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08-06-20, 03:13 PM

#8874

stilllearning

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Here's a photo of my 86 after some recent changes. I don't make too many posts as I spend most of my time lurking and learning, but I wanted to give a thanks to this forum for being a great resource. I recently finished lowering the gearing on my Ironman after months of being unsure of what to do. I especially wanted to thank seypat and rccardr for their suggestions and advice.

The bike had a 50/34 with 14-28 seven speed that was okay for what I was climbing, but my legs were telling me I needed to lower things a bit. I got a triple crank I was all set to install with a Suntour VGT Luxe RD. Seypat was very gracious in answering my questions and even went out of his way to create a new thread, complete with photos, showing the 600 EX FD could handle the triple.

Here is where things start to go in a different direction. I have wanted a Lemond for quite awhile, so when I saw a 2000 Zurich that had a triple crank at a price that was too good to pass up, I jumped on it, and decided to focus on that instead of the Ironman. I wasn't thrilled with the Zurich's current wheelset, so I was happy when I saw a Shimano R500 wheelset in great condition at a good price. I bought a nine speed 11-34 cassette and Deore M591 RD to handle things, and thought I was all set.

However, before I made the changes to the Zurich, I took it for one more ride, and couldn't get rid of the uneasiness that I felt. I know it's a better quality bike, but I just didn't feel comfortable on it. I went a size down, based on what I had read about Lemonds, but it still felt too stretched out. I figured a shorter stem would help, but had already reached the max I wanted to spend, and, there was no guarantee that would solve my issues. Also, I realized that my Ironman was already dialed in, and I really liked the ride.

As I wrestled with what to do, I remembered reading on this forum that a 130 hub would fit my Ironman. So, I tried putting in the R500 on the Ironman, and it went in with no problems. Next, thanks, to this forum, after I found out that friction shifting would work on 9 speeds, I came up with a new idea. Why not keep the 50/34 and put the R500 with 11-34 cassette and Deore RD on the Ironman? I get the lower gearing, and maybe since I got such a good deal on the Zurich, I could sell it at a higher price to cover some of the expenses in all this?

Well, that's what I ended up doing, as I made enough on the sale of the Zurich to cover what I spent on the R500 wheels. So even though I didn't put on a triple, I am still very thankful for the advice I received. I went a different route, but this forum's advice in the other areas was just as helpful!

Thanks for your help and I will continue to lurk and learn.
Brian

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