Tourist in MSN

You won't feel it in either hub. Deluxe might get you to the end point a couple minutes faster than Son28.

koenbro 

My wheel builder will replace the SonDelux with a 28 on the build sheet. Hopefully this will not delay the build more than a few days. The opening of the riding season is still a few months away in AZ (we expect 116 degrees later today) unless one drives up into the mountains.

In the meantime, I removed the BB and luckily it shows not rust. The bike lived its entire life in AZ, although the original owner told me he took at least one road in Belgium with it.

The frame is now stripped. For some reason, I could not remove the drop tube cable guides; oh, well. Want to treat the inside with rust protection, but could not source Frame Saver, so I bought what seemed like an alternative (I was sucked in by claim that it was developed by Boeing).

Still waiting for parts and a few tools, then hopefully next week can build up everything. The wheels should arrive mid-August.

koenbro 

koenbro 

What chain should I buy for my new setup, and what shifter/brake cable/housing set? I would like to keep the option open to upgrade to a 3 x 9 driveset.

Also any recommendation for brake levers and brifters? Not too hot on barends.

Tourist in MSN

Not sure why you did not remove the chain. Newer bikes usually have a quick link that can be split in half. Is this bike so old that it does not have a quick link? If you are not sure what a quick link looks like, google it.

Chain, there are many made my several manufacturers. If you get 9 speed later, you will need a 9 speed chain, if you stick with 7 speed, a chain for 7 or 8 speed is what you want.

You are asking a lot questions on stuff that is personal preference when it comes to shifter types. And the cables have to match the shifters.

koenbro 

It does not have a quick link. I am waiting for the tool to push the pin out. That's why I have not yet removed the chain.

I called a bike supplier and they gave a heavy marketing pitch to move into 2x11. So the search continues. I am OK with starting with 3x7 but am potentially interested in upgrading to 3x9.

Tourist in MSN

Many of the higher end multi-tools that most bike tourists would carry have a chain tool built in. Somewhere in a tool box I have a free standing chain tool I bought decades ago, but I do not think I have used for at least a decade, instead use the chain tool on my Alien II or Crank Bros multi-tools because they are closer to hand when I need one. I am not sure when quick links for derailleur chains became common, when I worked in the bike shop in the 70s they did not exist. But the chains at that time were built differently with more parts and they weighed more. There were master links for single speed chains, but not derailleur chains at that time.

I do not recall if you ever said if you planned to use this bike for touring. If so, most people that have toured with a triple are hesitant to give it up. There are new touring bikes sold with a 3X9 system, nothing wrong with that. I have several bikes with 8 speed cassettes and triples. But I think that a hub built for 7 speed cassette is not going to work with more than 7, but I am rather ignorant of 7 speed systems so I could be wrong..

koenbro 

The Velo Orange parcel arrived yesterday. The crank has a captive bolt and I wonder if it will be difficult to remove it; or perhaps will the bolt as its own remover?


The Bottom bracket feels sticky, needs more effort to spin than I’d expect and certainly more than the Shimano I’ve just removed. So back it goes and Will order a Shimano instead.

koenbro 

The build is still on hold, as I am waiting for the wheels. In the meantime, I returned the Velo Orange crank as it did not fit well; for some reason it was rubbing the chainstay. So I will keep the original Deore LX 46/36/26 and replace the granny gear with a Sugino 24T. The original 7 speed cassette will be replaced with a 9-speed. So the gear-inch table looks like this:


I am pleased with the bottom end at 18.6 and the 626% range, which are much improved from the stock 26 and 450% respectively.

Yet the table suggests that the middle crank cog is really unnecessary, and a 2x9 drive will do, and one can even avoid the two most misaligned combinations for each crank cog, and do well with a 14-speed range. So how come we need to use a three-by drive train for touring?

Tourist in MSN

Shifting from a 24 to a 46 chainring is a big jump. Can it be done, yes but it is a big jump. And after you make that shift you find that you are on the wrong end of the cassette, and you are making many shifts to get to the other end of the cassette.

Plus, having more gears with a middle chainring can be pretty nice.

On my derailleur touring bikes I am running a 46/42/24 crankset, the middle and big ring are half step. Half step gearing was common for touring several decades ago, there are still a few of us that like it. Cassette is eight speed 11/32 (11,12,14,16,18,21,26,32). I spend the vast majority of my time on the two bigger chainrings, having two gives me more gears than one big ring, thus the ability to fine time my gearing for slight change in slope or windage.

The rare times when I am shifting to or from the smallest chainring, I clearly notice that big of a jump in my gearing and have to make many shifts to compensate but I only use the 24 for the steeper hills. When I upshift off of the 24, it is to a 42 which is a big jump but not as big as up to a 46.



