Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Ooh, that's easy on the eye.
Repentence required - 2021 Genesis Croix de Fer 20 Flat Bar
- Thread starter wafter
- Start date
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It'd largely be great were it not, as usual for the stupid bloody crankset...
Jameshow
Veteran
Split pins that retain pads do indeed look unnecessarily crap to an engineering eye but they are functional, re-usable and cheap to replace if required. I also suspect that most of the people who have suffered from seized pad retaining bolts would have preferred something that looked unnecessarily crap but that didn't seize.
Jenkins
Legendary Member
- Location
- Felixstowe
One of the first things I did with the new toy was to remove the pad retaining bolts and replace with split pins based on previous experience with seized bolts despite the use of Copaslip when installing new pads.
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
That's nice.
Commuter tyres or semi-slicks would make things roll better, and +1 for Ergon grips. My go-to are the GP2, but then I don't need anything much bigger.
If you don't like the 1x drivetrain, Spa do an own-brand touring triple. I used it on my MTB build and it does a good job of work for not a lot of money. However, I tend to leave the chain on the middle ring. Whoops LOL!
Commuter tyres or semi-slicks would make things roll better, and +1 for Ergon grips. My go-to are the GP2, but then I don't need anything much bigger.
If you don't like the 1x drivetrain, Spa do an own-brand touring triple. I used it on my MTB build and it does a good job of work for not a lot of money. However, I tend to leave the chain on the middle ring. Whoops LOL!
Cheers all 
I doubt I'll ever be sold on 1x on anything other than an MTB; far too compromised in use on the road IMO while a triple gives more range with much better spacing between gears.
If I ever actually get to use it I'll see how the tyres fare relative to the sort of use they'll be getting. I suspect most of the miles will be done on tow paths and roads, so something less aggressive would be a better choice in use and probably wear better too.
Thanks for the thought about Spa - not sure what the Q-factor's like though, and I assume it's also square taper..? There are appropriate Shimano offerings; it's more of a case of whether I can justify the spend.
Personally I think that's how a triple should be used - like 1x with decent, relatively tight ratios on the back and over / under-drive when required..
Predictably not a lot has happened to the CdF recently as I remain preoccupied with other stuff, riddled with indecision and frustrated by the lack of bits I want.
I think the first step would be to get mudguards on it to protect the frame and make it useable in a practical sense... However I can no longer get the SKS Longboards I've come to love, while the alternatives are both shorter (Blumel matt and Bluemel Style) and the longer Style also has a squarer profile which I think might cause clearance issues at various points on the frame. On top of that, petty as it may be I resent SKS killing the Longboard and am somewhat reluctant to reward this treachery by continuing to spend money with them... although I've not seen anything that looks better spec-wise.
Further the bike needs a rack (which requires more research and expenditure) and the shortcomings of the groupset remain there to be overcome. The gear-fiend in me loves the idea of fitting a full Deore 3x10 touring setup, however I'm less keen from the perspectives of outright cost and theft risk (both appeal and loss if it did happen).
The bike was bought for utility but leaving my lower-value / probably less appealing Fuji locked up in Oxford over recent days has been a source of great anxiety, so I'm not sure how useful this bike would be in practical terms from this perspective.
I think that for most general purpose stuff (i.e. not the extremes of racing-snake road or mental downhill MTB) a triple's hard to beat.
I doubt I'll ever be sold on 1x on anything other than an MTB; far too compromised in use on the road IMO while a triple gives more range with much better spacing between gears.
A very legitimate point; although you're still left with trying to bend them straight enough to get them out (with associated risk of damage to the caliper), and then likely having to replace them once removed.
Cheers
If I ever actually get to use it I'll see how the tyres fare relative to the sort of use they'll be getting. I suspect most of the miles will be done on tow paths and roads, so something less aggressive would be a better choice in use and probably wear better too.
Thanks for the thought about Spa - not sure what the Q-factor's like though, and I assume it's also square taper..? There are appropriate Shimano offerings; it's more of a case of whether I can justify the spend.
Personally I think that's how a triple should be used - like 1x with decent, relatively tight ratios on the back and over / under-drive when required..
Cheers - they look like a somewhat similar format to what's on mine - how do you find they wear? I usually find anything with significant tread gets hammered on the road..
Predictably not a lot has happened to the CdF recently as I remain preoccupied with other stuff, riddled with indecision and frustrated by the lack of bits I want.
I think the first step would be to get mudguards on it to protect the frame and make it useable in a practical sense... However I can no longer get the SKS Longboards I've come to love, while the alternatives are both shorter (Blumel matt and Bluemel Style) and the longer Style also has a squarer profile which I think might cause clearance issues at various points on the frame. On top of that, petty as it may be I resent SKS killing the Longboard and am somewhat reluctant to reward this treachery by continuing to spend money with them... although I've not seen anything that looks better spec-wise.
