Orange O2 drop bar

[Frankenorange]

So it looks like this.....



.......which might not be everyone's cup of tea, but here is the current list of bits and pieces....

Frame: '98 Orange O2 with titanium rear canti posts
Fork: Cuda CP26 (aluminium with steel canti posts)
Headset: Crank Brothers Iodine SL Directset
Stem: Kalloy Uno with titanium bolts
Ahead cap: Absolute Black
Handlebar: Worx WX-R 36cm with cotton tape
Saddle: Rolls Titanio
Seatpost: Enve carbon (reversed)
Seatpost clamp: Tune
Levers: Sram Rival (left hand gutted)
Rear derailleur: Sram X0 short cage with Tacx ceramic pulley wheels
Brakes: Frogleggs / Swissstop BXP pads / Paul Moon Units/ Ti bolts
Cables: Alligator i-link and mini i-link with inline adjusters
Cable hangers: Kona P2 front and Cannondale H-pipe rear
Rims: Mavic X618 32h
Hubs: American Classic Micro58 front and 210 rear
Spokes: Plain (radial front and 1x both sides rear)
Skewers: T Gear USA (titanium)
Tyres and tubes: Innova Pro Cobra Skin 26x2.0 with Vittoria latex
Bottom bracket: Action Tec 107mm (titanium)
Cranks: Spa Cycles RD2 165mm with aluminium bolts
Chainring: Osymetric 42t with aluminium bolts
Chainguide: ZTTO on Exotic braze-on adaptor
Pedals: Look X-Track Carbon-Ti (converted to single side) with 20mm spacers
Cassette: Shimano bitsa 11-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32-36
Chain: Sram Red22
Bottle cages and bottles: Elite Leggero and Elite Jet
Frame bag: Dueter 1.5litre
Mudguard: Crud Catcher (clear)
Computer: Cateye Padrone Wireless

There are a couple of things lined up that i want to do, this year. The rims are getting a bit concave so i will build some new wheels. I have a pair of unused 20h CrossRide rims, another micro58 hub for the front, and presently a Dura Ace rear hub for the rear. I can't decide what spokes i will use. I also have some lighter tyres and latex tubes.

Another change is going to be the bar tape. I am tired of how quickly the cotton tapes fade(Newbaums at the mo and it fades way faster than Velox) so i am going to try some EVA cork stuff, like Cinelli etc, or may even go old school shiny Benotto, as i use gloves and wont slip off!

That is probably it finished and then it will just be maintenance. I might adjust the ratios for a millionth time, but i am starting to feel that this is where it will stay for a good while. I have had sooooooooooo many gearing setups on this bike!
If there is a change it will be deleting the 11t cog and having a 40t, at the low end, and swapping the chainring to a 44t. That will give a lower gear at both ends than i have presently.

That's it for now

 

[Blackbike]

"Another change is going to be the bar tape. I am tired of how quickly the cotton tapes fade(Newbaums at the mo and it fades way faster than Velox) so i am going to try some EVA cork stuff, like Cinelli etc, or may even go old school shiny Benotto, as i use gloves and wont slip off!"

I really like the Cinelli Gel Cork Ribbon tape. It does a good job of damping vibration and instead of a sticky tape strip its a silicon strip so it can be rewrapped with out issue. Its a good strong tape you can really pull on it.
I like the project, you have put a lot of thought in it and it shows.

 

[Frankenorange]

Thank you and for the info on the Cinelli ribbon. There are alot of options with the EVA cork with Cinelli being the original. I do have some black wrap hanging about. I whipped it off the bars when they arrived and i didn't clock exactly what make it was.

 

[grantoury]

It really deserves a thread. It looks like a custom race machine with that stretched out position, the light bits and the chainring. Does it have a low q factor?

I have some ESI silicon bar tape. I don't think it will ever give up. Very substantial and grippy too. Maybe not what you are after, but I think it will hold up a lot longer than cork, which tends to fail and break into pieces. It can be rewrapped and it doesn't have gluestrips.

