Another Steve Goff, 853 road? frame.

the thing that troubles me, is those extra clicks.
(and the way the spokes are laced. (I nearly killed the guy who built them,because of what Sheldon says .)
the extra clicks after the smallest cog, fine. don't do anything. no worries.

theres an extra click after the biggest cog. limiters are set so it wont shift, just jams.

but

ill tell you. I have memorised the lever position to fuck and back.
ill still have a really good fucking look at that cassette every time I shift up to that biggest cog. just in case.

FFFFFFFFFFFFuck
fucking snap links. most irritating bullshit ever !!!
ive had a dodgy one of those snap links before, just wont go together yet jams so wont come undone without a fight.
complete tool that i am. got spare cables, ferrules, and everything else, just in case.
but did i get some spare snap together chainlinks. did i fuck. 2 hours last night fucking around with the thing trying to get the tiny little snappy shit to work and then searching for another i might of had from previous bikes.before conceding and capitulating and weeping into my beer.

got a sram wi fli kit.
got a sram sti shifter.
got a nice dura ace chainring.

one shitty chainlink away from completing (almost) 10 months of obsession.
grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

so its coffee, halfords, (5mile) if not evans (16 mile). if not. sulk till monday. and send a very sarcarstic email to sram for providing me with the one dodgy snap link out of every 100 or so they make. fucking shitty shitty fucking snappy little fuckers.

If the link will part go together a dodgy way of getting it completely 'closed' is to fit the chain with the link partclosed centred it over a tooth on the chain ring and gently tap it with a hammer forcing it closed around the chainring tooth .. If you do this make sure the chain is correct length and installed correct etc as its possible the link is not coming apart again ..

If the link will part go together a dodgy way of getting it completely 'closed' is to fit the chain with the link partclosed centred it over a tooth on the chain ring and gently tap it with a hammer forcing it closed around the chainring tooth .. If you do this make sure the chain is correct length and installed correct etc as its possible the link is not coming apart again ..

spent two hours last night trying all manner of ways. chainring method was one way. its when tapping with a hammer turns into damaging chain/chainring/hands.

capitulated. conceded. sometimes you have to pack up, give in, wait till tomorrow . and curse to fekkery and back.

Totally agree with your thoughts .. It's a bodge I suggested, I know it works but needs must when I made the decision to do it ..

sorted.

currently working with 8 gears. 14 through to 32. 50 front ring.
might even do away with the 14.
using the full 10 gears with the wi fli set up just didnt work to well with the single front ring. on the two outermost cogs. the noise from the chainring , wasnt to bad. but. there was more friction happening down there than i was happy with.
so the 12t and 11t. went , and with a few spacers and a good lockring i have me a much smoother running drive train.
i like to spin, and rarely ever get to actually use the smallest cog to any real effect that the 15 wont give me. not yet anyway. my legs are used spinnier fixed gears.
having the 32 and 28 on there really helps though, in a place where everywhere is either up or down.
roadies are lazy buggers.

the sram lever is perfect though. i can be powering and spinning down a hill on the 15t or 17t and then whip straight onto the 19t - 22t in one go and not break my cadence so bad spinning back up the short sharp hills here in billinge.

need a more practice with the lever though. so the increments between two or three shifts becomes second nature. wich will come eventually of course...
and better cables. currently using clarks cables. and im optimistic about getting better response from the shifter/mech with better cables. and fine tuning limiters and cable tension of course.

needs new bartape, as the right side has been off and back on again three times, so it will just start slipping everywhere soon. and cables. brake and gear.

then its pretty much finished i reckon. maybe a new saddle too. the bike that i had imagined 10 months ago when i started this build is sat here waiting. this build was supposed to be for the summer months. and its fucking september in a fortnight.

lolz.

i have to say a huge thank you to both soserious for the 3/32 DA ring.
and chadders 81 for the sram force right hand shifter.

cheers !!!

lovely

Yeah really is delightful. Good job.

Could you not just run a smaller chainring to take advantage of the smaller cassette says, a 47t?

Could you not just run a smaller chainring to take advantage of the smaller cassette says, a 47t?

of course. id even consider maybe even a 45. im going to do some mileage on it like this for a while. see how my legs feel in a fortnight.

the shimano mech and thumbie worked fine. plus the tri colour 600 looks nicer. however there is a definate weight difference between the rival mech (with its *plastic *bits) the old shimano one. plus the whole drivetrain feels so much smoother with this set up. it could be just the jockey wheels in the shimano mech need replacing.

only had one ride with it like this, like i say, i need to get out there and see if works for me.i suppose a good bike or perfect bike , are the ones you kind of forget about when riding, cos theres nothing annoying you whilst using it.

having a greater range makes it soooooo much easier. roadies are lazy.

I suggested this because with a smaller chainring, you can stay mostly on the middle of the cassette where the jump between each cog aren't as big as the bigger/smaller cog.

I have similar set-up trying to get a decent range with a friction shifter by running an old derailleur that respond instantaneously without any lags (as Shimano indexed derailleur tend to in my experience).

Personally, a smoother crisper drivertrain outweigh the weight difference.

I suggested this because with a smaller chainring, you can stay mostly on the middle of the cassette where the jump between each cog aren't as big as the bigger/smaller cog.

