J.Higgins 

And so it begins.

Just picked this up today. The frame and fork is sitting on a pair of of Rabbit Hole rims in it.



I have a set of wheels being made right now. RaceFace ARC40's with DTSwiss DT350 hubs.

himespau 

Interested in seeing it all built up.

skookum

Good start. This is all going to be done by when?

tyrion

Is it an ECR?

J.Higgins 

By mid-summer I hope. Depends on my whims, really, and my whims determine how I spend my free cash. Truthfully, I have my boat up for sale, and if/when that sells I'll have a bunch of cash burning a hole in my pocket. Chris King BB and headset!

J.Higgins 

Aye, Captain!

BigAura

Cool!

BTW: Did you ever get that LHT out on tour?

Snuts

Here we go!

(I love it)



-Snuts-

rickyk76

Excited to see the build. Have you spec'd it out completely or just seeing how it goes?

J.Higgins 

I put some miles on it, but never toured with it. I've got a Specialized Roubaix that I'm riding a lot right now, and will probably do some weekend tours this summer with it, and of course the ECR when its completed.

As a sidebar, I went to bed last night with no Craigslist hits on my boat, and woke up this morning with twelve. One of them is right in town and says that he will take it. Looks like Chris King BB for sure!

J.Higgins 

Pretty much spec'c it. The wheels and tires where the toughest decision for me. The frame came with Surly Rabbit Hole rims, but I'm leery of them not being as tough as they should be for the Divide. I also don't want the rim cutouts, so I chose a rim without them. After studying and conferring with Mike Curiak of lacemine29.com, I chose some RaceFace ARC40 rims. Formally branded Easton, these rims are tough as nails. The DT350 hubs are widely regarded as best bang for the buck as far as high quality hubs go. I was going to go with White Industries hubs, but after studying the stats associated with each, and the recommendations of others, I chose the DT350's. He's building the wheels for me, by the way.

- Going with a SRAM X1 GPX 1400 crank, with a 32T Wolf Tooth stainless ring, direct-mount.

- Shimano XT 11-46 cassette.

- Jones H-Bar, of course!

- I'm considering an SQlabs saddle. I love my Brooks on other bikes, but recently I am finding that flatter saddles just seem to work for me. Does this mean I'm becoming more fit or something?

- Brakes. I'm still deciding between the Paul Klampers w/ Love Levers, BB7's, and going hydro with Shimano SLX 675 brakes. Your thoughts on this would be most appreciated!

- Tires will be the Bontrager Chupacabra. Now I've always considered Bontrager stuff to be mediocre, but from all the reading I've done, the Bonty's are highly-regarded as being the numero uno choice for most 29+ riders. They'll be installed tubeless of course.

I think that's it. Your thoughts?

Snuts

21.34 gear inches.
What is your LHT at?


-Snuts-

J.Higgins 

Not sure, and I'm ashamed to admit that I do not know how to calculate it. Do you have a reference for me to study it, Snuts? I probably should get on that, but its just one of those things that I never got around to forcing myself to learn how to figure it.

indyfabz

Plenty of gear inch calculators on the Internets, including one from Sheldon Brown.

J.Higgins 

Okay, I did the calculations and the LHT has 20.70 for a low. That's a difference of 0.64 - do you guys think that makes much of a difference? @Snuts - did you also figure in the wheel/tire size when you calculated?

Snuts

I used 29r X 3
What tire size are you intending to use?

As a reference, I'm touring on 19.4. I'm happy at that on the hills. But last year was say 23GI. That bike will get massaged this fall when I get to it.

-Snuts-

indyfabz

You have to factor in wheel+tire size to calculate gear inches.

Snuts

Which I did.
Granted I was making an assumption.
Interest was in his gear selection.

-Snuts-

J.Higgins 

I'll be using the 29x3.

I'll stick with the 21.34 for now. The 1x11 drivetrain may be more suited for dirtbombers than a pokey old guy like me, but I'll try it and if I don't like it, well I guess then I'll just spend more $$ and get what I want and take The Missus to McD's instead of the steakhouse.

rickyk76

I'm spec'ing out a bike that I'd love to use for the Divide someday (goal is for my 45th birthday).

I think I'm going with American Classic wheels. The rear on an American Classic hub, the front on a dynamo. I'm going 27.5 though. Tires will most likely be Maxxis Ikon. Tubeless of course.

I'm leaning towards BB7 brakes for me, because I want disc, but I'm not the greatest at bike repair (yet, which is part of why I want to build my own: to improve my mech skills), so I'm thinking I'll stay mechanical instead of hydraulic.

I'm doing a drop bar set up with Shimano STI (probably 105, maybe Ultegra) on a 2x10 Shimano XT 40/28t with 11-36 cassette.

At least that's what it looks like today. Who knows what it will look like when I actually start buying the parts.

Can't wait to see the progress of your build. Keep us posted.

J.Higgins 

Hey, @rickyk76 what are you thinking of using for a frame? Also, I want to give encouragement and praise for you attempting to gain some bike-wrenching skills. I've been wrenching on bikes ever since I was about six years old, when I took the training wheels off my bike all by myself. Bike mechanic in a Raleigh shop was my first summer job at the ripe old age of 13 (1972?) During the 20 years I spent in the USAF, I worked some PT LBS gigs. Its been rewarding.

Study! YouTube is awesome. Park Tool has all their videos posted up in there, and they are simple and to the point. No BS music. No posturing from guys who think they are the next YouTube sensation. To back that up, I subscribe to RJ The Bike Guy's channel. Again, he's a great person to learn from. Simple and direct, and he speaks well.

Tools! Amazon is probably the best place to buy tools. I like Park Tools, but Pedros is good too. As far as expense - well, buy-once-cry-once I always say. You can spread it out also. Buy a pedal wrench this week and a chain tool next week, and before long you'll have all you need.

Good luck!

rickyk76

Frame is still up in the air, but I'm leaning towards a Crust Evasion. Soma and Black Mountain are also in consideration.

I've been watching tons of videos and I'm mechanically inclined enough to manage it, I think. lol

And I'll be buying plenty of tools I'm sure. I'll spread it out. I'm going to be buying frame and parts sparingly as I have extra spending money from the allowance I give myself for my hobbies.

J.Higgins 

I like the Crust. Pauly Shore can truly call you a Crusty Weasel if you get one.

Snuts

The difference between a dream, and a goal is simply a date.

Have you a date?




-Snuts-

BigAura

Sounds good. But just a reminder ---> It's not a touring-bike until it's been on a tour