The "do everything" tank - Surly LHT

Personally when I tried option b) I found the cable uncomfortable so ended up going with the less sexy a)

I have a) on my bike, haven't found it getting in the way of stuff on the front rack and don't care about looks (which will soon to be made much, much worse anyway)

I have a) on my Surly Crosscheck and it doesn't really interfere with stuff on the front at all. If it's a "do everything" bike then you want it to be functional over attractive anyway, so ignore all the "omg anti" dweebs and go with what gives you the better shift action.

^^ just to expand on that. It's the run up past the brake leavers. With STIs you're running cables inline with your grip. Once you bring the cable up on the side you're cutting into the crook of your thumb.

Ultimately you can just try it out under, see how you get on. Then go for a) if you don't like it.

Also fwiw you won't find any Riv bikes with understand on drops.

Put the cable under your bartape, (option B) that is how is supposed to be done.

Bar end shifters are actually designed to run under the bar tape for a short length along the bottom of the drop.

Not to be run all the way along the bars (you'll probably find the outer supplied isn't long enough for this). You can probably get away with it (definitely with friction) but shifting won't be as crisp.

I run mine with the outers completely outside of the bar tape, makes little difference to me and I can change cables without removing tape. When I've got a bag or stuff on my rack the cables just tend to get pushed out of the way.

good point, if it were run as a) then how do you navigate the brake lever? you start underneath, then bring it inside the drop, then back outside to finish on the outside near the stem? sounds messy. (if that makes sense)

shoulda woulda coulda gone for DT shifters.

/troll

Doubt it'll last as long as Shimano.

deleted post.. they're shite.

What post?

thought you were talking about something else. what are you talking about?

just picked these up.... just handlebars needed, then we can start building!!

Levers also arrived today. V happy I found the Tektros in the end. Cane Creek >>>>

Fingers crossed for a soma delivery tomorrow!

Where have you ordered from? Fine ADC? SJS?

Charlie said he was gonna get the Salsa's in stock today, but the website is yet to be updated.

I'm waiting for sjs to email me to say that its in stock, but Fine ADC should be letting me know too.

@apollo - where did you get the levers from in the end? I still think the condor ones look better.

gotta say that i ran those shifters in the bars for ages on two builds but now i mount them on the DT and it's much better and cleaner. i found you kept bashing them when the bike was lent up against something.?! Downside as mentioned above, i do tend not to change gear as much because of the position now. If you do stick em in the bars, go under the tape all the way around, shifting is no different and it's a much cleaner look.

Picked up a pair of these for a bit of a bargain.

Should do the trick, although that totals 46litres.. more than needed on a daily basis I'd suspect.

Never used panniers before (!) is it better to use one full one or two half full ones (thinking about weight distribution)

I suppose two is better in theory, but I never had any problems using one for most rides.

That bike is very stable, so I would use whatever's most convenient.

You can get away with one full one easily, but I would recommend having two half full.

Depends on how heavy they are when they're filled, really. If it's a light load you won't really notice it much using one pannier, but if it's a heavy load you'll be glad of the distribution to the other side. I've never actually fallen off due to being loaded on one side but I've had a few bike-drop moments when trying to get stopped or started with higher-weight unbalanced loading.

Depends on how heavy they are when they're filled, really. If it's a light load you won't really notice it much using one pannier, but if it's a heavy load you'll be glad of the distribution to the other side. I've never actually fallen off due to being loaded on one side but I've had a few bike-drop moments when trying to get stopped or started with higher-weight unbalanced loading.

^this, it makes standing your bike up a massive pain, but it's not a big deal to ride. If you're going to be on your bike for a while, I'd balance the weight across 2 panniers. For short journeys one will be fine (which side to have it is another debate). Packing heavy stuff (laptop, toolkit, water etc.) as far inboard and low as possible can also help.

Cheers all...makes sense.

On another note, in order to get the right angle for the front carrier, I had to space it using some v-brake hardware and use longer topcap bolts instead of the mounting bolts supplied with the v-brake. I hope this doesn't result in me being stabbed in the face.

I quite like the fact that the HT and back support are at the same angle

#nerd

Cheers all...makes sense.

On another note, in order to get the right angle for the front carrier, I had to space it using some v-brake hardware and use longer topcap bolts instead of the mounting bolts supplied with the v-brake. I hope this doesn't result in me being stabbed in the face.

Combined front rack and old-school brake-booster FTW!

You might need to play around with the fork crown mount, otherwise it'll get in the way of the v brake cable.