I have similar set-up trying to get a decent range with a friction shifter by running an old derailleur that respond instantaneously without any lags (as Shimano indexed derailleur tend to in my experience).

Personally, a smoother crisper drivertrain outweigh the weight difference.

totally. thats why the two smallest cogs of the 10 speed cassette are in the parts box .
i can sit here with calculator , apps , and think myself stupid.
or get out there and listen to what my legs are trying to tell me.

there is a good 7 or 8 mm (correct me if im wrong) of spacers on the cassette hub. ive got 8 gears. if i measure 42mm from the centre of the bike, the 22t and 19t are either side of that line. cassette is 32,28,25,22,19,17,15,13.(not 14!).

the thumbie did give a good solid smooth shift. simplicity in mechanics.
but i found it quite terrifying shifting/braking during big descents. two hands on those bars please.
the slightly inconsistent (compared to the thumbie) shifting sti lever, may save my life.

seemed like a different friction levers would be a better idea, such as the Simplex Retrofriction on the thumbie.

or a new incredibly expensive sti one. with carbon fibre. and some sort of pro rider endorsement / huge marketing budget .

friction shifters are silly. they work for 2 gears. gonna google and have look anyway.

.......... i dont want to be aiming and hoping when i shift gears.

FWIW, my friend got a road bike with similar set-up to your (but with a 48t chainring and a 11-36 cassette), he got the SRAM Force levers, and were able to removed the shifter from the left levers without any irreversible damage.

Looks good and complete with gears on it

Oh and step by step for Sram shifter removal that Ed's talking about, but unless I misread you only have the right lever?

http://www.cxmagazine.com/removing-sram-double-tap-shift-mechanism-single-ring

FWIW, my friend got a road bike with similar set-up to your (but with a 48t chainring and a 11-36 cassette), he got the SRAM Force levers, and were able to removed the shifter from the left levers without any irreversible damage.

got the sram force levers of here for a ridiculous good price (36quid!!!!) because the left was broke. (brilliant !! its usually the right one...) and yes the shifter mechanism just popped out easily enough. the sram single speed levers i had at first are really just the apex/rival levers without the shifting mech and paddle missing.

i got the ring of here for an excellent price too. and would of preffered a smaller tooth count. im going to do some proper hilly rides over the next few weeks. i might eventually go for a 44tooth or something. dunno yet.

where i live is very hilly. but not particulary long climbs. though often very steep and big enough to get the legs and lungs burning up plenty.

I strongly recommend a 44t, with a freewheel bicycle, you'll end up using a spinnier gear on the ascend than you would on a fixed.

44t mean you'll likely to use the smallest 11t (105GI 28mph) cog as well as being able to climb a 25% with the 32/44 combo (36GI 9mph).

Having said that, I used to have a 11-28 with a 44t and found it a tad spinny in London (never used the 21-28t cog), might be worth going for a 46t instead and see how you get on.

*at 90rpm.

Looks good and complete with gears on it

Oh and step by step for Sram shifter removal that Ed's talking about, but unless I misread you only have the right lever?

http://www.cxmagazine.com/removing-sram-double-tap-shift-mechanism-single-ring

had a good google before they even arrived. had the appropriate tools ready and waiting.

i was seriously considering a campy athena group. (with record hubs on ambrosio nemesis, would of been fucking ace) went for sram cos it seemed the better choice for a single ring/right hand only shifter set up.
campy do a record quality drop brake lever. like the sram ones its just the lever without the internal mech. and the availability of a getting a right hand only campy shifter made me choose otherwise . its actually cheaper to get the full group and throw the front mech away and gut the left lever.
sram levers can be bought new and singly easily enough.

You can removed the shifter from the Campagnolo levers, just tricker to do so (and still a lots easier than Shimano), however I'm not sure if their newer ergo shape one is still removable.

I think the price is fine if you can able to put the shifters back on if you wish, otherwise as you said, it would be expensive to bin half the shifter just to run a 10x1 set-up.

I strongly recommend a 44t, with a freewheel bicycle, you'll end up using a spinnier gear on the ascend than you would on a fixed.

44t mean you'll likely to use the smallest 11t (105GI 28mph) cog as well as being able to climb a 25% with the 32/44 combo (36GI 9mph).

Having said that, I used to have a 11-28 with a 44t and found it a tad spinny in London (never used the 21-28t cog), might be worth going for a 46t instead and see how you get on.

*at 90rpm.

thats the thing. ive been doing parbold, roby mill , shirley brow and all these other 12 % + hills, fixed on 50/20, 44/17down to 44/19, .
getting the gearing right is all about finding my cadence on these hills i guess. will i actually need to go that low a tooth count?
im used to being out of the saddle and hoping bars wont slip, rings wont bend and tyres will keep traction and feeling like im dragging a dead cow up the hill with me.
or having a gearing thats nice on the steepest of climbs, but takes an eternity to get there and home again. (best way to train though)
its ace having a choice.

had my eye on a 45t DA ring for some time. wiggle have them for a nice price.

If Wiggle have the 45t DA ring in 3/32 for a nice price, get it, 45t sound like a great compromise.

cables first. ordered them today. DA rings however, even heavily discounted ones will have to wait till payday.

when the money i should be spending on bikes gets wasted on rent .