bikeworkshop
Old School Grand Master
You might find a nice 25.4 easton ea50 on ebay, they came in several shapes
1998 Orange P7 Tourer/ATB
- Thread starter originsoundd
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Having the option to change your bar position after a few days would be good.
I did one long ride, after a few days wishing my stem was several cm shorter and the bars several cm higher, but didn't have the adjustment.
Maximum adjustment comes from both 1) spacers above and below the stem, and 2) having a multi position bar that can rotate in the stem and bring hand position forward or backwards and up and down.
So I like this type of bars for long distances.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/handleb...position-handlebars-254mm-clamp-silver-590mm/
And agree that replacing the brakes with standard V brakes probably a good idea. And I'm very envious of your trip!
I did one long ride, after a few days wishing my stem was several cm shorter and the bars several cm higher, but didn't have the adjustment.
Maximum adjustment comes from both 1) spacers above and below the stem, and 2) having a multi position bar that can rotate in the stem and bring hand position forward or backwards and up and down.
So I like this type of bars for long distances.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/handleb...position-handlebars-254mm-clamp-silver-590mm/
And agree that replacing the brakes with standard V brakes probably a good idea. And I'm very envious of your trip!
originsoundd
Kona Fan
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I'm gonna get a bar with some decent rise so I can adjust reach on the fly, and then I can always lift my stem 10-15mm or so with some spacers that I can just chuck in my bag.
Got a ride through the peak district in 2 weeks so should be a good shakedown.
bikeworkshop
Old School Grand Master
You can always buy a stem in a shop during the trip - if you've got the shims - a lot of places will only have 1&1/8" to 31.8...
originsoundd
Kona Fan
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Here's where I got with it today. VO Happy stem came in the post and fitted it. I'm obviously still learning about bike fit and after looking at some photos of 90s mountain bikes built as bikepacking/touring rigs I noticed that hardly anyone has bars much higher than the saddle, and when they do, it's usually just by an inch at most.
I was trying to match the fit to my other bike that I cycled to Bristol on, but turns out it doesn't work that way. I had 100mm of spacers on this along with this stem and it just felt like a completley upright bike, way more upright than my Kona, despite the rough measurements being the same. The top tube is shorter on this and the headtube slacker and I suppose that influences fit quite a lot! I slowly lowered the bars down, and ended up cutting 25mm off of the steerer tube and I've ended up with this, the bars just a smidge higher than the saddle.
It feels really, really good like this. I've never ridden a bike that I feel so in control of. Standing up on the pedals feels super effortless and I'm able to move my body weight around really comfortably. I'm planning to get a riser bar to allow for more reach adjustment anyway, so I'm thinking to cut the head tube more and knock it down 40mm or so. Then with a smidge of saddle nose up/down and setting the position on the rails right, I think I'll have a bike that fits!
Ordered a Pelago Commuter front rack too, and went a slightly different path with my front bag choices. Will be revealed soon!
I was trying to match the fit to my other bike that I cycled to Bristol on, but turns out it doesn't work that way. I had 100mm of spacers on this along with this stem and it just felt like a completley upright bike, way more upright than my Kona, despite the rough measurements being the same. The top tube is shorter on this and the headtube slacker and I suppose that influences fit quite a lot! I slowly lowered the bars down, and ended up cutting 25mm off of the steerer tube and I've ended up with this, the bars just a smidge higher than the saddle.
It feels really, really good like this. I've never ridden a bike that I feel so in control of. Standing up on the pedals feels super effortless and I'm able to move my body weight around really comfortably. I'm planning to get a riser bar to allow for more reach adjustment anyway, so I'm thinking to cut the head tube more and knock it down 40mm or so. Then with a smidge of saddle nose up/down and setting the position on the rails right, I think I'll have a bike that fits!
Ordered a Pelago Commuter front rack too, and went a slightly different path with my front bag choices. Will be revealed soon!
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originsoundd
Kona Fan
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Some detail shots! Gonna go for a proper shakedown today and get the rest of the bike cabled up. It's frustrating that my saddle doesn't match but it's hard to justify the cost of a matching one!
