - the hoods are very comfortable as well and double tap seems convenient for a drop dweller like myself. I’m just worried about reliability and cost/maintenence. On mobile device now - approximately what am I looking at for used Red shifters?
Nice - glad to hear a positive experience. Did you ever have any troubles with missed shifts or the chain getting caught between cogs? That’s what I’d be worried about - though I haven’t really read into this option much yet.
Here’s a Kona Sutra complete for $400 on my local CL.