Definitely- it only needs an adjustment of the limit screws and I can mix and match. Friction shifters feel like the equivalent of driving a manual car- I'm more involved in the process.
My first touring bike- new project
- Thread starter buzz22
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Definitely- it only needs an adjustment of the limit screws and I can mix and match. Friction shifters feel like the equivalent of driving a manual car- I'm more involved in the process.
DCBassman
Guru
- Location
- The lumpy far South West
Ah, I prefer EZ-Fires on flat bars. Semi-auto?
And the car? Auto-everything with cruise control!
Some disappointment this morning after another test ride around the garage (it's been a week of rain).
I noticed the first time I rode it that the bars had a tendency to wander, especially to the right. Handling was a bit nervous and required constant input to the bars.
I put this down to a few possible causes- tyre choice, pressure, incompatible tyre on rim, headset bearings.
After making sure both tyres were at 80 psi I rode it again and noted little change.
This morning I swapped in a known set of wheels (Araya 700c) with good tyres (Maxxis Refuse 700 x 23 @ 100 psi) that I knew were fine on other bikes.
Results were the same.
It was then that I noticed that despite the wheel pointing straight ahead there was a twist in the forks, slightly to the left. This explains the tendency to countersteer to the right so with little invested ($100) for the bike plus parts I can use elsewhere I may have to cut my losses.
It may be a case of using the Deore driveline on another bike and converting my "throwback" bike with it's relaxed geometry into a light touring rig- the long wheelbase would be a good fit.
The front fork limits me to a 25mm tyre but that's ok, with a 28mm on the back it's comfortable and has eyelets on the rear dropouts for a rack.
The 13-28 7 speed on the back should be a good match for the Deore triple and the upright riding position is already comfortable.
I noticed the first time I rode it that the bars had a tendency to wander, especially to the right. Handling was a bit nervous and required constant input to the bars.
I put this down to a few possible causes- tyre choice, pressure, incompatible tyre on rim, headset bearings.
After making sure both tyres were at 80 psi I rode it again and noted little change.
This morning I swapped in a known set of wheels (Araya 700c) with good tyres (Maxxis Refuse 700 x 23 @ 100 psi) that I knew were fine on other bikes.
Results were the same.
It was then that I noticed that despite the wheel pointing straight ahead there was a twist in the forks, slightly to the left. This explains the tendency to countersteer to the right so with little invested ($100) for the bike plus parts I can use elsewhere I may have to cut my losses.
It may be a case of using the Deore driveline on another bike and converting my "throwback" bike with it's relaxed geometry into a light touring rig- the long wheelbase would be a good fit.
The front fork limits me to a 25mm tyre but that's ok, with a 28mm on the back it's comfortable and has eyelets on the rear dropouts for a rack.
The 13-28 7 speed on the back should be a good match for the Deore triple and the upright riding position is already comfortable.
The Deore driveline (apart from the 12-32 cassette) has been switched over from the touring bike to another bike- I know this one has nice easy handling and is a comfortable long distance bike.
I've kept the Mavic Open 4 CD rims on it as they're 36 spoke and in great condition, along with the Shimano 600 Ultegra Tricolor brake levers, front brake and downtube shifters.
I'll need to adapt the rack with some 'P' clips as there's no eyelets on this one but otherwise it's ready for the road.
This bike hasn't really been ridden too much since I originally put it together so with the new purpose that should change.
I'm hoping so, fingers crossed.
I'm also hoping it's just the fork- there's no obvious signs of damage to the frame so I'll see how I go.
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My bikes are a range of sizes- my road bikes range from around 60cm (about 24 inches) up to the black one which is 66cm (26 inches).
Between seat posts, set back and stems I'm pretty comfortable on all of them.
The black one has never been a bike to throw around, it's definitely more comfortable seated so lower gearing isn't a bad thing.
The new green one ended up being a little smaller than I thought (59cm seat tube) but felt comfortable enough.
My plan B version of a touring bike got it's first outing today and did well.
The lower gears got a workout on some decent hills and the rack carried a light load easily- at one stage I forgot it was there.
As it is now I'd be comfortable doing an overnighter on it. To make life easier I've ordered one of these to make accessing phone, snacks etc easier:
