A while ago I bought a gravel bike at Canadian Tire called the CCM Sutherland (on liquidation for $200 CAD down from the original $630 CAD). This bike was a solution for several reasons. First, I actually wanted to replace my flat-bar road bike with a cheaper bike so I could feel free to ride it in the rain. Second, I really wanted to try disc brakes for the first time. And I wanted to try a 46/30T crankset although I had to install it since the bike came with a Prowheel 52/42T crankset. It also came with Shimano A050 shifters, A050 front derailleur, A070 rear derailleur, Tourney 14-28T freewheel (7 speeds) and KMC chain. I had some parts laying around (like bars, stem, saddle & seatpost) since I had worked on other bicycle projects. So, I changed to Dimension bars since I like the straight part right under the brake levers which I find more comfortable. And I changed to a Dimension stem since I wanted a closer reach and a higher position. I also changed to an Ergotec seatpost that has an adjustable seat angle because the one on the bike was fixed in a downward position. Then I switched to a 142mm wide WTB Volt saddle to replace the 160mm model on the bike. I also installed plastic pedals from a Supercycle Tempo to replace the metal pedals. (Although it's extremely rare that I hit my legs with my pedals, I did so on this bike when I stopped very abruptly once. I only had a small injury because of the plastic pedals.)
The CCM Sutherland has an aluminum frame with a steel fork. It has a 42.5mm chainstay although putting bags at the rear of the rack (I installed) doesn't cause heel strike. It also has a 135mm rear dropout, rare for a road bike. The frame is ready for 9mm QR wheels although it has a nutted-type rear wheel. The front wheel is a regular 100mm wide 9mm QR. It weighed 30 lbs without any accessories. The studded area of the tires are 38mm wide but the smooth part of the tires are 36mm wide. It also has the regular 68mm BSA bottom bracket shell.
I bought a Shimano Tourney 46/30T crankset, Shimano BB-UN300 bottom bracket, chainguard (11cm between holes, 4 hole), Deda Elementi gray bar tape, SKS 53mm silver fenders, Procraft water bottle cage and RFR (Ready For Race) rear rack for the bike. I chose a 113mm length for the bottom bracket to get close to the 43.5mm recommended chainline for the front derailleur.
I only estimated the total but I think after taxes on the bike, having the crankset removed and after I added the fenders, rear rack, bottle cage, chainguard and installed the crankset and bottom bracket then doubled the bar tape might have been around $350 CAD (or $274 US or 224 Euro).
Here are the small issues I had. When I tried re-greasing the front wheel there were two nuts on one side that looked seized. I tried to free them but saw one of my wrenches slipped. So I took out the axle from one side to regrease both sides. Even though one side is still seized, I don't see an impact on performance. (It was debatable whether it was necessary to regrease but I didn't know if it was realistic to simply add grease and have a mix of two greases. So I replaced it entirely with TF2 Teflon-coated grease)
When I installed the bottom bracket, it seemed as though there was resistance on one side. So, I checked with a knife and noticed a bump in the threading. I didn't want to grind too much with the knife and damage the threading. So I installed the bb anyway and it seems to work very well so no impact here either. (I rubbed on the bump only a bit to see if it would go down in size.)
I scratched one part of the front fender when I cut the metal rods to avoid possible toe overalap. (There's currently no toe overlap.) The chainguard was moulded in a way that required me to file the plastic at 4 areas for it to fit snugly. I filed a bit too much and it shows a bit. Again, no impact on performance.
The most disturbing issue was taking off the crankset. Once I took off the left side, I had the impression that the right side was seized. I saw a Youtube video saying you can ride without the crank bolts to loosen the crank. However, I was hesitant to do this since I thought it might round out the square taper cranks. I brought it to a bike shop thinking they could just loosen the old type of bottom bracket from the side and simply let the cranks fall off. They chose to saw the crank thereby ruining it. I was going to give it to a charity. In any case, I know I scratched the paint on the frame trying to use a chisel and hammer method. Then the bike shop scratched the paint even more. If this does happen to me again, I'll simply ride to loosen the cranks (with the crank bolts out) then step off the moment the crank arms starts moving sideways to avoid ruining the cranks. As usual, the small paint scratches have no impact on performance. (I can also add that the chainrings on the crankset would wobble from side to side which caused rubbing on the front derailleur. The Shimano Tourney chainrings are straight.)
