A Straggler to a Rambler - building an All Terrain Tourer

I’ve not found I needed more power than BB7s offer, they aren’t as light to pull as hydros but also they are repairable trailside.

I’m not scared of hydraulic brakes but for all the “fit and forget, they never go wrong” chat there is, I’ve seen enough go wrong to put me off.

As this seems like a safe space for mechanical disc brake chat... I have some Klampers and am always kinda annoyed by how svelte they look on bikepackingdotcom from the side, when in reality they are fucking huge. Braking and rebuildability is fine, but I wouldn't say either are significantly better than BB7.

Tempted by Growtac as the size and cable entry would solve some problems I'm having with cable routing as most stuff seems designed to handle flexible hoses and adjustable entry angles.

Let me know if you’re selling…

If the timing aligns with payday and some strategic peer pressure from @MrBaklava I’ll probably buy them.

knockeoff geoffs are very similar geo, but lower rise than the VO seine (ride tested. Rider approved!)

Sweep -> Rise gives it a nice wiggle too

1 Attachment

Do you have any recommendations for brake pads for the BB7s?
I've run the regular (sintered?) Avid pads for a long time, but keen to try something with a bit more bite and maybe a 180mm rotor up front.

I’ve got Superstar organic pads at the moment, they seem fine.

Silent on my Straggler but lots of squealing from the fresh set I just put on my partners bike so I need to take a look at that.

For city riding and most of my touring I’m not really testing the limits of braking though. If I was on technical trails (or was a fast rider) I’d probably care more/get hydros.

I could also find that the massive tyres on the Rambler mean I need more braking power than I’ve needed on the Straggler, we’ll have to wait and see.

Double post

Jumping in on this, I've found Uberbikes Race Matrix pads (the white ones) to be very good on my BB7s. Good overall thickness and bite.

Thanks - I was as already leaning towards organic pads, so this settles it.

I think the VO Seine / Sim Works Fun Bar 3 are top of the list if I try something new. Good to hear that you’re a fan.

I can’t work out of the extra wiggle is cool or ugly - but that’s probably a theme I could apply to every aspect of my bikes.

Thanks to you as well - I'm on the continent, so will have try the Kool Stop, that I use on the Magura Hydraulics on our Bullitt.

Forever treading this line.

Had the VO bar on an old dawes, then Kona. Aggressive width and wiggle bounce was nice on what were relatively normal geo straight tube steel frames.

4 Attachments

I'm on the continent

If you have access to Union blue pads for BB7s they're fantastic. I got them in France (never seen them in the UK), and they were the best pads I had in BB7s over the 10 years of so I used them.

Thanks - they do not seem that easy to come by, at least from my usual resources.

Coming in late to the brake chat but I treated myself to some growtacs after I struggled to get Klampers at a reasonable price tag. I am using them with Paul levers and they are amazing. Best mechanical disc brakes I ever had (compared to Spyres and Juintech hybrids).
Comparing prices to Klampers you should also consider that the growtac come with really nice compressionless housing in the box. It might even be that housing that makes them feel really nice. I am usually using Jagwire compressionless housing which is so stiff that brakes sometimes feel very on/off binary. Paul even advice against compressionless housing with Klampers for that reason. The growtac housing interesingly has both, the traditional spiral around the housing but also the metal strands along the housing. Maybe its a bit more "compliant" that way?

Anyways TLDR : Growtacs well worth their money in my opinion. Good power, nice feathering, great looks, less chunky than Klampers.

Growtacs well worth their money

Am I looking in the wrong place? Everywhere I looked that setup seems to cost
more than a whole 105 hydraulic Groupset?

Haha, okay maybe more like:
Well worth the money * if you are in the market for premium cable-actuated disc brakes.

With hydros there is so much choice but with mechanical disk brakes I feel like there is a real lack of a decent middle field in terms of cost and quality. There are the BBs and Spyres, then some hybrids then a big gap and then we have Growtacs and Paul Klampers.

You can definitely get cheaper hydros that will perform better. But I wanted the simplicity of mechanical brakes on a bike that is mainly used for travelling and needs easy disassembly to fit in a tiny bag. Also looks. Hydro levers are bulky and their cables are always in the way of handlebar bags and rolls.

Also for a disclaimer I am currently based in Austria and (used) Klampers coming up for sale here is like spotting a Unicorn.

I’m not sure this was worth the mess but I guess it’s good to do. I’m very glad I went to a friends’ garden rather than trying it in the bathtub and somehow I managed to not ruin my shoes with the tar goop.

Wax treatment done, next job is getting the head tube faced.

1 Attachment

Well that's much messier than I would have expected.

Good to know!

Did you fill the tubes to the brim with the dang stuff?!

I usually get a few drips with Doinitrol but nothing like that!

The can had a long hose, I shoved it in the tube and then slowly pulled it out while spraying (fnar fnar). The liquid was very runny so I guess most of it just ran out rather than sticking to the tubes.

Maybe I didn’t shake the can enough or made some other mistake? I’m not doing it again so it will have to do.

If anyone wants the can of spray I’ll pass it on for free, it’s still about 80% full. Bilt Hamber Dynax S50

I'm only kidding, far better to have too much than too little in there.

Just make sure it's all dried up/set before you put a wheel with a rotor in the frame. Speaking from experience!

All good - it’s a bit of a funny job where you can’t really tell how it’s gone and hopefully I’ll never find out if the treatment was successful or not.

imagine it'll have some pre built in treatment as it's a modern frame? Is this just a one off job or will you redo it from time to time?