Comment

Comment by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on March 17, 2013 at 3:19pm

Velo Orange sells a Grand Cru sealed-bearing jockey wheel set for $10.   It is an awesome deal and really smooths out the shifting and quiets down noise from the chain.  Before I put them on my derailleur my drivetrain was quiet. It was nearly silent after.

The new Ultegra derailleur I just put on seems to have nicer ceramic bearing jockeys so I think I won't swap them out with the VO ones until they wear out. 

Comment by Dan Diehn on March 17, 2013 at 1:45pm

Anyone interested in riding the Upper Midwest Fleche should think about lining up your hotel reservation at the Wintergreen Resort. I have a block of rooms set aside under the name, "Minnesota Randonneurs." Please make sure to specify the group name when making the reservation. Their number is 1-800-648-4765.

Also, as a reminder, you should plan on having your proposed route ideas to me by May 1st at the latest, earlier is better.

Feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions.

Dan

ddiehn at diehnlaw dot com

Comment by Lanterne Rouge on March 17, 2013 at 12:45pm

Spence - I'llbe riding the 200K (5/11) 300K (6/1) for sure. I've got some stuff going on in July when the 400K and 600K aree going on, so I may only be able to do one of those.

 

Garth, as you can see, I use downtube shifters as well, albeit, in friction mode. I've found that they're virtually maintenance free, so long as everything is set up correctly.

Comment by Garth Liebhaber on March 17, 2013 at 12:33pm

I use downtube shifters. A few years back, I noticed a significant difference when I went to an 8-speed cassette.  They were both SRAMs. Perhaps a more expensive 9 or 10 speed cassette shifts adequately? I don't know.

Another big improvement was simply replacing the upper derailleur jockey wheel with a lower sealed bearing unit. The former one was ceramic and perhaps worn out and sloppy, but I thought to switch it when I read someplace that upper jockey wheels are designed to be a little sloppy for indexed shifting(?). Anyway, it shifts better, as long as I keep my chain oily.

Comment by spencewine on March 17, 2013 at 4:38am

Jim, what rides are you signing up for in the GLR series? Im going to ride 200km (May 11), 300km (june 1), and possibly 600km (july 27).

Comment by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on March 17, 2013 at 2:50am

I spent a little money on my bike this spring.

i sprang for an FSA MegaEXO Gossamer triple crank through Nashbar.  At the swap last weekend I found an Ultegra FD6503 triple derailleur for $20 which I used to replace the Sora I had on there, and then I got an Ulgetra RD6600 GS long-cage (actually medium cage) rear derailleur from Jenson.    I also found a really nice Ultegra 6500 brakeset on Craigslist for a song.

I'm still running the drivetrain with my Ultegra 8-speed bar-end shifters but maybe in a few years I might think about upgrading to 9 or 10 speed with a different set of bar-end shifters and a new chain/cassette. 

But for about $200 I pumped up the volume on my groupset for a few years.  And it runs like a dream on 8-speeds.  I've had people tell me there isn't much difference between derailleurs but that is a bunch of BS.  The triple with the Ultegra FD runs nearly as smoothly now as the rear one when it goes click-click-click. 

Comment by Lanterne Rouge on March 16, 2013 at 6:27pm

Yeah, I have zero qualms about putting modern stuff on vintage frames. The only reason I stuck with the drivetrain and brakes from the '86 was because it was the cheapest option, and everything still worked fine..so why not?

Lee - the b-17 is tilted up on my '86 due to the STA being a ridiculous 74 degrees. Why Schwinn did this, I'll never know. Their second best touring bike, the Passage, had a more classic touring 72 degree angle.

It also looks very extreme compared to my berthoud because the saddle body is much different as well. Whereas the Brooks cantle plate swoops upwards as to create a 'banana hammock' for you to sit in, the Berthoud's design is flatter in the rear, so you merely sit flat on it. 

As far as the handling while loaded, it's fine. During my commute to work, I stuff my work clothes and lunch in to the front. I'm not sure how much a pair of trousers, undershirt, dress shirt, belt and lunch weigh, but I'm guessing it's probably in the neighborhood of 5-9 lbs. I can ride no hands, no problem most of the time. Like I said, it's got 50mm of trail, which is at the low end of the 'mid' range. 

 

Comment by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on March 16, 2013 at 6:07pm

There was a guy at the swap last weekend selling a really nice FSA compact 2-piece crankset with the external BB for $50.   It was in like-new condition.   It looked like it was only installed once and then taken back off the bike.  The only thing missing was the box and the instructions.  I almost bought it just on principle.   The same cranks are going on Nashbar for a little over $100 on super clearance. 

You haven't lived until you have put a modern 2-piece crankset on a vintage frame...

Comment by Adam Z on March 16, 2013 at 6:01pm

Jim, that's a sweet looking ride!  Ilter will affirm that I have a thing for orange bikes, so you may want to keep that one well secured.

Comment by Lee on March 16, 2013 at 5:58pm

Thanks for posting that image Jim, it looks like you're converging on the optimum frame size from both directions and I expect your next frame to be 'just right.' :) 

It was interesting to see that the 86 saddle was also tilted up, I thought it could have been the result of a long top tube on the WV  rather than biomechanical.

I'm glad the shorter stem hasn't had a negative effect on handling, I think it will be interesting to see how it performs when the front end is loaded.

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