bikeworkshop
Old School Grand Master
Adjustable stems often offer a series of incorrect positions
1998 Orange P7 Tourer/ATB
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originsoundd
Kona Fan
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How come?Adjustable stems often offer a series of incorrect positions
bikeworkshop
Old School Grand Master
The stem can only rotate the bar around the hinge, and is a fixed length.
The chance that it gets the right position, to within the critical 5mm, is fairly close to 0
We take them off loads of stuff and fit the right size.
The adjustable often goes in the recycling.
That does away with the horrible risk of loosening pivot they develop.
Joe_Rides
Senior Retro Guru
Check out the stem comparison tool. Very useful. Link below:
http://www.yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/stem.php
http://www.yojimg.net/bike/web_tools/stem.php
originsoundd
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An update on this. Took it (halfway) across the Peak District last week. What a journey! Ended abruptly with me not realising wind is a factor when pitching a tent. I bonked during the day and the wind then collapsed my tent at around 3am after about an hours sleep. Had absolutley no will to continue another 80km so I cut the trip short. Still had a blast, type 2 fun and all. The terrain was ridiculously difficult, steep singletrack downhills with rocks the size of car tires were common but the P7 came out without a scratch! Sounds weird to say this, especially having an account on this forum, but I've never actually ridden any proper singletrack before, living in London. There was a lot of situations where I ended up pushing me and the bike beyond what I'm comfortable with and learnt a lot about bike handling & control.
I got my front rack and replacement FD today, installed both without hassle and made this little "adaptor" so I could use the light mount that came witht he rack. Front shifting is super crisp now. However, still left with a couple things to figure out:
Rear wheel has a loose spoke or two that make some noise when riding. It was like this before the Peak District trip and it seemed unchanged afterwards so I'm not super concerned, but it is a bit annoying. I tried just tightening the loose spokes but undid it as I saw the wheel was going out of true and didn't want to mess with my (mostly) true wheel. I've tried truing wheels in the past but every time I've made it worse and rounded the spoke nipples in the process so I'm not too keen on having a go with this.
Seatpost clamp is f*cked. It's pretty easy to spin the seat in the seattube unless you clamp it ridiculously tight and I'm pretty sure the seattube slowly (but surely) sank into the frame over my ride. The clamp seems like a cheap QR one and is marked "34" so I think it might be a 34.9? 34 seems like an extremely specific size and I can hardly find any 34.0 clamps at all on eBay. I've measured the seattube with a caliper and got 32mm and also printed out a little measuring guide and it didn't land on either 31.8 or 34.9 so I've got a feeling I actually need a 34.0 clamp. Ordered cheap 34.9 and 31.8 ones off eBay for now to see if they fit as they were only £3 each. Trip to Croatia is in two weeks though so don't have long!
Still torn on the friction shifting. On smooth roads its great and actually makes riding the bike quite engaging, more so than with indexed gears, but on more technical climbs the chain slipping does get old fast. I am getting better at using it but I also do prefer the ergo of an indexed shifter, with the paddles underneath the bar instead of on top. I might grab a 9 speed rear shifter and bring the friction with in case it goes kaput.
Last thing to do is to sort out the front bags. I've bought some MOLLE pouches off a military site as well as an "Operator Grab Bag". Each pouch will mount either side of my front rack, with a custom MOLLE panel that I'm in the process of designing, and the big bag on top. The MOLLE panels will be 3D printed with little pannier hooks on the back to grab the little rail on my front rack and then there will be some holes for zipties too. I also need to sew some webbing loops on to the main bag and make some velcro straps which will strap that bag to my handlebars and rack. There should be some space in front of it to serve as overflow in case I want to buy a large food item or something.
As for bike fit, I'm still not entirely sure. It's definetly not uncomfortable, but I also wouldn't call it super comfortable either. It would be nice for the bars to go lower, but I also think they need to be closer first? Not sure how this works but despite the reach being shorter than my other bike, the bar ends are much less comfortable to use and feel further away somehow. I barely used them during my Peak District ride. I think I'll trim another 5mm off the steerer tube so I can take one 10mm spacer out, and chuck that in my bag in case I want to raise it back up again.
I got my front rack and replacement FD today, installed both without hassle and made this little "adaptor" so I could use the light mount that came witht he rack. Front shifting is super crisp now. However, still left with a couple things to figure out:
Rear wheel has a loose spoke or two that make some noise when riding. It was like this before the Peak District trip and it seemed unchanged afterwards so I'm not super concerned, but it is a bit annoying. I tried just tightening the loose spokes but undid it as I saw the wheel was going out of true and didn't want to mess with my (mostly) true wheel. I've tried truing wheels in the past but every time I've made it worse and rounded the spoke nipples in the process so I'm not too keen on having a go with this.
