Bill1227

My 2013 as large ( pics back in this thread / several mutations along the way ) was 24 lbs , with carbon fork, better wheels, 1 x 11, etc I almost always ran 45c ‘ish tires with tubes

I put a lot of miles on it and just handed it down to my 30 year old son this spring in favor for a 2021 Trek 520 / Alt flat bar build , 1x9 which also weighs 24

CT is - was a great bike overall once I ditched the fork. I think the Sirus X with the head spring shock is an admirable improvement

There are swivel bikes from various manufactures that fit this bill in general and they are my favorite type bike / all purpose cross / touring / commuting / urban / gravel / smooth single track bikes period.

btw - like another reply below I am now running wider ( salsa bend bars 24 degree ) with inner ends - aka bar ends moved inside grips - aka Horns and love it. I am using some Specialized P2 overendz bar ends I had

like so - try to post a pic

hokiefyd 

I like those 24 degree bars -- they look very comfortable. That red's a beautiful color -- pls post a picture of the whole bike somewhere!

Bill1227

I put pics in the touring sub forum the other day but will add here. I do really like the bars , zero hand numbness , I get four hand positions with the inner ends I added

its a 2021 Trek 520 frame. build 1x9 , Mech disc , Alt bar , 50c c 700 Panaracer Gk SK

hokiefyd 

That's a beautiful bike. I also have Advent 1x9 on one of my bikes (will soon have it on a second). Really nice stuff, that group. It looks like you went with the 11-42 cassette. I've got the big 11-46 on my fat bike, but will do the 11-42 on my hybrid.

ColonelSanders

What is the ride like with the aluminium fork?

Bill1227

Good Eyes - yes it is an 11-42 cassette Microshift Advent. Simple is better for my taste.
Thanks

Slowkevin

I couldn’t find any advent in stock so I just did a 1x with a cheap 8 speed 11-40 sunrace cassette. Do you think it would be worth it to upgrade to advent?

Bill1227

it’s one of the best riding ( smooth, lively , no road buzz ) bikes I have owned ( I am 60 ). I have used 35c & 50c tires
The fork is curved & tapered which for me have generally been more compliant than straight legged forked fwiw but I am not a fork guru
I am not sure the metal alloy choice has much to do with it.
I also have aluminum rims, bars, post , stem , hubs, cast aluminum pedals etc etc on my steel frame :-)
it’s a bicycle fork …..

Bill1227

kevin ,
I don’t know my gut says - probably not and just use it till it dies
on another note - topic I did see you asked about changing out your rigid Crosstrail steal fork to carbon. Mine ( now my sons) has carbon ( origin 8 black ops ) I wouldn’t do that for sure keep as is. Sounds like you have done an amazing job dialing in your CT !
I would still be riding mine but it was always a little big for me and fit my son like a glove
good job customizing - dialing in yours to what you prefer !

hokiefyd 

My bike that currently does not have Advent that will in the future is running an RD-T4000 Alivio derailleur and a 9-speed 11-40 Sunrace cassette (with 36t chain ring, running poor man's 1x), with a Deore 9-speed push-push shifter. Whenever either the derailleur or shifter needs changing, I'll swap to Advent then (the 9-speed Advent parts are in stock on Amazon). I have the Advent 9-speed medium cage clutch derailleur on my fat bike, along with their standard ball bearing trigger shifter (the push-pull model, not the push-push model). It's definitely a different feel than Shimano. The clutch adds some stiffness to the shift feel, but I think the shift levers are physically longer than what other shifters have, too, so the shift effort feels more or less similar. It has a very positive shift feel (you know you've shifted), vs. Shimano's "easy glide" sort of feel. I like it. The parts seem indestructible, especially the derailleur (it's heavy and stout).

Microshift have Acolyte for 8-speed, Advent for 9-speed, and Advent X for 10-speed. You could keep your 8-speed 11-40 and go with Acolyte for your derailleur and shifter if you wanted to. Or you could swap to Advent or Advent X as well. The Advent cassette I have appears to be made well, though the black coating seems to be wearing quickly. I don't think that'll negatively impact performance at all, but it probably is something to note. I know you're into light weight, and I'm almost certain that you'd be adding weight to your current setup with any of the Microshift drivetrain parts. They're built well, but they are stout...

ColonelSanders

Aluminium of course has a reputation for being harsh and seems to only be used as a material for forks, in order to cut costs.

But with your feedback, perhaps they have found a way to get around issues of harshness.

Your bike looks stunning, I am seriously tempted to get a Trek 520 myself.

creativepart

I said previously that I was going to change out my "brain" fork front suspension to a 100mm Rockshox - but that was before I found a brand new Rockshox Paragon Gold RL 65mm front fork on Amazon for $180. It was supposedly a return but was packaged like new and seems brand new. I received it today and would have it installed but I need a few headset spacers I'll buy tomorrow.

Let me tell you, that original "brain" Suntour is a lead anchor. It's at least twice as heavy as the Paragon. Such a nice shock. OK, I haven't ridden with it yet since the install isn't complete but honestly it's better just sitting on my work bench.

Here's a link to the full price edition - about $100 more:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F9KJSTO

Slowkevin

yeah the suntour nexi on mine weighed 5.6lbs. Switching to the rigid fork literally changed the bike completely.

travbikeman

If your interested, here's my take on the Paragon when I had it installed on my Crosstrail:

https://www.bikeforums.net/hybrid-bi...x-paragon.html

I have since sold my Crosstrail and bought a proper sized Scott Sub Cross, but did install a new Paragon on that as well.