 

[Frankenorange]

It really deserves a thread. It looks like a custom race machine with that stretched out position, the light bits and the chainring. Does it have a low q factor?

I have some ESI silicon bar tape. I don't think it will ever give up. Very substantial and grippy too. Maybe not what you are after, but I think it will hold up a lot longer than cork, which tends to fail and break into pieces. It can be rewrapped and it doesn't have gluestrips.

Thank you and for the tip on the ESI bar tape.

The Q is low, as that is what the BB and cranks gave me, but i use 20mm spacers to increase the stance width(pedal centers). I have to do this with my right pedal as my right leg is a bit goofy and is very heel in. The added bonus is that the knee tracks better, vertically, and doesn't aggravate my knee injuries. I put a spacer on the left side as that helped vertical tracking, on that side, too.
The saddle is very forward as i found that getting my knees way forward of the pedals, at 3 o clock position, was the absolute best for my issues. I haven't got any ACL ligaments (some of the others are shot too), and the position stops any aggravation of the knee cap and those ligaments.
It is bizarre really that i can't walk many meters, at all, without alot of discomfort yet cycling is fairly ok. I have to be very careful with unclipping and i try and do most of my riding in the saddle as standing on the pedals can give me grief.

 

[grantoury]

It sure is great that you are able to ride still. Saddle looks quite high as well.

 

[markoc]

Looks great - but my back is hurting just looking at the saddle and height of the bars lol!

Love seeing some citrus getting a new lease of life

 

[Frankenorange]

It sure is great that you are able to ride still. Saddle looks quite high as well.

If i couldn't ride i would go mental!

I am 6'(184cm) tall with 34"(86ish cm) inside leg so that is why there is alot of post showing, with the sloping top tube, and the short head tube. The effective top tube is 56cm and the stem is 11cm so pretty much a road bike setup.

 

[Frankenorange]

So; i learnt something but maybe this is common knowledge.

Sram have different pulley wheel screws for thier clutched X0 and X9 derailleurs and they are slightly dimensionally different. If you swap out pulley wheels for non-Sram you may run into the following problems....

1. The screw may not have enough thread length to tighten the cages up on your new pulley, if the pulley is narrower across the bearings than standard. (This is not limited to Sram.)

2. The screw may have enough thread BUT be slightly too long and, if used for the top pulley, will foul in the hidden area between the cage and the cage return spring/clutch housing. (This may be limited to Sram.)

The effect of 1 is that the pulley will be floppy, between the cage plates, which is really obvious, but the effect of 2 will not be so obvious, at first.
If you test your gears out on a stand/rollers/turbo and you go up the cassette, to your biggest cog, you might find that when you go back down the cassette that the cage will be stuck and not take up any chain slack, or it will do it VERY lazily. During riding conditions i can imagine it even being an intermittent problem depending on drivetrain stress, temperature, muck etc.

We are talking about a stupidly small amount here that can cause a problem and so small that i wouldn't be surprised that within batches of screws, and cage plates, that some combinations will be absolutely fine and others will not. Non standard screws may throw up the same probs.
All that needs doing is filing a tiny amount off the end of the screw with a medium flat file and all will work as it should

My rear deraileur is an example of this. It is a short cage X0 but the X0 screws would not tighten the cage up on the non-Sram lower pulley. The top pulley was ok, though!?!
Anyhow; I reached into the spares and assembled it with X9 screws, that had more thread length, but they were slightly longer overall, and/or the countersunk head of the screw sat deeper in the cage plate, resulting in a cage that would not return under its own steam due to fouling.

So; compare your screws and wear your glasses, if you need them, to prevent fouling and the use of foul words!!

 

[Frankenorange]

I decided to go old school and have some blue Celo Cinta Professionale tape coming my way. Hopefully it will match the blue Frogleggs, better than the pre-faded cotton stuff, because that is the most important thing