vp's Cogworks: The Marin and Beyond

Cheap ZTTO tensioner+single speed adapter works like a charm.

Great stuff in here as always, tensioner still working like a charm? Ok with track chains? I wan't to try a conversion but i'm not dishing out Surly money!

I sold the bike since, but it was flawless! Zero chain drops altogether, used with a standard 3/32" chain.

Excellent, just ordered one, thanks.

So, this went extremely well. Works like a charm. Undecided on the mounting position as of yet (either left side under bar, or right side above bar), and it's not very compatible with my 5 euro Decathlon handlebar bag. Oh well.

Finally a step towards the right direction.
Rear one needs drilling though as the brake bridge has the hole facing the tyre...

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Quite pleased with the result. Will work really well with 35C tyres, these 38C Overdrives are a bit too bulky.

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Finally found the time to install the bodged 31.8 thumbie. Works much better than I expected.
I'm fiddling with the idea of getting a compact double chainset. Maybe 44-32 chainrings. A custom 31.8 quill stem might also happen. But now I just want to put some miles into it, since the good weather is knocking on the door.
Mudguards turned out to be great, no rattling or rubbing whatsoever.

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The missus' Diamondback needed some frame alignment. Somehow the rear spacing dropped to 131 mm. I had to expand until 170 mm to get it back to the desired 135 mm width.
This Cyclus dropout alignment tool is a pain in the arse to use though, Park Tool version seems so much better.

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And the result. Will get beefier tyres, shorter stem and a new handlebar soon. Also probably going to install the XT crankset from the Marin to this one.

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Aaaand just pulled the trigger on a compact double 105 crankset for the Marin.

Yesterday I learned that road and MTB Hollowtech II bottom brackets are not quite interchangable (at least not without a ton of hassle), so even though my cool R600 crankset is in, I can't try it in action.
Later I will probably use my old bar end shifters for this 2x8 setup (or try to source some 10 speed Campag brifters on the cheap), but for now I installed the downtube shifter to use with the front derailleur, and kept the bodged-up thumbie for the rear.

On the bright side I've installed the XT cranks from the Marin to the Diamondback for extra rad points and a significant weight reduction.

Wait what? I’m pretty positive I have mixed road cranks and mtb bottom bracket without issues? What’s the problem?

Different axle length and different total width of the BB cups, would need to fiddle quite a lot with spacers. I just bought a cheap Tiagra BB so it will be alright. I miss the simplicity of square taper but I really dig the looks of integrated cranksets.

I mean, wouldn’t call using spacers that fiddley…

Rambling... I can't be arsed driving to work anymore, but I technically don't need to, as I can ride a bike (or two) instead.

So basically only two parts of my commute would be done by cycling, and the rest via train. 10 minutes biking from home to the station, then later another 20 mintues from the station to work - and back of course.

It would be an utter delight if I could take the Marin, but the Dutch railway company doesn't approve this during rush hour, which is kind of understandable. Sooo I have quite some options here, but the best ones are definitely these two:

1) Use the current lock-up bike to get to the station. Then take the train, then jump on another lock-up bike and ride to work. Now this requires the purchase of another lock-up bike, which is not a huge investment, but there's never enough bike parking space at the given station and I will need to buy two new locks, waste time on locking, unlocking, putting the lock away, bla-bla, I know, first world problems.

2) Get a folding bike. Been checking folding bikes in the past days, and meh. I've never ridden one, and I'm not sure if I'd like them. It doesn't help that the fiddly, sucky, ugly and generally cheapishly made models are the ones that don't cost an arm and a leg - however they are still overpriced. I checked used Bromptons, well, my car is worth less than a 2-speed model. On the long term this might be a good investment though. But who can plan for the long term this crazy ass world?

The whole route from home to work is about 25 km. I technically could skip the train part and just go on two wheels. I will definitely do it for fun on a few occasions, but not daily. I could also get an ebike, but then again we're looking at a pile of cash.
I'll figure something out.

I got a second-hand Brompton for the exact same use case. No ragrets.

Edit: Received a “that’s a cool bike!” from a small child at the station this morning, so there’s also that.

That's double reassuring. I'll check out the Brompton thread for some inspo. They hold their value very well, so there's nothing much to lose...

A friend of mine has lock-up bikes at either end of train journey and is quite pleased.
I can't imagine myself doing it - as the logistics involved in maintaining two bikes, one of which is far from home just does my head in.

I'd very much go for the folding bike option myself.

25km is about the same as my commute, takes me roughly an hour door-to-door which is about the same amount of time as it would take to drive including sitting in traffic, parking and walking from the car park.
i guess it depends on your route/hills/infrastructure/etc.

i did the folding bike + train thing for a while which was fine (dahon uno with coaster brake - actually quite fun to ride) but the train is expensive, and door to door was still about an hour.

I have a few issues with the full bike commuting, one of which is that I'm quite frankly a pussy and it's always rainy and windy here. But, it's not completely out of the question, I just have to take things gradually at first.

^^
Yeah, having 4+ bike lock keys on my chainring is a bit too much haha.

yeah, i agree, wind can be a bit of a killer! with the rain though, i find i get just as soaked getting to or from the station, so might as well just ride.

the train is expensive, and door to door was still about an hour.

Surely a car is more expensive? At least in the Netherlands I think so.

My commute is also 25k, and cycling takes me about 50% longer door to door (60 min by bike vs 40 by train). But maybe I just need to get faster!

I do have a Bike Friday New world Tourer for sale if that takes your fancy.

a car is probably more expensive yeah, i guess it depends if you have to pay to park, and what costs you factor in (insurance, tax, fuel, car payments if you don't own your car outright - i still pay tax and insurance on my car even though i don't use it for commuting)

i guess every other viable option is more expensive than cycling as long as you already have a bike to use.

i also factor in the mental + physical health benefits from cycle commuting as a deciding factor v's other methods.

Work reimburses the travel costs based on kilometers, which just about covers the gas price. It doesn't cover the insurance, road tax, service costs and the parking subscription at my place though, so yeah, I will get rid of the car sooner or later.

Will do a proper full commute in April (if we get a day without rain) so I can evaluate the options further.

@Josh will drop you a PM when/if I decide on things, thank you!