With the rear rack, fenders etc. plus a Kryptonite 1265 lock, the bike is 35 lbs. I found the Tourney subcompact crankset to be completely compatible with this bike. I can climb hills even sitting in the saddle and using the hardest gear I can push ahead downhill without feeling like I'm spinning too fast. My favorite gears on this bike are either at 41 or 57 gear inches (30T/20T & 46T/22T).
I also added front and rear Sunlite round reflectors on the bike. And I changed the 6 sided bolt on the front derailleur to a round one to stop my pants from catching onto it. And since this is a department store bike, I watched Youtube videos to adjust the front & rear derailleurs and disc brakes. The bike now works very well and is pleasant to ride.
The B-screw on the rear derailleur doesn't seem to connect to the derailleur hanger. And one of the limit screws on the front derailleur doesn't seem to do anything. The chainguard stops the chain from falling off anyway so both derailleurs still work well. I find the A050 shifters a bit stiff to shift so instead of using my thumbs I sometimes use the bottom part of the palm of my hand.
I didn't do extensive comparisons between disc brakes and V-brakes. But I found there's almost no difference in normal use. The only thing is I find I have to use more pressure on the brake levers to brake as well as V-brakes with these no-name mechanical disc brakes.
Doubling the bar tape did make the bars a bit more comfortable. And it gives a greater sense of control when riding over bumpy terrain (while holding on the drops). However, I decided I want to use gel pads on my touring bike because that bike is made for longer distances.
For those wondering, the bike has a brake reach of 70 & 77mm (for caliper brakes) and 27.2mm seatpost. The stem clamp is 26.0mm. I also cut off the round part of the plastic tips for the fenders and used white glue to put on the black tips on the fender rods. I also used some metal Axiom disc brake fender adapters I had in a box to install both the fenders and rear rack. And I had to use a 2mm spacer to install the Dimension stem (and took off one of the spacers). For whatever reason, the WTB Volt is comfortable on my CCM Sutherland but wasn't comfortable on my mountain bike. (That may be due to the more upright position on the mountain bike.) My bars ended up being like 1cm higher than the saddle height.
Overall I'm actually happy I bought this bike. Compared to my flat-bar road bike, this one has 38mm tires (and pretty sure it can take 40mm tires with fenders), has drop bars (to change positions to avoid numb hands) and it's cheap enough to ride it in the rain and lock it downtown. (By the way, I used the same thickness Kryptonite lock for over 20 years even though my old one is longer than my new orange 1265.)
Looking at the major manufacturers, some brands have road bikes that start at either $900 CAD or even $1100 CAD. They typically start at the Claris level. Why don't they have a metal frame and fork model that starts at Tourney with A050 shifters? That way some people would be able to buy a drop bar bike they can ride in the rain and lock up in the city. It's also useful for people who want to go to the other end of the city during the pandemic (being a bike with drop bars I mean).
Given I have several bicycles, I suppose some might want to ask which bikes I prefer. I prefer the comfort and control of flat bars on a hybrid. And I find a mountain bike is not ideal for grocery shopping. Every solution I've seen for a front rack on suspension forks didn't interest me. Although the pipe clamp solution type of front rack is slightly interesting to me. Although this bicycle was bought partly to go to either ends of city to save time compared to my hybrid, every time I turn my head back to check on traffic, I'm reminded why I prefer to ride a hybrid. The more comfortable position on a hybrid seems to make it easier to watch everywhere when riding downtown.
CCM Sutherland
Why do manufacturers put mechanical disc brakes on cheap bikes instead of V-brakes (or in this case, caliper brakes)? I mean the discs, brake pads and even disc brakes themselves are more expensive if you have to replace them. If cheap direct-mount brakes were available for bikes like this, I would have prefered that.