Further the bike needs a rack (which requires more research and expenditure) and the shortcomings of the groupset remain there to be overcome. The gear-fiend in me loves the idea of fitting a full Deore 3x10 touring setup, however I'm less keen from the perspectives of outright cost and theft risk (both appeal and loss if it did happen).
The bike was bought for utility but leaving my lower-value / probably less appealing Fuji locked up in Oxford over recent days has been a source of great anxiety, so I'm not sure how useful this bike would be in practical terms from this perspective.
Jameshow
Veteran
Cheers all
I think that for most general purpose stuff (i.e. not the extremes of racing-snake road or mental downhill MTB) a triple's hard to beat.
I doubt I'll ever be sold on 1x on anything other than an MTB; far too compromised in use on the road IMO while a triple gives more range with much better spacing between gears.
A very legitimate point; although you're still left with trying to bend them straight enough to get them out (with associated risk of damage to the caliper), and then likely having to replace them once removed.
Cheers
If I ever actually get to use it I'll see how the tyres fare relative to the sort of use they'll be getting. I suspect most of the miles will be done on tow paths and roads, so something less aggressive would be a better choice in use and probably wear better too.
Thanks for the thought about Spa - not sure what the Q-factor's like though, and I assume it's also square taper..? There are appropriate Shimano offerings; it's more of a case of whether I can justify the spend.
Personally I think that's how a triple should be used - like 1x with decent, relatively tight ratios on the back and over / under-drive when required..
Cheers - they look like a somewhat similar format to what's on mine - how do you find they wear? I usually find anything with significant tread gets hammered on the road..
Predictably not a lot has happened to the CdF recently as I remain preoccupied with other stuff, riddled with indecision and frustrated by the lack of bits I want.
I think the first step would be to get mudguards on it to protect the frame and make it useable in a practical sense... However I can no longer get the SKS Longboards I've come to love, while the alternatives are both shorter (Blumel matt and Bluemel Style) and the longer Style also has a squarer profile which I think might cause clearance issues at various points on the frame. On top of that, petty as it may be I resent SKS killing the Longboard and am somewhat reluctant to reward this treachery by continuing to spend money with them... although I've not seen anything that looks better spec-wise.
Further the bike needs a rack (which requires more research and expenditure) and the shortcomings of the groupset remain there to be overcome. The gear-fiend in me loves the idea of fitting a full Deore 3x10 touring setup, however I'm less keen from the perspectives of outright cost and theft risk (both appeal and loss if it did happen).
The bike was bought for utility but leaving my lower-value / probably less appealing Fuji locked up in Oxford over recent days has been a source of great anxiety, so I'm not sure how useful this bike would be in practical terms from this perspective.
I find they probably do wear badly I ought to swap them out for slicks but I'm a bit tight ATM, buying a house etc!
When I am at home I use a small pair of pliers on the Sram brakes on the MTB and the splitpins come out easily. I have re-used the same splitpin maybe twenty times (don't ask) and it is still OK. I only bend the long leg a little - if it fails I can use the other leg while I source a replacement. I don't carry the pliers with me on the bike so if I need to remove the pads while on a ride it won't be as easy but I am pretty sure that I will be able to bodge something with my small penknife/multitool/handy rock etc.
Aye - certainly a matter of priorities (I need to furnish the whole flat and am sat here trying to understand the perculiarites of front derailleurs
I hope the process is going according to plan!
Good work! I've been trying to settle on some decent middle-ground replacement but can't really think of anything... the cheese-head retaining pins on my 105 calipers have been replaced with socket-cap SLX items and fitted with plenty of anti-seize grease.
They're a shade on the long side but functionally identical to the originals but hopefully less prone to issues than the bloody awful originals..
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
Yeah, the Spa crankset is square taper. IIRC it's a 46, 38, 28 but don't quote me. I seem to remember that you could choose your crank lengths as well.
Cheers - don't think they publish the Q-factor which is critical; while I'm a tart and would rather stick with a hollowtech BB.
Current favourites are a new Deore XT T8000 crankset if I'm feeling posh, or a Deore M590-10 if I can find a decent used one for reasonable money.
Both can be had in 48/36/26; the 9sp version of the M590 being what's currently on the Fuji and IMO in terms of ratios gets the chef's kiss as it's basically middle ring all the time unless I need to crawl loaded up something steep or smash it down something similarly steep..
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
I can always go take a tape measure to mine.
Have 8-speed on the back of the MTB, mainly because I don't dare spread the triangle any further, and 9 speed Altus on the hybrid. Both very much "Ronseal" drivetrains, but with tiddly bikes, you just have to use what fits. Middle ring is generally where I'm at. I did put bigger gearing on the Raleigh, as the original crankset was designed for kiddies and had my legs spinning away without much in the way of forward progress.
