Originally Posted by
tyler_fred
Well, well, what have we here? I didn’t take you for the touring bike type. I like it.
I used to hate cantis and touring bikes, and then I built up one. Boy, was I wrong! I like the the smoothness of the longer wheelbase.
Looks Good RoS!!
P.S. I can can relate to the urge to scour parts from other rides, but was able to resist the temptation.
Thanks!
Yeah, I am quite partial to race bikes, for all the obvious reasons. I have liked touring bikes for a while, but a combination of wanting to find the right one while at the same time dealing with a bum knee has kept them at arms length. I finally was able to make an appointment for a bike fit/ride/PT guy that comes highly recommended--took me nearly a year and sorta-post-C19 to do so...too long.
The Expedition has four critical bits I'm looking for in a model touring bike (in my mind): 1) triple bottle cage boss pairs 2) mid-fork rack mounts 3) canti brakes 4) 450mm chain stays. I wish it had braze-on DT shifter bosses, but I have that covered easily. The vertical rear dropouts are a huge bonus.
As far as rapidity, it echos the spirit of the ST Cannondales, just in fully-steel form. Race bike-like reactions and out-of-saddle responses, yet stable (not staid) and comfortable at slower speeds with larger tires. I really like that.
I may parts scour as the Paramount has been partially disassembled and is awaiting some re-imagining (I have an idea or two). I need to polish up the AT crankset, and that may go onto a different bike. I did a ton of gear-inch calculations and thanks to 10 speeds in the back, half-stepping is not needed. A 53/59/26 as I currently have on the Paramount gives great range and unique ratios with an 11-28T cassette. I'll see what I can dig up.