Crazy (not Hateful) Eight

   I performed a little math error last week, when I mentioned the seven projects that I was working on simultaneously – I actually had an eighth, as I was also working on a drive train conversion of my Bianchi Cross Concept bicycle. For a few months I had been experiencing some wonky shifting, which was becoming frustrating, not only while I was riding, but also during my attempts to fix the problem.

   When I originally assembled the mostly Shimano Ultegra 2x10 system (as in two front chainrings and a 10 speed cassette on the rear wheel), I had to sub in a 105 rear derailleur because at that time the long-cage Ultegra counterpart was hard to find and expensive. The Bianchi also lacked some of the traditional cable stops with barrel adjusters to fine-tune cable tension – setting up the center-pull cantilever brakes was a crazy process of trial and error, but that’s another story.

   I was having an impossible time trying to get the bike to shift smoothly up and down the cassette, so much so that I eventually set the bottom limiting screw to sacrifice the bottom two cogs. I was running with 16 speeds, and even shifting into the two biggest cogs was shaky. During one ride, the shift slipped while I was standing on the pedals up a small hill and the chain snapped – the first time in my life that had happened!

   During a build lesson in my shop this spring, my friend Matt had installed a SRAM 1x10 drive, which involves a single mid-range 42-tooth front chain ring and a big, honkin’ 11-36t cassette (I jokingly call it a pie pan). One can go crazy trying to keep up with gear ratios, but I find that I am not really missing much “climbability” from the possible 34-tooth chainring/28t cog minimum combination that was on the bike before.

   Understandably some riders wouldn’t want this type of setup on a road bike because they would miss the “speed ratios” afforded by larger chainrings and small cogs, but that’s not of as much importance to me. I’m not doing a lot of sprinting out on the unpaved trails!

   A unique feature of the front chainring is its narrow/wide teeth, which correspond to the respective widths of the inner and outer links of the chain. This helps keep the chain secure on the ring when a bike is bouncing around off-road.

   The rear derailleur has a clutch that keeps constant tension on the chain, removing the large amount of slack that would need to be taken up when switching from the immense inner to smaller outer cogs.

   This afternoon I did an enjoyable 40-mile loop, starting on streets up to Schwenksville, then rode up the Perkiomen Trail to Green Lane. I then headed back down the trail to where it links with the Schuylkill Trail in Oaks and rode home through Phoenixville and Spring City. The SRAM 1x10 system was whisper quiet – I think the chainring has some type of Teflon-ish coating – and shifted wonderfully as well!

   The package Matt had purchased to assemble his 1x10 setup had included a lefthand shift lever that lacked a shifting paddle - essentially it was just a brake lever. Piecing together my system, I found that a left lever with the paddle was the same price as one without, so my two levers match in appearance but not function. I could remove the paddle if I wanted, but there is a visual balance that I appreciate.

   I have had a few little hitches pop up that have dramatically slowed any progress made on a couple other projects. The worse of the two is the stem stuck in the steering tube of the Gios’ fork, and I have it soaking in PB Blaster solvent to aid the process of loosening the parts. I’m afraid I might be exchanging the Gios problem with Peter Dreesens for the Tommasini when he (hopefully!) gets the seatpost out of Brendan’s frame.

  

   It occurred to me that if I used the cable stop band (photo below) that I had purchased for the Coppi in conjunction with the Campagnolo Ergo shifters that I just might be creating a situation similar to that which I faced with the Bianchi – an inability to adjust the cable tension if the shifts are off.

 

   My solution is to buy a vintage clamp-on set of shifters, remove the levers and mount cable stops with barrel adjusters. The Campagnolo band is an attractive piece to add to the bike anyway!

   I applied the decals to the Coppi frame over the weekend and will be getting to the assembly in the next few days – hopefully the clamp/shifter set will arrive promptly and not hold me up too long!