I've only done one gravel grinder, but this is really contrary to my first experience over the weekend.

 

This just happened:

 

Nice.

You couldn't have waited until the reflectors had been removed and then maybe wiped the lens of the cell phone first? I'll call if half ****, not full ****. Rock that thang!

 

I was late for Jeffman's b-day party because I was riding bicycles, lol. I wanted to Fred it up as much as possible for trolling.

It still needs a chain keeper, garmin mount, cages for non-CX outings, and figure out pedals before I ride it on Wednesday. I have some Candy 3 pedals but I kind of hate them. Not sure what pedal to use, probably going to try Speedplay MTB or regular old egg beaters. I pronate about 4* left and 6* right so I need a pretty big correction in the cleat.

I also don't like the bars, the 100mm stem will need to go down and probably get way longer, and then I need to find a cheap, used Fizik Antares VS.

 

Still needs a saddle, bottle cages are in the mail, needs wider bars, but this thing is fun. Heavy as ****, but fun.

 

wheel set makes it heavy?

 

The wheels are boat anchors, disc is heavy, and the tubing is fatter as well for durability. Road bike is the Ferrari, CX/gravel bike is the diesel. That's just the way it works.

 

In the vein of Speedplay and Egg Beaters, if you like a bit of float in your pedal, maybe check out Time ATAC. I have some Carbons that I bought back in '99 that I swear by, which have survived years of drops, downhill (including smashing into countless rocks), and other shenanigans that carbon XC pedals aren't meant for. The cartridge bearings have never been touched and still turn smoothly.

I just finished my Fox shock Schrader valve experiment.


That valve at the bottom of the shock shaft used to be a screw. I had accidentally loosened it and let out the nitrogen charge while figuring out how to service the air sleeve, so set out to find a solution that didn't involve paying to have the shock shipped off and recharged. So far, it seems to be holding a 400 PSI air charge. No bubbles when I submerge it in water. We'll see how it holds up after a ride or two.

 

^awesome. I'm guessing you just drilled a hole in the rubber puck?

 

Exactly - very simple procedure.

Frankly, my biggest worry is whether I did the air sleeve service right. I really wasn't a fan of losing air pressure during a short ride. It made me reconsider abandoning my old hardtail, which worked reliably for over a decade. Hopefully that's solved now. I'm also hoping that with a properly-stiff shock, my BB will be high enough that I'm not smashing the pedals and cranks on things every two seconds.

 

Serious technical question.

Assume that I own this bike already: Revel 1 (2013) | Giant Bicycles | United States




And assume that I wish to convert the rear wheel to a single-speed freewheel and a "beach cruiser style" coaster-type brake, as opposed to the 8-speed cassette and disc brake that it has now. (Assume that I have a valid technical reason for wanting to do this.)

Can I simply go to Wal-Mart, buy one of these, transplant the whole rear wheel assembly onto the Giant, and toss the rest of the bike into the trash?

Will it fit into the dropouts?

Will the new rear cog fit with the existing chain?

What haven't I even thought to ask?

 

dropout dimensions are probably off.

8 speed chain might be too thin for the wider single speed cog.

you would want to swap tires to match, at the very least.

The nearly vertical dropouts on that Giant frame would make single speed chain length adjusting a bit of a pain in the ***.

WHY?

 

Traditional single speed is 1/8" rather than 3/32" cogs. No need for flexibility as no shifting.

 

Learn something new.


Picked this up from local classifieds for $20

 

Look into White Industries ENO hub for adjustable chain length with vertical dropouts. I think they come in different axle lengths.

 

Nice. Generally if the air shock holds for a ride, it will hold air for a year. Either you screw up and cut an o-ring and they leak fast or they are good for a long, long time.

 

Joe, I think for this thread you need to look at the Shimano Alfine 11 speed up with disc.

 

Diameter of axle, or width between dropouts?


Yes, my expensive, grippy, puncture-proof tire and tube would obviously swap over.

The goal is to eliminate the rear brake disc (so that I can mount a sprocket on that side) while still retaining some form of braking on the rear. My frame isn't set up to accept a rear caliper.

An alternative would be to start with a heavy steel cruiser designed from the ground up as a single-speed with rear coaster, and transplant onto it the disc-equipped suspension fork from my Giant pictured earlier. Which begs the question- is this part of the architecture sufficiently standardized across manufacturers that forks will commonly interchange between MTB and cruiser frames?



So, is it the pitch of the teeth that differs, or merely the width of the chain?

I'd been thinking that I'd probably leave the rear derailleur in place to act as a tensioner, which would allow the front shifter to remain active. Though to be honest, I have no real need for it. If I can solve this by transplanting a cruiser-style front ring onto my existing crank and just having a single-speed bike, I can fudge an external tensioner.

 

coaster brake with the rear derailleur in place means you'll have to seriously backpedal to get rear brake.

width between dropouts would be my thought.



the sprocket your fitting, is for electrobike?

 

Wouldn't it be easier to have a tab welded to the frame for a rim caliper?