duongrn

Thanks all for the help on this forum. I finally finished by build up. It is a single using a 11-34 xtr cassette with an Ultegra rear triple deailleur.

OneTinSloth

uh.....hm.

you're welcome?

that looks like a shop employee bike if i've ever seen one!

duongrn

I'll take that as a compliament. I don't work at a bike shop but will admit that I did have to get a LBS to chang out the headset and to cut the fork.

operator

What the hell?

UmneyDurak

So what propmpted this particular build? I have to say this is one of the most unique setups I've seen in a while. Is that 30 in the front? I think you can spin up any hill on that bike.

Bockman

Look at that nice BIG RED REFLECTOR!

masiman

Why the single crank?

Anyway, the build looks good. Nice looking bike. Congrats.

Your rear brake cable housing "looks" a little long. It looks like if it were shorter you would not have such a tight bend as it goes into the brake. I think the casing will eventually split and expose the metal sheathing.

TriEngineer

just a short question, looks like from the picture that you will have your left brifter and since you have a fixie ring, why do you still have the brifter? You could save some weight by switching to a simple brake lever.

PhilThee

SWEEEEET Next on the list is a bell and a big wicker basket

seely

As someone else noted, your rear brake housing section is quite a bit too long, and in looking at your front ones they look like they could be too short. Be SURE that when you turn your handlebars your brakes do not lock up your wheels. Other than that looks interesting.

Retro Grouch 

So what, if anything, did you have to do with your "b" screw to keep the upper derailleur pulley from rubbing on the 34 cog?

iNewton

I predict that bike will be the fastest bike to be outgrown ever. Still an interesting build, though.

Mind if I ask why you went with such low gearing possibility?

seth556

Maybe he plans on pulling big trailer behide it and thats why he has huge reflectors. But hes hasent finished the trailor hitch yet.

duongrn

The reason I started the build is I bought a triple allez specialized and that damn front derailleur would never shift right. Also I couldn't use the high/high and low/low gears. Finally I've got some climbs and wanted to reduce some weight.

The front crank is a 34 FSA energy compact with the 50T taken off.

I use a 11-34 in the back because here in Seattle we got some hills and I have a large one whenI commute with all my clothing a laptop. The 34-34 combo is a nice climb but actually I won't use it unless I "really" need to.

What are people saying about the brake housing? Does that mean that the brakes are too long? They are Shimano Ultegra Brakes. I've attached a pic.

duongrn

I've thought about it as well. But I kept the pair together "just in case" I wanted to slap on a front derailleur and go to a double.

duongrn

Your right, the 34 does rub up against the pulley. I haven't used the 34 unless I really have to. I am thinking I could get a longer derailleur hanger to lower the entire rear, what do you think?

duongrn

Let me know if there is going to problems with rubbing on the 34 in rear. I posted the same question and got the answer if it works , I should be okay.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=197021

roadfix

That's a tail light mounted vertically. Very effective, I've got on on my bike too...

KevinF

From the original picture, it looks like the rear brake cable housing actually curves upward. Sheldon Brown has an excellent article on cable length here. That will answer everything you need to know.

duongrn

I see, your talking about the brake cable itself with that large bend. I'll check it out.
I will see this is how the cable lenght came on the specialized allez. I guess I shouldn't assume that it is correct.

urbanknight

I think the "shop bike" reference was because it's a strange gearing combination. When I worked an an LBS we rode a cruiser with a basket on the front. My first impression was a commuting bike. You don't care about going over 30 mph but you don't want to break a huge sweat getting over the hills.

As for the brake cable, the housing is definitely too long. Remember that bike shops assemble these things as they come from the factory, and the lengths aren't cut perfectly (plus your frame is a smaller one). I would remove the cable, cut that housing, then put the cable back in and adjust as needed.

For the rear derailleur, you'd probably need at leats a long cage derailleur or a mountainbike derailleur.

Anyway, looks like an awesome cummuter!

tsl

Uh, have you never seen a blinkie before? That's a Cat Eye TL-LD600. Just like mine, but I mount mine horizontally.

Retro Grouch 

Here's a couple of ideas that you could try:

The reason that I asked about the "b' screw is because, if you can crank your derailleur back far enough, you might be able to avoid the pulley rubbing. The problem is that I doubt your "b' screw, as it is, will be long enough. You might be able to find a longer screw with the right thread at a hardware store. Another trick that I've heard of but haven't tried myself is to remove the screw and screw it back in from the other side so that the head rubs the dropout. That'll give you another 3mm or so and that just might be enough.

If that doesn't work, the solution that I know will work is a mountain bike rear derailleur. They're designed to work with a 34 tooth cog vs a 27 cog for a road derailleur. If it was my bike, I'd get an XT GS (short arm) derailleur. It'll handle the 34 cog and has more than enough chain wrap for your rig. Be careful when you order because it comes in both traditional and rapid rise actions.

duongrn

I already made the mistake of getting an XTR rapid rise derailleur and off course that didn't work. I then got a traditional one and had some problems with it skipping gears. I didn't have enough tuning experience to diagnose it so I just slapped on the Ultegra which seems to ship fine.

MichaelW

1x9 setups are quite popular for rolling flatland and urban couriers, you can get the gear range you need without the extra weight of a double.
I run one bike with a 1x6 system using a 36t ring. Its just for pootling around town so I dont need big gears. You have to be careful about the chain coming off the ring, modern chains seem to have a lot of lateral flex so you may need a keeper such as an old front mech.