It's a nice suspension, but you will need to maintain it as compared to the Suntour's. It's worth it though if you go through many trails that have many bumps and such.

But, I've been noticing better stones are replacing the trails I've been riding and am now considering replacing the Paragon with a steel touring fork.....

hokiefyd 

I replaced the cheap Suntour fork on my "hybrid" mountain bike with a steel fork from Surly and it's a totally different bike. I really enjoy it.

travbikeman

Yea, Surly is what I'm considering. If I do that though, it most likely be this winter as a winter project to the Sub Cross.

Slowkevin

I got my Salsa cro moto used for $80 and new they’re $130. Ones with more eyelets for attachments are only $140. This is for QR though, thru axle is around $200. I took the Salsa fork to blue and even a black trail (don’t recommend lol) and it’s been solid. The Salsas are a bit lighter than the Surly forks which is why I chose mine.

Slowkevin

yeah I actually took my salsa cro moto fork to blue and black trails and it actually did decent, even on rock gardens but it was a bit painful at times. I recently added a redshift stem though for more cushioning and now don’t have any pains so far on the blue trails I’ve tried.

hokiefyd 

I went with a bit shorter axle-to-crown (a2c) length to increase the head tube angle a little bit (I use this hardtail fully rigid MTB as more of a hybrid bike). The stock 27.5" 80mm fork had a 475mm a2c measurement (very similar to a 63mm hybrid fork, actually). I took the springs out and rode with different lengths of dowel rods in place of the springs so get different custom a2c lengths to see what I liked best. I went with the Surly ECR fork in 447mm a2C spec. In practice, a 475mm a2c suspension fork is already compressed by an inch or so under normal conditions, so it's really closer to a 450mm a2c length in riding trim. And the offset of my factory fork is about the same as the ECR fork, so the specs are pretty close. I the ECR fork is a little shorter than the Suntour fork, even at curb weight, but it's closer than the paper specs would suggest.

It feels like a whole different bike with this fork. The bike feels nimble on single track. Like, very nimble. I wanted a little steeper head tube angle for that maneuverability (I don't downhill this bike) and that, plus the reduced weight, really livens up the ride. Ripping through some easy flowy single track is really fun now. But I also have a set of wheels with 47mm Vittoria Terreno Zeros for MUP and road use. It's become my do-it-all bike, perhaps a true "dual sport" or hybrid for me.

creativepart

I couldn't finish installing the Paragon fork yesterday because I was short of a few headset spacers. So, a quick trip to town today solved that problem and the fork is now installed in my 2018 Crosstrail Sport Disc. First off it saves a full 2-lbs! As everyone above has been saying that OEM Suntour "Brain" fork is 6 lbs. So, you've got this heavy suspension fork that doesn't really work all that well. WHY??? It's an easy fix. The Rockshox Paragon Gold RL is just about 4 lbs and works extremely well. It's a no brainer.

On a side note, I added a rear view mirror to my handlebar - it's from Germany - Busch&Muller 701 - I bought it online from a shop in the Netherlands. It fits in the end of the handlebar and has a folding feature like of like a car mirror only $23.99.

Slowkevin

If I knew about that fork I might have gone that route instead of full rigid steel. Have you taken it on some rocky trails yet?

creativepart

Not this week. But just riding the rough chip seal roads here in south Texas now the front just floats. I upped my tire pressure 10psi and it's still smooth.
I used to own a Santa Cruz Tallboy (wish I hadn't sold it cheap) and when attempting to ride some intermediate trails I scared myself to the point of giving up MTBs. I know it's not a proper excuse but... I'm in my 70's. Sure there are plenty of more fit guys in the 70's that mountain bike, but I said No More because it was stressing me out.
Anyway, I didn't add this shock to ride trails - I added it to smooth out rough roads and occasional dirt roads. For that it's great. I feel it was a good upgrade. Seeing how this shock works I can tell that the OEM brain shock was doing next to nothing..

creativepart

I know I read this somewhere in this thread but can't find it. What's the largest tire width that will fit the stock rims? 700c x 50?? I'm running the original tires that were on my 2018 CT and the rear is getting a bit slick. I've eBiked mine so I'd like something larger than the stock 700c x 38 tires.

I think I saw that 2" (50mm) was about the widest that would still fit.

creativepart

Making lots of changes to my 2018 Specialized Crosstrail ebike conversion. Besides changing out the front suspension fork I've now added a KINEKT 2.1 Aluminum Bike Seatpost with Suspension and that's been a great addition. This week I'll be changing out the OEM Specialized Trigger 700cX28c tires with Schwalbe Marathon 700Cx50C tires.

Lastly, assuming the parts get here in time, I'll be taking out my rear hub drive ebike kit and replacing it with a 1000w Bafang BBSHD Mid-Drive kit. This will allow me to reinstall the OEM rear wheel/cassette/disc and the micro-shift thumb shifter.

I just passed 1000 miles on the rear drive kit and love it, but it's time to try mid-drive instead.

Keepingitwheel

Hello all, I am trying to gather some info to replace a few broken spokes for a rear wheel. A few were on both non drive and drive side. Does anyone know what sizes to get? Thank you.