Adventure Bicycle retrofit?

dieselcruiserhead

16 Years on ExPo. Whoa!!
Good points as well on availablility. I did finally replace some components on mine to get it fully dialed and found that preventative maintenance is the best prevention. There is also something about this era 7 speed shifter that is very solid.

I was just in a bike shop looking at some of Trek's new off the shelf hybrids. They looked great and were very reasonably priced with good hybrid tires from about $400 to $750 or so, and also come with lock out front suspension forks that I thought were an awesome addition.

food for thought as well....
 

kmacafee

Adventurer
Too many gears

Squatchout - you are dead on about where the bike industry is going. 11 speed drive trains (12 is rumored to be in the works) are designed for the racing cyclist whose equipment is changed frequently.

I am running a 14-36 cassette on my Fargo with a 26/36 double in the front. If I can't climb hills with that, I should stay home.

Any other cyclists attending Overland Expo? If so, I'll be camping in an Element and my bike will be topside.
:bike_rider:
 

96discoXD

Adventurer
I can't imagine how they can possibly fit 12 speeds in there, at some point in my mind it becomes counterproductive because you can't help but make the cassette heavier by adding gears. The other thing that bugs me is the electronic shifting that's coming out. I'm all for it on cars and motorcycles, but on bikes, give me a break!

kmacafee, with a 26/36 your fargo should have a crawl ratio that would make a lot of off roaders jealous! I'm going to be running a 36T chainring with an 11-36 cassette on my 29er but I can drop to a 33 in the front if need be, I may find I'm being optimistic with the 36 front given my age and current fitness level! :)
 

kmacafee

Adventurer
Gearing

Honestly, I rarely use the 26. But when I have needed it, it's nice to have it.

In the 26 front/ 36 rear combo, walking is usually faster. ;-)
 

Christophe Noel

Expedition Leader
I can't imagine how they can possibly fit 12 speeds in there, at some point in my mind it becomes counterproductive because you can't help but make the cassette heavier by adding gears. The other thing that bugs me is the electronic shifting that's coming out. I'm all for it on cars and motorcycles, but on bikes, give me a break!
:)

There is a significant advantage to more gears, but it doesn't really show itself offroad, and only on road when you're riding or racing with others. I started road racing in the era of the "new" six speed systems. On long climbs with other riders, it was common to find yourself holding tempo in a gear that was less than ideal. It was too high, too low, and just didn't match up to the tempo set by other riders. A 13-23 block had a boat load of gaps. With newer 10 and 11 speed systems, the range hasn't necessarily increased, although 10 speed did make the 11t more common, it's really about smaller gear intervals. Now, it's less common to find yourself matching tempo and feeling like you are between gears. For other disciplines like time trials, that reduced chance of falling between gears is minimized with more cogs. So, for off road riding, more gears doesn't really have the same benefits. The benefits aren't as nuanced as they are on road in group settings.

As for electric shifting, I rather like it. I have Di2 on one of my road bikes and it works great. If bikes are going to use aerospace materials shaped in wind tunnels, and cost north of $8000, I guess it's not a big deal if your derailleurs are electric. Most high performance riders are using GPS computers and watt meters, so we're already well past the era of wood rims, and steel frames.
 
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FurthurOnTheFly

Glamping Society
Great thread! I'm thinking of touring my ss commuter on a small southern Az trip in April. I'm sure I'll be pushing a lot!

I'll be at Ovx this weekend, would be great to meet more two wheeled friends. I'll be in the SE 4runner.
 
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96discoXD

Adventurer
There is a significant advantage to more gears, but it doesn't really show itself offroad, and only on road when you're riding or racing with others. I started road racing in the era of the "new" six speed systems. On long climbs with other riders, it was common to find yourself holding tempo in a gear that was less than ideal. It was too high, too low, and just didn't match up to the tempo set by other riders. A 13-23 block had a boat load of gaps. With newer 10 and 11 speed systems, the range hasn't necessarily increased, although 10 speed did make the 11t more common, it's really about smaller gear intervals. Now, it's less common to find yourself matching tempo and feeling like you are between gears. For other disciplines like time trials, that reduced chance of falling between gears is minimized with more cogs. So, for off road riding, more gears doesn't really have the same benefits. The benefits aren't as nuanced as they are on road in group settings.

As for electric shifting, I rather like it. I have Di2 on one of my road bikes and it works great. If bikes are going to use aerospace materials shaped in wind tunnels, and cost north of $8000, I guess it's not a big deal if your derailleurs are electric. Most high performance riders are using GPS computers and watt meters, so we're already well past the era of wood rims, and steel frames.

I will concede that there is merit to most of what you're saying, I probably didn't word my thoughts very well. Specific to rear cassettes I was trying to state that in my mind there is a point of diminishing returns in terms of wheel offset/strength, and cassette weight. I never did a lot of group riding even though I did a lot of training rides on the street, your point about cadence makes sense in that context.

I suppose I'm a bit of a curmudgeon when it comes to some of that hi-tech stuff. I still have dura ace downtube shifters on my old steel lugged road bike and I'm using bar end shifters on my touring/commuter bike build I'm doing right now. :coffeedrink:

That said, one of my clients has a really nice carbon fiber FELT TT bike and he's putting full carbon rims on shortly, I have been coveting that a bit...
 

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