Kaffenback Build - Send help, it has strange things called gears!

So I scored a fresh kaffenback frame dirt cheap. Iv been wanting to build a sort of tourer bike with a bit of off road capability and I felt this was the best thing for it. I bit the bullet, got a frame and a few bits and bobs so thought id post in here. Largely for help, encouragement and ideas as iv never built a bike with gears before. What I do know is, Ill be having those bar end friction shifters, super sexy no??

So, what have I got so far?
Frame & Fork
FSA Headset
Seat Clamp
Avid BB7 brakes and rotors
Fulcrum Racing Sport DB CX wheels (got them for a bargain, pretty much zero use on them)

aaaand thats where I come to a grinding halt really. I need the spinny bits and the geary bits, non of which I have an idea about. Iv had the idea of going full 105, people seem to think its good, have also looked at sram rival too. But do I have to go for cyclocross specific things/is 105 purely for road? Or is it better suited, if so why etc... or do I go for a mountain bike gearing system? All I know is that its going to be 11 speed to be compatible with my wheels. I think. I havent the foggiest

I have played with the idea of going 1x up front, I like the simplicity. But thinking further down the line, if I encounter any proper hills which Im sure I will if im going to be touring with it, would It be an advantage to have a few more different ratios. Or equally, will I spin out often with 1x upfront. So much to think about, send help plz

1x is pretty well suited to a bike like this, you can get low gears for grinding up the hills with something like a 38t chainring and 11-36 cassette. 38x11 should still be plenty quick for downhill, the thing you lose out on is gaps between gears are bigger. I'm moving from 2x10 (46/36x11-34 to 40x11-36).
105 isn't purely for road and if you can afford it, it gets amazing reviews consistently. Not sure what the derailleur capacity at the back is but I'm sure someone will be along soon enough to pipe in.
Also, I'm pretty sure you should be able to run 10speed on your wheels with a spacer.

I've had zero problems using SRAM Rival, but have heard good things about 105 too. There isn't really "road specific" groupsets, but if you're starting to look at 1x and large rear casettes, you can mix and match with some MTB stuff. In saying that, getting a long cage road rear derailleur (either SRAM or Shimano) is easy enough, same with an 11-36 cassette. Just remember that SRAM shifters only work with SRAM derailleurs, but Shimano cassettes with SRAM (and are cheaper).

I have a 105 5800 mini group going on sale consisting of rear mech, front mech, 11-32 cassette, 5800 bottom bracket and levers. All in good nick. PM me for more info.

I have the old model Kaffenback- non disc. I went for V brakes - so had to use bar ends rather than STIs.
That means you have more choice in compoments- so De ore Triple etc . All works well..

I never actually thought of it like that, I always thought of it as just losing a whole set of important gears. When in actual fact, you're just losing a middle man between gears. Cheers for the insight! It doesnt seem too daunting now, just means stronger legs haha.

I can get 105 11 speed for a decent price, and I think i found that the medium cage rear derailleur is capable of doing the job, but do I need 11 speed? Is 10 speed better? (id have thought more gears the better?). If I went 1x up front, but used a 105 rear derailleur would there still be the possibility of getting a compact chainset somewhere along the line and being able to change out or is it all very brand/product line specific?

Im looking at options for 1x and the best is looking like sram rival I think, or at least the easiest for me to get my head around here. Just get the apex 1 chainset then rear derailuer and cassette and then good to go? As I cant find a 1x up front crankset from shimano. Or can other brands be use/any recommendations?

Im going to be using friction shifters, so really speaking compatibility with shifters isn't something I'm too bothered about. If I can get hold of a set cheap then I might be game for it, but I just see it as a more expensive option.

Cheers for all your input so far guys, and sorry about the silly questions. Still trying to get my head around this

EDIT

So I could really speaking mix and match to my liking? For instance, SRAM Rival 1 1x11 chainset, then just have a shimano 11 speed cassette and 105 derailleur and a sram chian and all would be fine and dandy no problems?

If you're going to be using friction shifters, get whatever rear mech you can find that works with the cassette you want to use. Then get a narrow wide chainring that fits whatever crankset you want to use. Done.

For instance: get a new tiagra long cage mech (cheap), find a 9/10/11 speed cassette (check that it fits your hub if 11-speed). If you get the right mech you give yourself an upgrade path too, just by adding the matching shifters later on.

Getting a 'real' 1x SRAM setup will likely be more expensive, SRAM shifters don't depreciate in value much I have found.

sweeet, im onto it now. If I wanted to use shifters in the future, id have to make sure that they were compatible with the rear derailleur im using. But seeing as im not, I can just bang a load of components together on the bike and as long as they're compatible with the wheels/bb etc then its all good to go. Smashing!

Further to the 1x11 debate, if you want a bigger range of gears I'm running an 11 speed 11-40 shimano MTB cassette with shimano 105 GS (long cage) rear mech using a wolftooth roadlink, gives a great spread of gears. I did previously have it with a short cage ultegra mech but the GS seems to be smoother
https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/products/roadlink
Got a 44t hope narrow-wide chain ring up front

105 GS is mid cage. But yeah, I will +1 this.

Good shout man! I wouldnt have even known that something like that existed.

