A Bike Build

Shimano Ultegra 12-30 cassette

I have considered switching to a triple crankset on a few occasions on my Bob Jackson, it certainly wouldn’t be out of place on a touring frame, but I rarely “run out” of gears and on balance there have always seemed to be a lot of disadvantages for some infrequent benefits. I run a Sugino Alpina compact crankset (48/34) with a 105 12-27 cassette and although I rarely cross over completely, it will happily run through all the gears in both chainrings which is really convenient for lazy / rapid changes. With a 48 big ring in fact I rarely use the smaller ring. I don’t race or go full pelt on this bike so there would be no advantage in having the 53 ring of a triple it really is just for the odd loaded, tired, up hill.

Enter the Ultegra 12-30 cassette. I fitted this last night, it honestly took no more than a few minutes as it turned out to need no adjustment of my 105 short cage rear derailleur, I was fully expecting to have to do a minor tweak of the b-screw and had a new chain on standby as I thought I may be a link short.

This gives me a range on the big ring (in gear inches) of 108” to 43.2”, previously 48” - and on the small ring from 76.5 to 30.6”, previously 34”.

My obvious concern was the gap between the gears but in fact the transitions seem very sensible and well spaced, albeit that I will rarely use the 30, nothing wrong with 9-speed though!

On my Condor Acciaio I have an 11-28, the 24-28 jump feels pretty big, to be honest a 27 big sprocket would be a better match, but there is no such thing as an 11-27, only a 12-27 or 11-25 and I would rather not give up the 11 as a highest sprocket or the 27 as a large sprocket, so the 11-28 seems the best compromise.

In conclusion, for me this is a much better solution than fitting a triple, it gives me a 30.6” lowest gear, virtually identical to what I would have had with a triple and my original 12-27 cassette. Perhaps it’s also a viable and cheaper fix for those on a road bike with a standard 53/39 crankset needing lower gearing, giving a 34” lowest gear, where previously a compact was needed to get this low.

Shimano 10 speed sprocket configurations:
11-12-13-14-15-17-19-21-24-28 on Condor Acciaio
12-13-14-15-17-19-21-24-27-30 now on Bob Jackson World Tour
12-13-14-15-16-17-19-21-24-27 previously on BJWT

Spikes - Schwalbe Winter tyres

Not wanting to be caught out again, I have just fitted Schwalbe Winter tyres to my Bob Jackson World Tour. These are the 700 x 30c studded tyres that are similar to the more popular Marathon Winters, but with about half the number of studs. Importantly they are available in 30mm width, the minimum width of the Marathon Winters is 35mm which most road frames won’t have clearance for.

Fitting on to Mavic A719 rims wasn’t too difficult for a wired tyre but I did need to use a lever and push the tyre firmly into the opposite rim recess for the last few inches to slide over the rim, but they seated nicely when inflated. They cleared my mudguards which are set quite close to the 700x32c Marathon Supremes that are normally fitted, but in snow rather than ice, I would probably want a bit more clearance so would need to adjust them slightly.

They roll as I would expect on ‘normal’ ice free roads, a bit heavy (805g each) and noisy but not worryingly so. On snow they are OK but don’t expect miracles - better than a road tyre but not as good as a 32c cyclocross tyre. However, on the remaining stretches of packed down snow and on the ice, of which there is still a fair bit around here, they were every bit as good as I expected, no problem starting, stopping or turning - you do need to be careful when you stop as I can envisage forgetting you are on an icy surface, putting a foot down and ending up in a heap on the floor. It’s also worth mentioning that they work well on loose gravelly paths as the tread is reasonable deep right into the shoulders and I would imagine would be quite acceptable for mild off-road use.

They are clearly a very specialist tyre, I wouldn’t keep them on throughout the Winter as their grip on the typical wet and greasy roads is not as good as good quality road commuting tyres, but they are certainly worth the twenty minutes or so that it takes to swap them on for icy or snowy weeks. At less than £20 each they are reasonable value for money despite knowing that they will spend much of the year hanging on the shed wall.

Saddle bags, seat packs and tool rolls

Since I bought my Carradice Barley a year ago, it has lived on my commuting bike, but as the Winter has drawn in and I am using this bike almost all the time, I decided to replace it with something more compact for the times I was riding and didn’t need laptop, jacket, clothes etc. I have never got on well with the standard saddle bags - I have split two Bontrager wedges on my Surly and find the wedge shape generally impractical. On my Condor Acciaio I have an Arundel Duel which is perfect - two tubes, a tyre lever and a tiny Park Tool multi-tool, so it’s not the size, just the shape that seems silly. 

 

I looked at the couple of different tool rolls on the market, but I didn’t find one that was sized to fit what I needed and I ended up making my own from some waxed cotton purchased from eBay. Despite my wife having a good laugh at me sitting down with needle and thread for an hour or so, it has worked out well and looks OK.

It attaches firmly to the seat rails with a leather toe strap and is completely vibration free. It will easily hold a large inner tube (for 700x32c Marathon Supremes in the Winter), tyre levers, tyre patches, multi tool and a mini pump together with a small wallet and keys - all of which it has kept completely dry in pretty foul weather. On the days when I need the larger capacity of the Carradice, I just stick the whole roll in it.