My road bike is a 2X10 with a compact crank (50/34), when I shift from one chainring to the other, I usually am making about three or four shifts to get the chain to the other side of the cassette.

koenbro 

This makes a lot of sense and explains it. Thank you. One way to avoid this would be some kind of an electronic shifter that would optimize (change 2-3-4 steps) the cassette cog if you jump from one chain ring to the other.

Never heard of "half step" before but a quick search pointed me to Sheldon Brown's write up which was, as usual, very helpful.

Tourist in MSN

I think most people that are touring are looking to avoid electronics and some of the more modern innovations that could be hard to fix when you are far from help. For touring I want reliability, easily replaced, robust and easy to repair equipment.

And for touring you want a really wide range of gearing, wider than typical for most roadies. For example, I think most experienced touring riders are sticking with triple cranks when many major manufacturers are trying to get rid of triples.

I found half step plus granny to work poorly in some situations like Pacific Coast where the grade was changing frequently enough that you were never in the right gear, but nothing else would have been much of an improvement. And half step was great when I toured in South Florida where it was so flat that I almost always was in one of three gears that were very close to each other, it was very easy to fine tune my gearing for the windage.

koenbro 

After a long wait for the wheels, they arrived and look great. A big shout out and thanks to prowheelbuilder!

So I put together the parts and after some difficulty with the drive line (the original 118mm BB was too wide, but a 113mm works and shifts well - thanks to my LBS Bicycle Ranch), have made rapid progress. I was able to ride it today for the first time to test shifting.

Will have to add the fenders, a front rack, wire up the dynamo hub and add an attachment for my Wahoo bolt.

Getting close.

kidadam

That's some great work. I just picked up a used 520. I've been looking for the right one honestly for 5 years.

My problem is it's so clean that I feel like I need to preserve it!

koenbro 

What a beautiful bike! Congratulations, that is quite a find. What year is it from?

The color is great, and you have matching fenders and a rack. If it shifts well, i’d just put new tires and brake pads, your favorite saddle, and call it good.

kidadam

It’s likely a 1999 and that’s exactly what I did. I put Kool stops on it, new brooks, and new tape. I do need to change the tires at some point. They are the originals and really aren’t too bad, just a little slow rolling.

A lot of people have recommended that I change the crank and I do see the benefits but honestly I really like the gearing as is. I have a long haul trucker with smaller gearing so I don’t feel like I need to change it.

I think what you have going is a really great blend between old and new.

koenbro 

Up to you of course, but my advice is to swap them out. Twenty year old tires are no longer serviceable even if thread is there. Obviously not as critical as on cars, where a catastrophic failure is deadly, I think the rubber compound even if not UV exposed has aged beyond its shelf life. Plus technology is better now, tires are lighter, etc.

Yeah you could gain a few gear inches if you swap out the granny gear. I did change my 26T to a Sugino 24T but also replaced the rear 7-speed 11-28 to a 9-speed 11-36 to gain gear inches. BUt then you slide into a domino chain of derailleurs, drive-line etc. From my experience, the better part of valor may be to not start messing with any of that, and because your bike is so beautiful, keep it original.

Thanks, I became interested in the classic randonneur look, but could not budget for a true custom, so decided to restomod the 1994 Trek.

MarcusT

I had one of these and the BB cup (if not the bushing) was also plastic. Could not get it off in any manner. Threw the frame away

koenbro 

If anyone cares, here is the breakdown of components (and costs) for my build. In brief this is a $2800 bike (2100 without electronics) that weighs about 25 lbs. The gear range is 18.6 - 117 gear-inches (or 626%).

koenbro 

Very pleased with how it came out. Still waiting for the front rack and then will also install the mud guards.

ilikebikes

Great job dude! Looks ******’ awesom! I have a 520 in decent shape, just picked it up a few months ago, needed a cleaning and a few personal touches. I’m having trouble posting pics but I’ll try...

Tourist in MSN

It looks like you are using an older style rear Shimano brifter where the shift cable extends sideways to where your handlebar bag will be.

If that cable does interfere with a handlebar bag, that happened to a friend of mine. He used a V brake noodle to re-route the cable downwards and out of the way, photo below.



If you are using a handlebar bag, make sure that your shifter does not interfere with the bag. Photo below, mine comes close, but not a problem.



And front shifter, not sure how you are doing that. But I am sure I will see that later.

koenbro 

Yes the right brifter cable is very inconvenient. Wish I could find a 9 speed shifter that would have its cable run along the dropbar. Will look again. I am using a detachable Ortlieb bag that I angled upward to clear the cable. That way the second problem (clearance for the inward motion of the shifter) is also solved.

koenbro 

Man, that frame with its lugs and color combo is just gorgeous -- come to think of it the whole bike is! Lucky you! What gearing do you have on it?

Do you know what year is it from? Mine is a 1994 but your frame looks very different.

ilikebikes

1986, not sure about the gearing...☺️