tkehler

Here's what has been on my mind, while my Airnimal Chameleon frame -- to the surprise of my little kids, and the consternation of my wife -- hangs in the living room on my bike stand.

Build a weight weenie-ish folder...

Option 1:

Get a old and/or used crank, remove the outer ring and put on a bash guard; remove inner ring and install a chain catcher/guard; run something like a 39 in the middle ring. (But I would need to get this stuff, incl. the crankset as I'm not cannibalizing a new one.)

Go with a Sram X7 twist shifter and a X7 rear derailleur, and a 9 speed mountain cassette. (All of which I have.) Advantages: no front derailleur; cutting down on cables and weight; simplified set up. Disadvantages: hills; and the hassle of getting the crank stuff. Biggest disadvantage: I prefer drop bars!

5/10

Option 2(a):

I have a new Shimano 105 ten speed triple crank lying around. I could get 105 ten speed STI shifters, and a couple of 105 derailleurs, building a 105 equipped Chameleon. However, I have heard -- this is speculative therefore -- that the Chameleon's cable routing/geometry makes it tougher for STI shifters to do their thing with ease... (Hmmm. Is this accurate?)

Advantages: attractive well specced set up; good for all kinds of riding. Disadvantages: more weight; above all, the potential problem of odd cable routing making shifting tricky and inefficient.

Hmmm. 6/10

This worry about the Chameleon and STI shifters brings me to Option 2(b), which I am leaning towards:

Use my 105 ten speed triple crank, but get some new Dura Ace ten speed bar end shifters -- the latest version are the 7900 version, very cool with black parts -- on Ebay, and set it up as a bar end shifting bike. Bar ends are also fairly light, though I would have to get some simple hoods and brake levers. Maybe go with Ultegra derailleurs, making the build look like this:

Cranks: 105 ten speed triple
FD: Ultegra
RD: Ultegra
Shifters: Dura Ace bar end
Brakes: Cane Creek SL
Wheelset: Uriel
Bottom Bracket: Dura Ace
Seatpost: Thomson
Stem: FSA
Bars: FSA

Advantages: a bit of weight saved; bit of money saved; simplicity and reliability of bar end shifters; looks? Disadvantages: no STI's. Possible disadvantage with packing handlebars with protruding bar end shifters?!?!? I like STI's, but realistically this is a travel folder, not a commuter bike. How often would I use it at home? Not THAT much, so perhaps no need for STI's...

Speaking of STI shifters, what's out there? *Checks Ebay* Dang, ten speed STI shifters are pricey! I have older Ultegras sitting around, but they are 9 speed...

7/10??

Thoughts anyone?

Cheers!

bhkyte

Quote "I have heard -- this is speculative therefore -- that the Chameleon's cable routing/geometry makes it tougher for STI shifters to do their thing with ease... (Hmmm. Is this accurate?)"

Teflon inner cables ae a must on most folders in my experience. My 9 speed tiagas work fine on my mezzo,which has a difficult cable routing.

bhkyte

Quote "I have heard -- this is speculative therefore -- that the Chameleon's cable routing/geometry makes it tougher for STI shifters to do their thing with ease... (Hmmm. Is this accurate?)"

Teflon inner cables are a must on most folders in my experience. My 9 speed tiagas work fine on my mezzo,which has a very difficult cable routing.

BruceMetras

I'm running an STI shifter for the rear (Schlumpf up front) and haven't noticed any shifting issues.. the cables make some pretty aggressive bends at the BB when folding, if it ever does become a problem, I'd run Nokon cables.. they work great for cables that have to go through contortions ..

bhkyte

Bruce, Please tell me more.
Bruce.

jur

Don't you have any ugly bikes?

BruceMetras

I'll go check and get back to you on that ...

SesameCrunch

stevegor

We always see Bruce's pretty bikes...... maybe it's the rider that's ugly?

tkehler

I'll say. That's a beauty.

I like the (unpronounceable) German engineered crank.

My Chameleon will be largely black, except for some silver bits of kit (crank, derailleurs).

BruceMetras

.... Probably have something there... might be nice for someone to create a new "Me and My Folder" thread showing the faces behind the prose .. since Jur has shared his mug from time to time, here I am with my beloved Mu Duo...

jur

Phew... there's balance in the universe after all.

stevegor

Forget the rider and the bike.......I want the car, even though the electrics are powered by Mr Lucas, the Prince of Darkness


I would post a pic of myself, but my agent always charges outrageous fees for any publicity shots

Foldable Two

Great minds think alike!!!

I like GREEN, though.

Now, do you also have the folding trifecta???

This picture shows two of our five folding bikes, our car with the folding top and the hitch and front wall of our Chalet, folding Aframe trailer!


Lou

SesameCrunch

Pfffft! Bruce scoffs at them demons. He makes his living fixing Alfas...

stevegor

Ooops, my wrong.... I thought it was a Triumph, sorry Bruce!!

Foldable Two

This one is a '74 with 139,000 miles and still running strong on the original un-rebuilt engine! I bought it NEW in 1975.

If Bruce is into fixing Alfa's, he might know of the mechanic who took care of my car for 1/2 its life - Dave Vegher - he's now in the Bay Area.

FYI: That's the record as far as I know of for an original engine in an ALFA. JUst got back here to Vancouver and expect the car to start up on the first turn of the key tomorrow - as it normally does.

Already got on my Pocket 8 and went to Fred Meyer to get a bottle of wine, much to my wife's chagrin.

Lou

BruceMetras

A nice '74 was/is easily one of the best models.. Mechanical F/I, no smog controls, no P/W, A/C or any other B/S .. but you're far from a mileage record.. the red '85 in the picture has over 225k on the clock on the original engine... one of my customers with a '71 Spider, who was a traveling salesman, had over 500k on the engine before I pulled the head.. I had been servicing it since '72, so I know the mileage was accurate.. even a little low as I had replaced broken speedo cables ..he finally retired it at just under 700k .. so Lou, you have many happy miles ahead!