Fitting a Brooks leather mud flap

Despite having full mudguards on my Bob Jackson, the chain and running gear were still getting filthy on the muddy, wet roads so it was time to fit a mud flap. The more traditional options were either a Gilles Berthoud or Brooks leather mud flap or I could have gone with something home made to provide a bit more length. Tokyo Fixed Gear stocked the Brooks - it’s £15 - so it was an easy decision, the thinking being if it turns out to be a bit too small, I can keep the same fittings and just bolt on some heavy rubber cut to shape instead of the leather, though looking at it I think it will be fine.

Dimensions are 145mm height with a width of 110mm at its widest and 55mm at its narrowest where it bolts onto the mudguard.

The Brooks mudflap is essentially a treated 5mm thick piece of heavy duty leather with good quality fittings. It feels very stiff indeed but in fact softens quite a bit when wet. I am not sure it would work well on plastic mudguards, but with properly fitted stainless or aluminium guards it’s perfect.

It was easy to fit, the only challenge being drilling the slippery polished surface of the Gilles Berthoud mud guards - I made a small indent with a punch, then drilled two small pilot holes before drilling the final 5mm holes - it’s worth taking time over this to get them drilled just right.

First ride with it in place this morning in very heavy rain with some puddles several inches deep and the difference was very noticeable - I was still wet of course but much cleaner, particularly my feet and the chainrings, bottom bracket and downtube are completely protected from spray.

------ Update on 17th January 2013 -----

Don't forget the threadlock! The nuts will vibrate off quite quickly, easily solved with some Loctite 243 though...

Why are kids' bikes so badly set up?

I just replaced a punctured tube on my youngest boy’s bike and did some minor servicing and adjustments.

My boys are aged 4 and 7, over the last few years I have bought three bikes for them from two different bike shops, one being a well known high street cycle chain, the other a very well established independent. All three bikes were from major manufacturers and at the higher end of pricing for childrens cycles. What surprises me is how they let bikes out the door with set up that would not be tolerated on an adult bike.

The first bike, Ben's "MTB" had brake levers poorly adjusted for small hands and brake pads not aligned well at all so braking power was really poor.

My youngest, Noah's, first bike was a runner bike, one tyre was fitted with the incorrect direction, not a big issue at all but still shows a lack of attention, it was the most recent bike purchase that concerned me more. 

This was my youngest's first proper bike, a Ridgeback. The rear brake was out of balance and adjusted so close to the rim that it rubbed on the out of true wheels. The wheel was poorly alligned in the dropouts and together with a rear freewheel bearing that was stiff to the point of being faulty, it would not have been much fun to ride. Finally the chain was strangely dry, it appeared to be completely missing any factory or other lube that I would have expected.

None of the bikes were dangerous but it does make you wonder what else could be missed with such poor quality control.

Not Touring on a Touring Frame

There is lots of discussion of the best type of bike for commuting, for me its my “do everything” Bob Jackson World Tour, very much a traditional touring frame - it can take 28-32mm tyres with mudguards for which it has proper mounts, canti brakes, three bottle mounts, Reynolds 631 steel frame, longish chainstays and slightly more relaxed geometry than a typical road bike. 

There are a few differences from a standard touring set up:

Luggage - On a touring bike, you would want rear and probably front racks for panniers, I use a Carradice Barley saddlebag with their support frame, which saves some weight and still has enough space for my Macbook Air and some spare clothes as well as the usual tools, tubes etc.

Position - I have the set-up slightly more aggressive than a traditional tourer with bars an inch or two below the saddle - I just like it that way.

Road not MTB / Touring Gears - Rather than building up with a road or MTB triple, I have gone for a fairly normal compact double setup (48/34 front, 12-27 rear) using mostly Shimano 105 components and STIs rather than downtube or bar-end shifters that are more commonly found on touring builds. It feels more road than long haul.

Would I have done anything differently?

From what I read on bicycle blogs and forums, we are often upgrading and looking for marginal improvements by way of minor component changes. For me a lot of the fun I get from cycling is the technical and maintenance aspect so it’s a totally excusable, if expensive and often wasted pursuit. Having recently received back my Bob Jackson World Tour frame after a re-lacquer (more details on why here), as I was reassembling it and refitting the components it made me wonder if I would have done anything differently if I was really starting again.

It’s a fairly “retro” build and I guess the biggest change I could have considered would have been to go more modern, with a threadless steerer and aheadset rather than the quill stem and threaded steerer - this was in fact the standard spec on the World Tour, and looks are a consideration - the quill stem suits the slim tubing in my opinion. I believe this year Bob Jackson have changed to slightly larger oversized tubing on the World Tour though for a bit of added stiffness.

Perhaps the World Tour is a little overbuilt for its primary purpose of year round commuting and bad weather rides - it is a touring frame and has not yet been even close to the loading limits, generally it has a few kilos at most in the Carradice saddlebag.