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bikeworkshop
Old School Grand Master
Coming along nicely
Just to say your chainring orientation looks out.
The tabs on one space between the mounting arms are meant to line up with the crank - or in this case with the "hidden" bolt opposite :
so the outer ring is good, but the middle is one arm out - they should be next to each other.Misalignment upsets the tooth alignment with the chain on shifting, and the position of the cut down teeth and pickup pins - this can cause skating and slipping, as well as poor shifting, it's a common reason for people thinking front indexing is no good
Last edited:
originsoundd
Kona Fan
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Damn, good spot. Will fix that now! Thanks.Coming along nicely
Just to say your chainring orientation looks out.
The tabs on one space between the mounting arms are meant to line up with the crank - or in this case with the "hidden" bolt opposite :
View attachment 957721so the outer ring is good, but the middle is one arm out - they should be next to each other.
Misalignment upsets the tooth alignment with the chain on shifting, and the position of the cut down teeth and pickup pins - this can cause skating and slipping, as well as poor shifting, it's a common reason for people thinking front indexing is no good
bikeworkshop
Old School Grand Master
Don't worry, I won't tell anyone
originsoundd
Kona Fan
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Update(s) on this. I've put it all together and done all the cables. Ridden it to and from work about 4 times and I'm enjoying it. On my Kona I don't usually like to stand on the pedals, but on this I find myself standing on them much more! The saddle is really annoying me, wish I had the money to swap the saddle colour!
The geo is a bit too aggressive for long-ish stints in the saddle, but I have some wider, riser bars with backsweep on the way that should solve that. I've also got some XTR cartridge carriers and a bunch of Aztec pads that will replace the metal-ridden Tektro ones that I have on there temporarily. All my touring bags are now with me, but I still haven't got my front rack so cannot do a test fit yet.
I also noticed today that the XT front deraileur was complete toast. Loads of play in all axes, only when the mechanism is pulled, hence I didn't notice it before. It makes getting the H screw set impossible since when set correctly (1mm gap between chain and cage when on outer cog) the deraileur just doesn't push the chain onto the cog since it moves around so much, but if I set the H screw further out, I just shift the chain off the ring entirely.
I'm also wondering if there's a way I can make my shifters "more indexed"??? I know this probably sounds stupid (I have friction shifters) but I struggle to trim the gears sometimes, especially when accelerating quickly from a standstill. When I ride I usually pre-emptively shift down when I stop before traffic lights, going from say the smallest cog (9) to a larger cog (4), but since I'm still holding the speed that the smallest cog gave me, I can't really feel the RD shifting up the cassette. I then only find out if the gear is properly selected when I set off again, and it usually isn't. Perhaps I should just change my riding habit and start from a smaller cog.
Will post some pics soon!
The geo is a bit too aggressive for long-ish stints in the saddle, but I have some wider, riser bars with backsweep on the way that should solve that. I've also got some XTR cartridge carriers and a bunch of Aztec pads that will replace the metal-ridden Tektro ones that I have on there temporarily. All my touring bags are now with me, but I still haven't got my front rack so cannot do a test fit yet.
I also noticed today that the XT front deraileur was complete toast. Loads of play in all axes, only when the mechanism is pulled, hence I didn't notice it before. It makes getting the H screw set impossible since when set correctly (1mm gap between chain and cage when on outer cog) the deraileur just doesn't push the chain onto the cog since it moves around so much, but if I set the H screw further out, I just shift the chain off the ring entirely.
I'm also wondering if there's a way I can make my shifters "more indexed"??? I know this probably sounds stupid (I have friction shifters) but I struggle to trim the gears sometimes, especially when accelerating quickly from a standstill. When I ride I usually pre-emptively shift down when I stop before traffic lights, going from say the smallest cog (9) to a larger cog (4), but since I'm still holding the speed that the smallest cog gave me, I can't really feel the RD shifting up the cassette. I then only find out if the gear is properly selected when I set off again, and it usually isn't. Perhaps I should just change my riding habit and start from a smaller cog.
Will post some pics soon!
