Cycling UK Forum

Last year I bought a new road bike for sportive events. It's got a 11-25 10-speed cassette at the rear and a 50/34 compact chainset. I'd really like lower gearing but don't want to face a rebuild and having to buy new bits. Shimano don't do a 'touring' range 10-speed cassette so I was thinking of replacing the cassette for a 9-speed wider range one. Will the rear mech handle this and will my STI shifters work with 9-speed?? Thanks
Neil

Robwa10...it's Thorn Nomad which has sported straight bars for the last few years. I've decided to go back to drops but didn't want bar-end or downtube shifters. Now I know I can use STIs I can fit my Tiagra 9-speed triple shifters, a Tiagra or Ultegra front mech and an XT rear mech. I just need to buy an 'in-betweeny' chainset like a Deore. To be honest I hadn't considered Campag at all.......my days of exotic racing machines are long gone and I guess I just think Shimano these days (which is a great pity I know!!).
Neil

Thanks CJ. I have 9-speed STIs so I will buy a new 'big' MTB chainset and expect it all to work!

I'd heard the horror stories of people wanting to combine STI road triple shifters with MTB chainsets to get the low gears and the benefit of STI. The considered wisdom seemed to be that it couldn't (easily) be done. So I abandoned the idea until I read a report on the 2009 Galaxy which comes with a 48/36/26 chainset, a road front mech and 105 shifters. It was reported to work well. Is the subtelty here that the chainset is an 'in-between' size? Or has something else changed? Any thoughts because I'd really like to do this on my tourer and have most of the bits already....
Neil

I was out Saturday and after a too-long stay in a friendly pub set off for home at 5pm. It wasn't really cold and ice was the last thing on my mind. I should have had a clue when my back wheel spun on a climb but kept going until I resembled one of those cartoon characters spinning furiously and getting nowhere! Anyway off I came on a sheet of black ice. That didn't hurt too much but in the next 200 metres I came off twice more. Decided to walk the rest of the way and abandoned the bike in a friendly man's garage......I used to come off a lot in my younger racing days and now the risk of injury and long recovery is too great. So my bike stays in when ice is about.
Neil

I did Miami to new York in 2006 and stayed close to the coast. Florida is fun riding along the beachside, Georgia is boring, the Carolinas are OK (and as someone has just said, the Outer Banks are worth doing) and Virginia and Maryland have an almost European feel. But pretty much all of the East Coast is flat until you get north of New York so it depends what you want as a challenge. I stayed in motels (around $40-50 a night) and ate in roadside diners. I wouldn't do it again, prefer Europe which is also cheaper to get to and back from. The drivers can be mental in US and resent you being on the road much more than here. Sorry it sounds negative.....
Neil

There is probably a mathematical reason 44 isn't used. Or else it's that you can build 3 48-spoke wheels from a gross?? I can't guarentee the story is true though.
Neil

Apologies for going 'off subject' but this I found interesting. My father-in-law used to work in the immediate post war bike trade (Hobbs of Barbican...) and told me that the reason for spoke quantities in wheels was driven by the fact that spokes came in gross (144) boxes. Hence the preferred mix of 32/40 and 36/36 so you could build 4 wheels out of a box of spokes.
Neil

Actually its two questions.....what is the purpose of the boss having three holes to put the brake pin in? I've always used the middle one but I guess it's to increase spring tension? Second question is have bosses always been the same dimension? I just bought an old steel MTB from the 80s and tried to fit a pair of new Shimano V-brakes. But they won't fit fully onto the boss shoulder - it's a lot tighter than what engineers would call an interference fit! Before I pick up my favourite hammer is there something I should know? Or should I refrain from the hammer and use sand paper instead?
Neil

Good question....but surely horses are more carbon than steel?

I suspect we have moved far beyond the subject of the OP...next thing will be a discussion whether horse riders dare to be seen with a single pannier!

Mike
I had the same issue...daily commute through muddy lanes and rough surfaces was ruining my Thorn tourer so I turned to ebay. Bought a really good Claud Butler steel MTB for £25 although the wheels were shot. Luckliy I had spare wheels, spent a little on mudguards, chain, brake blocks and cables and it's now doing the job brillaintly. By the time I carry a pannier and bar bag I don't notice any weight change and it seems a real bargain.
N

You can get the best of both worlds......several manufacturers provide backpack converters for panniers so you can carry the weight on the bike and then just it lift off and put it on your back when you need to. I have a Karrimor one which is really convenient but I think Ortleib do one too. I certainly agree that caryying wieght on the back when cycling is not a 'good' thing. I avoid it at all costs other than a light mussette bag on my road bike.
Neil

I agree - metal tyre levers are evil. They really risk a lot of damage unless you are lucky or careful. I have the VAR levers and also some Schwalbe ones given away with a set of tyres. My tip (and it seems anal I know) is to carry a small amount of washing-up liquid to help ease stubborn tyres off the rim. Mind you, with Schwalbe Marathon's I've only had to use it once in three years. Wish I hadn't said that.....
N

The peak on my helmet saved my life (probably) but not in the way you might think! On a lonely road in rural USA I was confronted by a knife carrying chap who wanted my wallet. I elected to fight my way out of it and gave him a Glasgow kiss with the peak connecting firmly with his nose. The peak won. I'm not really as brave as all this sounds but it did happen and since then I've never ridden without a helmet. So stick with the peak because you never know!!
Neil