Seatpost clamp is f*cked. It's pretty easy to spin the seat in the seattube unless you clamp it ridiculously tight and I'm pretty sure the seattube slowly (but surely) sank into the frame over my ride. The clamp seems like a cheap QR one and is marked "34" so I think it might be a 34.9? 34 seems like an extremely specific size and I can hardly find any 34.0 clamps at all on eBay. I've measured the seattube with a caliper and got 32mm and also printed out a little measuring guide and it didn't land on either 31.8 or 34.9 so I've got a feeling I actually need a 34.0 clamp. Ordered cheap 34.9 and 31.8 ones off eBay for now to see if they fit as they were only £3 each. Trip to Croatia is in two weeks though so don't have long!
Still torn on the friction shifting. On smooth roads its great and actually makes riding the bike quite engaging, more so than with indexed gears, but on more technical climbs the chain slipping does get old fast. I am getting better at using it but I also do prefer the ergo of an indexed shifter, with the paddles underneath the bar instead of on top. I might grab a 9 speed rear shifter and bring the friction with in case it goes kaput.
Last thing to do is to sort out the front bags. I've bought some MOLLE pouches off a military site as well as an "Operator Grab Bag". Each pouch will mount either side of my front rack, with a custom MOLLE panel that I'm in the process of designing, and the big bag on top. The MOLLE panels will be 3D printed with little pannier hooks on the back to grab the little rail on my front rack and then there will be some holes for zipties too. I also need to sew some webbing loops on to the main bag and make some velcro straps which will strap that bag to my handlebars and rack. There should be some space in front of it to serve as overflow in case I want to buy a large food item or something.
As for bike fit, I'm still not entirely sure. It's definetly not uncomfortable, but I also wouldn't call it super comfortable either. It would be nice for the bars to go lower, but I also think they need to be closer first? Not sure how this works but despite the reach being shorter than my other bike, the bar ends are much less comfortable to use and feel further away somehow. I barely used them during my Peak District ride. I think I'll trim another 5mm off the steerer tube so I can take one 10mm spacer out, and chuck that in my bag in case I want to raise it back up again.
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bikeworkshop
Old School Grand Master
So:
If the rim is already bent towards the loose spoke, then the rim is bent.
An experienced b wheelbuilders could make it better, id also suggest using nyloc nipples if you're having to pull the rim into true with the spokes.
Seatpost clamp, its a steel frame with slimmer walls than alloy, so the commonly available ones don't fit.
My p7 takes a 30mm clamp, some steel frames take 33mm
More expensive, rarer.
Look at the slot, check it isn't closing up.
But a clamp too large can be shimmed, Google will help.
Friction is useless offroad
(don't tell anyone i said that
)
But indexing needs properly matching components in good order and correctly set up. that's all.
Your bars are too high.
ditch that stem.
I probably said this before, but those raiser stems don't make a bike more comfortable. you're not trying to get armchair position - you want and need weight on the bars.
Feel free to re-read my earlier fit comments
i do this for a living
Great progress
If the rim is already bent towards the loose spoke, then the rim is bent.
An experienced b wheelbuilders could make it better, id also suggest using nyloc nipples if you're having to pull the rim into true with the spokes.
Seatpost clamp, its a steel frame with slimmer walls than alloy, so the commonly available ones don't fit.
My p7 takes a 30mm clamp, some steel frames take 33mm
More expensive, rarer.
Look at the slot, check it isn't closing up.
But a clamp too large can be shimmed, Google will help.
Friction is useless offroad
(don't tell anyone i said that
)But indexing needs properly matching components in good order and correctly set up. that's all.
Your bars are too high.
ditch that stem.
I probably said this before, but those raiser stems don't make a bike more comfortable. you're not trying to get armchair position - you want and need weight on the bars.
Feel free to re-read my earlier fit comments
i do this for a livingGreat progress
NWisGooderest!
Dirt Disciple
Fun “adventure” build experiment but really points out the need for an experienced fitter and mechanic to get involved.
Could have saved a lot of $ in the long run.
Also the brakes are known as Linear Pull and not V-Brakes. V-Brakes is a Shimano terminology for Linear Pull.
Could have saved a lot of $ in the long run.
Also the brakes are known as Linear Pull and not V-Brakes. V-Brakes is a Shimano terminology for Linear Pull.
originsoundd
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Indeed. It's my first time building a bike from the frame up!
