JaccoW

Ha, it's definitely no longer purely functional at this point but if they are no more expensive than the tanwall/black option, why not try some colour in your life.
It's supposedly the same rubber compound as the black version.

noglider 

I hear good things about that tire. Let us know what you think.

non-fixie 

We Europeans have our traditions when it comes to color matching, that need to be honored.

JaccoW

So while I wait for some colourful tyres, I was also thinking about my gearing since I am slowly planning to go touring again this summer.

Currently I am of course running a 48/28T in the front with an 11-speed 11-32 in the back. This gives me a 499% range with a 24.3 - 121 low and high.
The issue that I ran into a couple of years ago in the mountains is that the low gear really isn't low enough for loaded touring for me and I do actually use the 48 x 11 on longer stretches on the flat. That seems to be correct from what I've read online.



This setup requires a 41T derailleur capacity which my Shimano Deore 2x11 derailleur does. (RD-M5120-SGS) though Shimano is known for being conservative with their capacity rating. From what I've seen online is people running these succesfully with 50/34 x 11-40 for a 45T capacity.

So if I want to improve my gear range I have a couple of options.

1. Get an 11-36 cassette for more climbing abilty without losing top-end for about €60+ (561% range, 45T capacity)
2. Get both a different set of 46/26T chainrings AND an 11-36 cassette for even better low-end at the expense of high-end for €150+ (579% range, 45T capacity)
3. 44/26T x 11-40T for off-road touring capability for €160+ (571% range, 45T capacity)
4. Increase the capacity of the rear derailleur with a Garbaruk replacement derailleur cage + larger pulley wheels and combine any of these.
   • Bonus: I can embrace my inner European by getting outrageous colour combinations. I'm thinking silver cage, blue pulley wheels and a golden chain.
5. Push my luck by keeping the 48 in front, but stealing a 26T from another bike in combination with a longer cage + 11-36T cassette for about €200 (604% range, 47T capacity)
   • The Ultegra front derailleur is rated for a 16T difference and is already pushing 20T but... from a previous post it looks like there is room to push that to 22T.
   • Upside of this one over the other options would be the much smaller steps between gears on the high end.
6. Try any of the above by replacing the rear derailleur with a (slightly ugly IMHO) Shimano SLX (RD-M7120-SGS) 2x12 model that already has 45T capacity + 11-42 cassette.

So in visual terms:

#1) Lowering the low a bit

#2) Droppin' it down

#3) Pie plates in the back, tea cups up front

#5) Pushing that luck

#6 It might be ugly, but it does get you up mountains


Something to ponder as I make plans for the summer and start budgeting.

In the meantime, some shiny silver bits that inspired this train of thought.

JaccoW

Well I have an answer from Garbaruk as to why their website states the cages are only for 1X drivetrains.
Which kind of makes sense.

That seems to leave me with option 1, 2 or 3. Currently, first swapping in a 11-36T cassette and then moving in a 46 and 26 chainring seems to be the most sensible option with good close gear jumps in the high end.
So slowly moving this bike to a 46/26T x 11-36 11-speed drivetrain.



But I am still curious about the Garburuk.

So I have a silver 12-speed cage I found second-hand on the way for about €45.


Worst case scenario I have my first part for an 11/12-speed drivetrain for the 1999 Koga-Miyata Adventure...



EDIT:
Garbaruk's comment about the pulley wheel being in a different place makes sense when looking at them side by side:

- Original image from NSMB.com -

What you see here from left to right:

• Garbaruk cage
• GRX RD-RX812 (42T max) 1x
• GRX RD-RX810 (34T max) 2x

Apparently 1x drivetrains have the pulley closer to the cassette in the higher gears to improve shifting performance. Hence the bump.

JaccoW

The new tyres arrived today!

To my fingers the Panaracer Gravelking Slick TLC feel pretty grippy but we'll see how they do on the road and dirt. Weight also seems to be good at 336 gram per tyre. I haven't mounted them yet since I don't have any tubes so that's something for later today or tomorrow.

