AlexD's modest array of bikes

Quick shakedown to find out the post office was shut

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Looks super capable. How are the tyres on tarmac?

Looks purposeful with the new shoes.

How wide to these come up, and how much clearance do they leave between the stays?

@ectoplasmosis I’ve got about 10mm either side at the chainstays and seatstays. So not a huge amount, but fine for my needs.

@Dexter they’re actually a lot better on tarmac than I assumed they would be. I was only on the bike for about 20 mins but it didn’t feel any draggier than the double fighters to be honest. Felt loads plusher as well, which is much more important for me on this bike anyway.

I took this bike to the Ashton Court and Leigh Woods trails last week. It was loads of fun, but the Double Fighters really felt quite dicey. Lots of sideways slippage and generally not feeling very confident going round corners. Looking forward to trying out with some tyres that mean business now!

Took a couple of photos just before it started to Chuck it down

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Amazing my man, this is one of my favourite builds right now, fantastic overall proportions with these huge tyres. Lovely!

Thank you! High praise indeed.

Yeah I really think it looks loads better with beefier tyres. As you say, the proportions work better. I mean, also they functionally better for me too, but that’s about 4th down the priority list :-D

This is a great build, looks really fun. The backdrop in the photo perfectly matches the frame too.

what's the drivetrain and how are you finding it? Sorry if I missed it...

It's 9-speed at the moment:

Shifter is SL-M590
Mech is RD-M662
Exage Mountain cranks, with a Hope retainer 36t
Really cheap Chinese 11-40 cassette cos everything decent is either out of stock or eye-waveringly expensive at the moment!
EDIT: forgot - I’ve also got a little hanger extender thing so the mech can clear the 11-40

It's fine. With a cassette that wide-range, I do find 9 speed a bit 'gappy'. Annoyingly, what appears to be my cruising speed seems to fall just in between 2 cogs :-)
I think if I see something cheap, I'll probably upgrade this to 10 speed with a clutch mech at some point. Really regretting selling all the stuff from my On One 456 Evo II now, as I could have whacked all that on here!

Really lovely

If you’re looking for 10, might as well go 11. AliExpress cassettes are cheap & available, and Shimano 10-speed derailleurs have the same cable pull as 11.

Used RD-M786 can be had for cheap, paired with 11-speed shifter.

11-speed 11-40 on my Marin doesn’t feel that gappy for a 1x.

Wanted ad amended accordingly :-)

I dont think I realised Shimano 10 and 11 speed had the same cable pull, actually. Good to know

A mate popped round with some bars for me this morning. Nice and wide, with a pretty big rise (75mm I think). It feels good just sat on the bike, but I probably won’t get a chance to take it out for a spin till the week after half term now, annoyingly.

Also got rid of the quick release seatpost clamp in favour of a hex bolt one.

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Wow, nice room! What are the bars? 3" risers without the cross bar are hard to find but by far the best for getting closer to the feel of a bmx

Also don't you need a different cassette freehub body to cope with an 11speed cassette? or wider frame spacing or something?

Ha, cheers. There are usually a lot more toys strewn about the place but I did some spring cleaning this morning!

They’re actually BLB, which I wouldn’t normally have thought of but a mate has a trade account 🤷‍♂️
Yeah, the largest rise is found was 50mm - I did actually buy some cheap 50mm XLC bars but they were pretty badly designed: the flat section between the bend and bar end wasn’t actually long enough to fit grip + brake lever + shifter.

Hadn’t really thought about 11speed hub compatibility yet. You may be right - I’ll measure my genesis and compare.

Bit of a finish-clash going on with the shiny stem and very dusty matte bars. I did wonder about giving the bars a sand back with fine grit but I think I’d then have to respray them and I cba with all that faff.

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Lovely house!

11-speed ‘MTB’ cassettes fit onto all 8-speed and above freehubs.

Identical to 10-speed, but the extra largest cog sits inboard close to the spokes.

Ah ok, good to know thanks. Looks like 8 speed and 11 speed are basically the same width cassettes but with different cog spacing yeah?

The bit that fits onto the freehub is the same width, yes, with 11-speed having an overhanging largest-cog.

Gotcha. Ok nice, I don’t think I particularly need 11 speed on this but think of the (sub)wanker-bike points!

Hmmm... I tried finding some more info on the compatibility between 10 and 11 speed and I'm not sure they are really compatible. Do you have a link/source?

11-speed ‘MTB’ ≠ 11-speed ‘road’.

I have two bikes with 11-speed MTB cassettes on 8-speed+ freehubs.

I meant compatibility between derailleurs/shifters. You said 10 and 11 speed mtb derailleurs have the same pull ratio. Couldn't find any proof for that...