I've done some playing around with this bike, and I think I'm in a happy place with it.
First off, I moved the PBN10's wheels and 28mm tires over to my UO-18, and I immediately noticed the ride penalty (vs. the 35mm tires I have on it). So I wanted to try those wheels and tires on the PBN10, to see if I liked the bike better. Short answer: I definitely do. Long answer: it took some reconfiguring to get there.
The frame itself has clearance for these tires, but only if I slide the axle all the way to the rear of the dropout. I can't use the claw adapter, at least with its little mounting bolt. But I
can use the claw adapter if I remove that bolt, and just clamp it with the skewer. This makes installing the wheel a little fiddly, but it does work, at least just to try the fit. These 35mm tires actually measure about 32mm, and they fit perfectly in the frame. With the claw adapter's mounting bolt in place, the axle moves forward about half an inch or so, and there is not enough clearance between the chain stays. So this works...for now. I'd like to find a more permanent solution. I thought I could find frame-building parts online (like a dropout hanger one could braze on to the frame, but I came up empty. Does anyone have any ideas for this? Or is the way I have it now about the best I'll be able to do?
I found a janky old ISO 22.2mm stem in a parts bin that slides just far enough into the French steerer to cover the minimum insertion line, so I have that installed so I can ride it with some MTB-style bars for now. My ultimate goal is to run a nice silver anodized stem with some silver anodized mustache or north road bars or something. But I'm getting it to where I'm liking it. It rode pretty well for me today, and it's comfortable.
Thoughts on my derailleur situation? I suppose IGH is a possibility. Or maybe I could drill a hole a tap M6 or M8 threads into the back of that dropout, to sort of mount it where it sits now?
