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changing my cross-check yet again...

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changing my cross-check yet again...

Old 07-07-09, 08:36 PM
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changing my cross-check yet again...

My Cross-Check has been through so many incarnations, first as single speed then fixed with risers, and now (since last summer) geared with Biomax bars, Deore rear derailleur, Suntour front derailleur, and bar end shifters. Since I moved a month ago I've been doing a lot of commuting on it and am wanting to put the risers (Salsa moto-ace) back on, probably with some Deore shifters. My other two bikes have drops and bullhorns, and I'm finding I want one bike around with a more upright position.

So... I'm just soliciting opinions about a few things:
-risers with Tektro brake levers and Deore or Deore LX shifters (apparently they don't make 9 speed MTB STIs for canti setups, which is fine with me as I have brake levers and just buying shifters is cheaper)
-putting my 42cm Biomax bars on my road bike (Cannondale CAAD 8). My road bike has 40cm FSA drops, which are fine, but I like the shorter reach and shallow drop of the Biomax. Is putting cyclocross bars on a road bike weird? Would I notice the difference between 40cm and 42cm bars?

Whatever I do I'll probably get stuck paying my lbs to install the parts, as I've never worked on shifters/derailleurs myself. :-/
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Old 07-07-09, 09:23 PM
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hmm.. why not go with some moustache type handlebars with your barcon shifters and cylocross inline crosstop levers (this is what i'm thinking of doing on one of my builds). Crosstops have the same pull that can accomodate calipers and cantilevers.

Derailleurs are actaully really easy to adjust. Go to parktool.com and go to their repair/help section. All it is is two screws one for high and one for low. Tension on the cable and adjust with the barrel.

btw.. PM me if you are after crosstop levers. I have an extra set that i'm taking off of my cx bike.
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Old 07-07-09, 09:39 PM
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Crosschecks can be set up in more ways than most other bikes. Mine looks sort of like an old style English touring bike. It has upright 54 cm wide Albatross bars and an internal Nexus 8 rear hub with an Alfine trigger shifter. It has a Brooks B68 saddle and MKS "grip king" platform pedals. But it's a great bike for all sorts of riding besides commuting and errands. It's so comfortable to ride that yesterday after a 51 mile trip out to to Pacific Coast highway past Laguna Beach to Dana Point and back home, I was still feeling great. Comfort trumps ultra light in my book.
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Old 07-07-09, 10:01 PM
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Originally Posted by zephyr
Comfort trumps ultra light in my book.
I hear ya.. i just put my cannondale caad up for sale and putting the parts on my 80s 531 raleigh...
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Old 07-07-09, 10:06 PM
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Hmm I've never thought of moustache bars with barcons... not a bad idea, but I think I want to stick with the risers because I've have them on the bike before and I know I like them, and I want shifters right up on the bar, not on the bar ends.

And one of the reasons I wanted a xcheck in the first place was because of its versatility. I didn't think I'd be changing so much of it so soon, but I guess that's what cool about it. This past month I put a rack on it and got cool axiom panniers, and changed out the Terry Butterfly saddle I had on it for a narrower Specialized Windie.
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Old 07-07-09, 10:09 PM
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It sounds like you need a second crosscheck frame.
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Old 07-07-09, 10:30 PM
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I think you should put the Biomax bars up for trade in the trade thread. I've been wanting to try a set of those. Otherwise, I can't imagine a reason that you couldn't use them on a road bike.

I've got 38mm bars on my fixie and 42's on my cross bike, and the fixie kind of feels like I'm trying to steer a clown bike when I first get on it. I would think you'd feel some difference between in width 40 and 42.

You should try doing the work yourself. It's really not that hard. The hardest part is adjusting the front derailleur. If you have trouble with it, you can always take it to the LBS and pay them to show you what you did wrong.
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Old 07-11-09, 04:18 PM
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Originally Posted by Cynikal
It sounds like you need a second crosscheck frame.
I'm trying to stave off getting a third frame
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Old 07-14-09, 09:19 PM
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a second xcheck frame...how wonderful. but I should build a mtb next...

meanwhile, I love the biomax bars, they are not going anywhere. sorry Andy.

and one of my Crank Bros Candy C's is dying... a dude at a shop today recommended I switch to Times, but they don't come in yellow
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Old 07-14-09, 10:04 PM
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Originally Posted by geoGraphicFTD
and one of my Crank Bros Candy C's is dying... a dude at a shop today recommended I switch to Times, but they don't come in yellow
Dying how? Have you tried the rebuild kit?

I've got Crank Brothers pedals on all my bikes, including yellow Candy on my cross bike. The only ones I've had problems with so far are a pair of Smartys (which, it seems, can't be rebuilt). When they failed, I found a pair of Egg Beaters on AEBike's daily deal for $24, about the cost of replacement cleats, so I haven't tried a rebuild yet. Of course, the yellow Candy is going away (already discontinued, if I'm not mistaken), so you may need to think about it someday.
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Old 07-15-09, 08:52 AM
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I don't know if the rebuild kit will work...
For the past week I've been thinking "ahhh why won't my left foot clip in?!" and thought it had something to do with my cleat or my shoes. Yesterday I finally looked at the pedal, and what's happening is hard to explain...

The platform and the inner spindle that you clip in to are supposed to rotate independently, but now they're not doing that. The clip part is stuck. I took it to a shop I was near when I realized what the problem was, and they tried to clean it and oil it, which helped a tiny bit, but what's happening is the four clip in bars are kind of moving when they shouldn't be. i.e., they should be fixed, but when I go to clip in I line up the front of my cleat with the front bar and push down to clip into the back bar, but instead of clipping in the back bar gets pushed down to the point that the two bars are too wide apart to clip into. Does that make sense? I can push the bars back into position with my hands, but they don't stay there after I clip in once or twice. So the bars are kind of moving on the spindle when they shouldn't be.

I hope that makes sense... do you think it's a problem the rebuild kit would fix? or are the clip in bars permanently damaged?
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Old 07-15-09, 10:00 AM
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Originally Posted by geoGraphicFTD
I hope that makes sense... do you think it's a problem the rebuild kit would fix? or are the clip in bars permanently damaged?
I don't think so. The rebuild kit seems to be intended to restoring smooth rotation of the pedals, rather than effecting the clipping mechanism, but it may be that just disassembling the pedal and regreasing it would fix the problem. Maybe not, but it's worth a shot.
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