I also test fitted the new front wheel. It seems to be a good fit to both the bike and the theme.
Currently thinking on replacing the headset for the IRD Double Roller Drive headset. I noticed the original Shimano Deore has become a little notchy and has started to *click* into place on the straight. That's not how it is supposed to work.
The IRD is silver though. On the other hand, there are plenty of silver components on the bike already so what is one more? I already know I like how it rides from the Batavus Randonneur GL.

Opinions?

JaccoW

Compared to the current front wheel with the Koga Beachracer hubs:

RiddleOfSteel

Those tires are gonna match the paint really well! Looking forward to how it ends up!

noglider 

Another approach to climbing, rather than equipping the bike with lower gears, is to walk up the hills. Everything involves compromise.

RiddleOfSteel

I think I heard the term "two foot gear" on the Clydesdales & Athenas subforum. Either that or @gugie said it. Whomever did, it was good! I know I can only go so low before the "speed" gets below my ability to balance. Thus far, that ratio is well below 1:1 and some combination of incline and fatigue. To be clear, I have stepped off and walked many a time. Seattle will do that.

JaccoW

You are right of course but that's not always an option while touring. A few years ago I rode from a valley in Ascou in the French pyrenees mountains to Pas de La Casa in Andorra. That was 31 km (~19 miles) of climbing at an average grade of nearly 5%. Some spikes of 15%.
While that distance is barely anything, it was the constant climb at too heavy a gear that I really hated. I would rather have spun up that mountain at slightly above walking speed.
There is no way to just get off the bike and walk that in a reasonable time.

But... I think an 11-36 is going to give me most of what I need anyway, even without resorting to the lowest possible front chainring the cranks might allow for.

JaccoW

Here is an early sneak preview.

52telecaster

While there is no shame in walking and I have done it many times while touring. A low gear is always easier to me. With a stiff climb and plenty of load it's amazing how slow you can balance.

JaccoW

The beginning of the light setup arrived today;

A SON taillight and lots of small parts to hook everything up with fancy connectors and coaxial cables. Since I want to mount it on the Focus adventure rack I needed some sort of mount for the light.
My first thought was to use one of the many Supernova taillight mounts but since shipping from the US was at the very least €21 ($23) this ended up being a €40 ($45) part...

Then again, there is also the stainless steel Tubus mudguard holder for about €6 so why not try that first.

The €65 ($70) SON rear light is a fancier version of the €15 ($16) B+M Line Small but uses an aluminium housing, coaxial cable and has sealed all the electronics in epoxy for better waterproofness. And it comes with a surprising amount of small parts to hook it up in a lot of different setups.

JaccoW

Just a quick test fit of the bracket and how to bend it to the right angle. I will probably run the wires through the rack and across the NDS chainstay. Maybe I will run it inside the tubing or I will just wrap it around the chainstay. We'll see when I get the bike apart later this year.

JaccoW

So here is a short update on the rear light and how I mounted it to the adventure rack. I basically made one of the vent holes wider with a drill, dribbled some water in it for lubrication, and pushed the coaxial cable through. At some point when I have the whole bike inside I will cut the cable to the right size, solder in a connector and pull a cable through the frame for a really sleek look with minimal risk of damage. I will probably get a cheaper light as a placeholder so I can start riding this bike again as the weather improves.

Because I will also ride this bike without fenders at times I wanted to add some extra reflective points. Since the light is really small and doesn't really have much room to mount a separate reflector I opted for the next best thing; 3M reflective trailer tape in Diamond Grade. The same sort of material road signs get made from. It probably works better on trailers and it has started to unroll itself a bit from the 0.7cm tubing of the rack.

Next up is disassembling the drivetrain for cleaning. I am very curious to see how well the ultrasonic cleaner works on the cassette, chain and chainrings. They are in dire need of some deep cleaning.

JaccoW

Putting in some of the hard work today of routing the dynamo wiring through the frame. Soldered on the SON coaxial connectors and found a way to easily route the cables through the frame. It involves a stiff brake cable and about 5 cm of 4:1 heat shrink tubing with glue on the inside. It barely makes the cable thicker and as long as the brake cable came through the rest is going to be surprisingly easy.

I deep cleaned some of the parts with degreaser and an ultrasonic cleaner as well but I will save those pictures for later. I'm still in two minds about the headset. If my measurements are correct the IRD headset with its 40.7mm stack should work though I would have to find another solution for the brake cable hanger. I know Paul components makes a brake cable hanger and Tektro used to make some but they all seem to be out of stock or starting at €50 ($54). I guess I will have to scrounge eBay for a Chinese knockoff or a vintage part...

