afrowheels

Some additional information and follow-up questions. The current gearing I have is (based on counting teeth to make sure): 48-36-28 at the front and an 8-speed Shimano 11-28 at the rear.

As I understand it, the Shimano XTR rear derailleur for 8-speed should also work on a 9-speed cassette. So based on earlier recommendations I've ordered the Gevenalles with 9-speed indexed shifter for the rear and friction shifter for the front. What would be a good rear cassette to get given the crankset and planning on heavily loaded touring that will likely venture into some mountainous areas?

stardognine

You oughta at least go 32t for the largest cog, and that's in case they're hard to find there. Most folks would probably go with a 34t or 36t, depending on availability.

That's for the "common" 9-speed stuff, not the crazy big stuff they have out now. 😁😉

EDIT: I meant to say, your XTR rear derailleur will work fine. 👍 It's the shifter & cassette, that need to match up. 🙂

afrowheels

So the update on this is that it hasn't worked out so well because of postal issues. I got the 9-speed cassette and new front ring, but the Gevenalle shifters have not arrived and probably never will (sent by RoyalMail initially but then to my local very unreliable postal service). So my current plan is to take the bike through as it is along with the cassette and ring, then try to pick up the shifters in the US en route, get some handlebars in Colombia and rebuild the bike myself or get a local workshop to help me out once I get to the other side! Downside obviously being that I will have to take extra components as luggage and then abandon or ship home the ones that get removed.

The service I just got done on the bike improved the shifting of the 8-speed system a bit: apparently the gear cables I had originally fitted were too short so they were too tight (as many of you guessed). But the shifting is still pretty mediocre so I am keen to make the move to the 9-speed system before I start cycling. (Unfortunately the LBS have given me another headache by taking one of my brake calipers without asking: https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/1...our-parts.html).

Recommendations for a good bike workshop in Bogota are welcome!

EDIT: The LBS supposedly checked the wheel hubs and rims and said they are fine. But since they stole my brake caliper I probably can't give much weight to that...

RH Clark

Just an FYI but I prefer friction front and rear. I have a couple sets of Micro shift units that work marvelously. I would at least have all my parts together before traveling anywhere.

njkayaker

The position of the bar seems rather peculiar. Since this isn't the apparent regular way they are positioned, it's not surprising they unstable to you.

RH Clark

The seat all the way down and bars are up make me question the bike fit. If I wanted that kind of geometry for comfort, I would look into some cruiser type bars, possibly something like the Jones Loop with riser built in. Neither do I understand positioning the bars in such a way as to be as high as possible with lots of spacers left over the stem.

saddlesores

those look like photos from a craigslist ad. assume it to be photos of a bike for sale, taken outside a storage locker.

indyfabz

A locker in London, judging from the LBS sticker.

afrowheels

Damn guys, there are many great people on this forum but some of you are really sour and suspicious types. The bike had been in storage because I couldn't use it and the seatpost was down to save space. The frame was originally bought from Brixton Cycles many years ago but this was definitely not in London. It was a bit of a rushed job but the geometry matched up with my measurements and what advice I had found.

afrowheels

So, after quite a lot of trouble - and more expense than I had intended - I got the bike rebuilt to the specs I mentioned above. And got it through to Colombia in one piece. That should be all the hard work done! But still a few issues that could get in the way of the tour. The drop bar setup is a great improvement on the previous ones I've had (butterfly bar or MTB with bar ends) and the gear range seems really good. The main problem I have right now is that something happened in transit to mess up the shifting, which was perfect when I tested it at the second bike shop that did the rebuild, and I am going to need to figure that out and fix it. (Will put up a post about that separately). Pretty chuffed to have gotten this far - thanks for all the help and advice!


Rebuilt LHT, 3x9.

stardognine

Are we gonna have to rough you up? All pics from the drive side, please? 😁😉

It looks like you're basically there, sounds like you might have minor tweaking left. 👍