Im going to go for 11 speed 105 cassette and 105 medium rear mech for the moment and see if I feel if I need more options, then I can always use that. Cheaper than buying another chainset eh!

Any recommendations on 1x crank sets, would I just be better buying a mtb crank here (1x seems a lot more common on mtbs) and then getting another chainring for it? Was going to go for the sram rival 1 1x chainset, gxp bb but the standard SRAM alloy bb seems to have awful reviews/hates water.
Reckon im better off just going square tapered and using a track crank or something to that effect?

Also picked up the wheels today, things are coming together faster than I thought they would!

No problems, I use mine off-road quite a bit and the big range is really handy when it gets muddy but it's overkill for road stuff

I never got on with GXP bottom brackets, I'd get some used 105 hollowtech II cranks and some matching BB cups personally

Schwalbe g-one tyres are great on and off road when you get to that stage

Sam (was user74909, forgot to sign in on my phone!)

Yeah, after reading up on GXP im going to swerve sram. Lots of bad feedback off the standard bb, and im not really willing to spend mad dolla on a CK or even a halo with adapter.

Going with the hollowtech ii bb if I can get a crank to match. If I get 105 cranks, can I strip them back and just use a single narrow wide chainring on them?

Sounds like the best plan to me.

Yep that's the one just take the chainrings off a double and make sure the narrow wide chainring has the same BCD.

You'll need some single ring crank bolts too as the original ones will be too long (unless you faff about with spacers depends on your budget)

I've gone three years on Sram, with 2 bottom brackets but the first one is still going on another bike. The problems with GXP are user error. It's a good system.

Nobody has said it yet but you don't need a 1x10 or 11 crankset. Sram are pretty much the only one that make one but all it is is a narrow wide chainring on a normal crank. There are narrow wide chainrings available in all BCDs to fit any cranks. Just get what you find cheap. Shimano 4 bolt cranks are a bit trickier since the 1x chainrings for those are more specific and expensive.
eBay has narrow wide chainrings for under 20 quid in 110 and 130 bcd

Edit: literally the post above me has said it. Oh well.

I appreciate it even though it was said above man! Yeah iv got my head around it now, new bb and cassette ordered, and a second hand mech and a knackered 105 crankset that was cheap. 130 bcd narrow wide is on its way too which was a bit difficult to find from a UK seller for a decent price.

Next step is get the bike to the bike shop for bb shell facing and might as well chase the threads whilst its there. Onwards!

The frames brand new? Flat bar/risers or drops?

Yeah brand newun. Going with drops for now, but have though about flat bar in the future..

Iv come across a slight problem with the friction shifters at the minute though. There are very few 11 speed specific shifters out there, and what shifters there are, are expensive. Would a non indexed friction shifter be compatible with 11 speed cassette?

I don't think a friction shifter would have enough cable pull to reach the width of the cassette. I'm sure there's a solution. Bar end shifter?

My bad, by friction I mean both friction and bar end. But yes, you are correct i think.

There are only a few 11 speed bar end shifters out there, unless I could somehow make a 10 speed stretch. If not ill have to splash on some. Im a bit in shock at the price of them to be honest, I thought they would be cheaper than £50/£60!

I think MicroShift make an 11 speed compatible bar end friction shifter. If not, and you're on Facebook, join a triathlon marketplace. That's where I got my SRAM 10 speed bar end shifters from.

Also, I've been using a GXP BB on my Space Horse with second hand Rival cranks for the last 2 years. No issues whatever.

rad bikes! This is mine, going for a 1x setup at the moment and I've ditched the rack/ guards for summer.

1 Attachment

Oh thats a beauty mate! Lovely shade of grey too. I really like it with the rack/guards on. What guards have you used?

On another note, iv been paid today! So the bikes gone to the lbs for the bb and headset fitted, in the mean time im attempting to clean up the ratty £40 105 cranks that I bought and going through the laborious task of de-stickering the wheels. Any tips for super sticky adhesive shite left from the stickers? Acetone doesnt seem to be doing the trick.

Seen as iv been paid, its time to fork out for a shifter. Iv had a look on tri marketplaces as per @Verbs_&_Nouns brilliant idea, cheers for the shout! but there does appear to be a severe lack of 11 speed shifters around... so new it is!

Before I dive in and buy a pair of microshift shifters, is there any compatibility issues similar or the same with bar end shifters as there is with regular intergrated brake/shifter set ups? Like will a sram bar end shifter not work with a 105 rear mech?

The only reason I say this is because CRC offer the SRAM 11 speed bar end shifters seperately, so it saves me having to fork out for two shifters, one of which I dont need!

Cheers guys, ill have to get some pictures up and jazz the thread up tomorrow. Its been lacking up to now due to work commitments sadly.

If you're feeling brave you could try and get this working
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ultegra-6800-Right-Hand-Shifter-/132255642787?hash=item1ecb0cf4a3:g:ydAAAOSwu2VZYj~a

They're sks chromoplastics. Really fiddly to fit around the disk brakes but the rack makes it easier.