An 11-36 cassette and parts is on the way and so is a set of matching "Bianchi Celeste"cables. If we're going for a black and turquoise build then why not go completely overboard?





The main reason for all of this overhauling is my plans for the summer. I knew I wanted to do a bicycle tour again and I am strongly thinking of riding the Camino de Santiago de Compostella from Paris. The Paris route would be somewhere around 1800+ km (1100 miles) and would lead me past some really picturesque French and Spanish towns on a popular route, While I did consider starting at Rotterdam again, that would have made it a 2400 km (1500 miles) route in 3 weeks... and honestly, I probably could make that. But I don't feel like riding non-stop every day for 3 weeks straight. An average of 600km a week means I could do 6x 100 km on average and stay in a town for longer if I wanted to and to recover a bit.

I'll be going over the route the next few weeks/months and figure out the details.

My main concern is actually for the route to be boring. I'm sure the land is going to be beautiful but France does have a tendency to build EuroVelo routes along long distance historical routes... which ends up being very long stretches along canals and such.

JaccoW

Parts are arriving bit-by-bit now and I finally updated the opening post to reflect what this thread is truly about.

I installed the new SRAM PG-1170 11-36T cassette and ordered a Salsa Cowchipper Deluxe handlebar in 52cm. (here's an explanation of the differences between the Cowbell, Cowchipper and Woodchipper handlebars and where you would use which from Alissa, a bikepacking and general outdoors badass) The Tektro RL721 cross levers should find plenty of room on there and I am curious to see how the Jagwire 'Bianchi Celeste' coloured cables will do on there.
They are wider, flared gravel bars with very shallow and long drops. Hopefully they will prove comfortable on the long days in the saddle, though I plan on doing some shorter shake-down rides beforehand.

The KMC chain will be getting the Silca wax treatment though the new Nukeproof jockey wheels are bumping around in transit. I didn't really need new jockey wheels but these are made out of POM plastic (polyoxymethylene) and have stainless steel bearings. And not too expensive for €30, so why not.

The weather is slowly improving as well so maybe I will finally be able to make some sunny shots in the garden this weekend!

JaccoW

Looks like I am getting somewhere.
I'm mostly waiting for the new handlebars so I can replace all the cables but this (+two fork packs) is basically how I am going to spend my summer again.
I'll probably go out and look for (or make) a bag to also carry a tent on the rear rack safely but other than that it is in rideable condition. The plan is to still build a new rear wheel with a new hub but for now this will do nicely.

The chain has been waxed so I'm curious to see how that performs and the new jockey wheels are just, well they work and spin smoother than the Shimano originals.

While I was planning on running the Soma tyres for a few more months, I noticed quite a few broken strands on the tubular casing after I cleaned them. Which is a bit of a shame as the threads aren't that worn yet but I guess 3000+km and 3 years in all kind of weather and terrain is okay for a lightweight tyre like this.

JaccoW

Did a first test ride with the new-ish setup for the Graveller. Still waiting for the new handlebars to redo everything but the night was a good moment to check how good the new rear light works. Still needs some angling down it seems but the SON rear light gives off plenty of light to be visible from all angles.

RiddleOfSteel

I really like the blue treaded tires accenting the paint. Great looking build!

JaccoW

They work well right! I hope adding cables in the same shade won't make it too much of a good thing.

romperrr 

Thanks for sharing the Eurovelo page! I'm planning a bike tour of Europe myself and this is very helpful.

JaccoW

Did my first test ride with the setup yesterday and while the wider handlebars feel weird at first, it also really opens up my chest and makes breathing easier. We'll have to see what happens when I do some longer rides on it.

Over at ****** (R E D D I T) someone was sharing their gear for a 6 month tour of Europe and used LighterPack.com to share their pack list in detail. I liked the idea so I've started doing the same for my own kit.
For me it has been pretty useful listing everything like this and seeing everything relative to eachother. Makes it a lot easier to figure out what to toss out to lighten the load.

Bikepacking/touring setup (WiP)