Whilst I designed the build as a one bike for all, with hindsight, perhaps a lighter build with  an audax type frame and carbon forks with clearance for 25mm or 28mm tyres (with mudguards) on lighter built wheels would fit that purpose a little better a lot of the time, but I do love the comfy ride and incredible grip of 700x32c Marathon Supremes with strong touring wheels on a 135mm rear hub on the rough roads in and around Hertfordshire and for me the additional weight is a small price worth paying and the truth is I would probably change nothing.

In reality of course it doesn’t have to be “one bike fits all”, if this was my only bike then perhaps it would be slightly less of a heavyweight, I would try hard to drop it down a little. I guess it has allowed me to be more focussed in my Condor Acciaio build this year, weight-conscious components, 23mm tyres and no facility for luggage or mudguards mean that while it’s not an extreme lightweight (a fraction over 8kg all in) nor a harsh ride - traditionally handbuilt wheels and a steel frame - I do keep it for fast, fair weather rides on reasonably good surfaces.

Brake pad rub - looking at frame and wheel flex

With my Bob Jackson frame being re-lacquered, I have been using my Condor Acciaio this week, it’s not ideal for this weather, nice mucky stripe up my back and a puncture - not surprising given the rotten weather, however my bigger concern was a rubbing noise when climbing hard out of the saddle.

I suspected it was brake pad rub and confirmed it by releasing the quick release on the rear brake. The wheels are Ambrosio Excellight SSC rims on Novatech hubs, handbuilt by Harry Rowland. They are light but have a reasonable spoke count, 32 rear, 28 front but there is certainly some lateral flexibility, it’s easy to push the rim into the pad with my thumb. The Dedacciai Zero Replica frame is very stiff so after checking there were no frame problems, no loose spokes and the wheels were true, it seems pretty certain it is just natural wheel flex. I made sure the hub locknuts were tight, now all I can do is make sure the brakes are well centred, adjust them to give slightly greater clearance from the rim and live with it!

I have done a bit of research and spoken to some very helpful experts, so what I have learnt...

- Tightening spokes does not reduce lateral flex or increase stiffness, see Damon Rinard’s research on SheldonBrown.com

- Wheel flex and a bit of brake rub is normal, confirmed by Donald at Bob Jackson (I couldn’t resist nagging for a date for my frame to come back, I miss mudguards now) - it seems many cyclists will "quick release" the rear caliper when climbing

- Harry Rowland gave useful advice on checking hub lock nuts, he has said it is normal for these to loosen a bit on Novatech / Ambrosio hubs

- Maybe I have just got that bit stronger hence the increased flex under power!

Full Service - Bob Jackson World Tour

I’ve had some concerns over the paint on my Bob Jackson World Tour, the transfers which should have a clear lacquer coat over them, have been cracking and flaking so I have stripped the frame down and sent it back to them for inspection and possibly a repaint - no quibbles from them, in fact very good customer service as I have come to expect.

Although timing could have been better as weather at the moment is not ideal to be using my non-mudguard-ed Condor Acciaio, it has given me the opportunity, or an excuse, to do some pre-winter maintenance and a very thorough service. I keep my bikes fairly clean and well lubricated, but it was obvious a deeper clean could do good. 

The rear derailleur bearings on the jockey wheels were surprisingly dry and dirty so a re-grease has them running smoothly again. It’s also the first time I have tried my Purple Harry bike floss that I picked up at the Cycle Show in Birmingham - these are excellent, way better than any brushes and pads that I have used before and the spiky fibres mixed in with the softer fluffy fibres are great at removing small particles of tougher dirt. I wouldn’t be without them now for derailleurs and cassettes.

I also remembered to weigh the frame and forks, so my 23” Bob Jackson World Tour (Reynolds 631) is about 2.8kg, not bad for a fully lugged, traditional geometry touring frame.

Sizing

I got a nice message this week from a blog reader asking for some more information on my Bob Jackson build - a number of the queries related to frame sizing and comfort. According to the Competitive Cyclist’s excellent frame size calculator, a well fitting road frame can easily range 4cm for a person depending on the position and use of the bike. I was fitted for both my World Tour and my Condor Acciaio, the former is a 23” (58.5cm) frame, the latter a 55cm. 

Both fit beautifully well, obviously the bars are higher and the stem is shorter on my Bob Jackson for a more comfortable commute and longer rides, the Condor is built with more of a race geometry and has a semi-compact frame.

I think there is a trend to go for the smallest frame possible, regardless of the use the bike is going to be put to, a larger frame allows you to easier get the bars high without excessive spacers on the steerer or an overly long quill stem.

On the Bob Jackson, my bars are probably about 2" below the saddle and I would be reluctant to go much higher although I am not particularly flexible - I could probably raise them about another .5 - 1" if I wanted. I think with the right frame the bars don't have to be level with the saddle to give you a comfortable position. Handlebar choice is important - something like the Nitto Noodle (that I have) or GB Rando bars will give more and better positions than most modern compact bars on a touring type bike. Choose your wheels and tyres carefully too (more later)!

Brompton Bicycle Factory Visit

Great ride and factory tour today with Brompton Bicycles.