Help me sort my Alan cross out

She is lovely



But I have issues !!

I find the gearing to much of a grind for my style of riding , Cross country routes with hills. The gears currently are 39x48 & 13-26 should this be improved or am I being a wuss?

The Ergo levers I cannot reach on the drops? Can they be adjusted in? I would also like a less negative stem for some more comfort on the longer rides maybe a little shorter than the 100mm fitted.

The tyres are tubs :? and the rear is pretty shot. ideally would like to get onto clinchers

So I want to overhall the bike to suit my needs, I would like it to stay period but its got to be usable in anger for me.

Ed spoke of mixing the campag up with shimano to open the wheel options up but have lost that message, and dont really have a clue where to start.

The most important issue is budget, ideally funded by selling/swapping what is on it would be good with a + budget of perhaps £100?

Be great for some input even with ebay/classifieds links?

Cheers

daj

For £100 your budget is too tight IO think. A rear cassette/freewheel change + an inner chain ring chnage to 34T would help alot. You could blow most of your budget on these alone.

You can adjust the position of the levers but your bar tape will need to be re done unless you are very careful removing the bar tape. A change of bars to short drop may also help.

You will need new rims or a complete wheelset and a good wheelset will blow your budget. A cheap wheelset may not be up to cross riding.

I would change your tub, that is pretty cheap to do and easy.

I've been riding an Alan cross not too dissimilar to yours the last 2 winters.



As to the gearing, I'm planing on fitting a compact chainset to lower the gearing as I want to do a bit more off roading . I seemed to remember Campag supplying some sort of shim the bring the levers closer to the bars on the old ergo brifters .

That is ace, Bottle cage bosses and light weight lugs

They look smaller the front rings , what size are they?

It looks like that chainset won't take less than 39. Campag Racing Triple would be period correct and fit in with the rest and I've seen them go quite reasonably on ebay. Then you'd have a bailout gear... Indeed, if you decide to go that route, let me know as I might be persuaded to let one of mine go. You'd need a new front mech to go with, I suppose, but the Ergos should be fine. I wonder if colnagokid ever sold his: http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... 78e68fd5ca

The stem does look a bit long for that size frame. Have a look at the Planet X/On One site as well; they were selling quill stems off at low low prices a while back. Less negative: you could always try something like http://bikecare.co.uk/product_info.php?acc=Stems&id=338 or a MTB quill stem, I suppose...

Nick

daj":139w62z6 said:

But I have issues !!

Click to expand...

I'll say!


I naturally suggested a lashup into a Shimergo mess but also advocated going down the full Shimano route with barend shifters. I can help with either option although the latter may be more practical.

Oh, and the stem looks fine, any LD type (including zero rise) will look wrong to me (although, as always, what the hell do I know?).

When I say a change to a 34T inner I did mean a change to a cmpact chainset, I was not clear. That will eat up some cash.

I still think you will have to double your budget and that is with doing the work your self and not having the best kit.

An old veloce comapct chainset should be available. a pair of rims (36H) should be available for not alot, maybe rigida sputniks? They are cheap new.

bm0p700f":20t7w6th said:

An old veloce comapct chainset should be available. a pair of rims (36H) should be available for not alot, maybe rigida sputniks? They are cheap new.

Click to expand...

The Mach 1 CFX is another cheap but good clincher rim to keep an eye out for; I've been using them for cyclo-cross for a couple of years now. If you don't mind mixing & matching Campag stuff with other brands, the alternative budget route to a compact chainset is to use a secondhand triple with the granny ring removed (e.g. my cross bike has a Middleburn RS1 adapted to a 46/36 double).

David

What rims are they?

Might consider a swap for some clincher rims and a pair of folding cross tyres, if they are suitable for my own Alan Mavic build.

Would even move your old hubs onto the other rims if you paid me a bit for it....

My Alan Cross is all Shimano M730/2/5 8speed 24gears and bar ends, except for Mafac Cantis. (i tried m730 cantis but they are too powerful for the forks).

It rides wonderful, smooth and easy. I use it road, canal and fireroad tracks. Schwalbe Marathon Tour plus 700x35.