bradtx

Hi All,

I'm 'semi finished' with my first touring bike, a '95 Cannondale T700 (It's a runner, but with room for improvement.) and looking for a critique and advice from y'all. Pictures in a couple of days if anyone is interested.

Major parts:
-Wheelset is a Shimano M430 hubset, Sun CR18 rims built with 14 ga. spokes bought from Harris Cyclery.
-11-30 8S cassette from the parts bin.
-Ultegra bar end shifters from the parts bin.
-Sugino/CODA OEM 22-32-44 crankset that I think is OEM.
-Forte Gotham 35C tires (came w/bike).
-Flat resistant tubes (very heavy).
-42 cm CODA drop bar from the parts bin.
-CODA 700 saddle from the parts bin.
-DiaCompe aero brake levers that I think are OEM.
-STX RD.
-Accera FD.
-Accera cantis.

I have a couple of rear racks in the parts bin, an Old Man Mountain from my Santana and a light duty Blackburn, I'm leaning towards using the OMM, but need to modify the brackets to the canti's studs (the V-Brake bridge interferes with the cantis). The brake performance is less than stellar, and the only glaring issue at the moment. Problem looks to be the lever's pull ratio so I'll likely replace with a set Tektro BL520 levers. I plan on replacing the crankset with a SunTour X1 w/28-38-48 chainrings once I determine proper BB axle width.

Brad

LeeG

excellent, great to have a parts bin. I'd be inclined to trade the heavy tubes and tires unless you've got some specific issues requiring extreme puncture resistance. Switching to adequate puncture resistant tires and regular tubes will take off 1 1/2lbs of rotating weight.

nameless

Good work sourcing 'parts bin' components. I agree with LeeG on trading the heavy tubes and tires. With a moderately decent puncture resistant tire and good riding habits you'll be fine.

Also, depending on your route and the weight of your gear, and riding style, the 28-30 small gear you'll end up with running the SunTour chainrings might not be small enough. I'm thinking back to a long climb into a crusher headwind at the end of an 85-mile day in 100 degree heat; a 22-32/34 comes in handy now and again.

staehpj1

+1 In fact I have actually found that flat proof tubes don't even fair substantially better than thinner tubes. Then there is the weight and bulk of the spare tubes...

Personally I go to the other extreme and use lightweight tubes that are sized a bit small for the tire I am using.

In my MTB racing days I used lightweight latex tubes and found they rode nicer, were lighter and flatted less. I would probably use thin latex tubes on my touring bike if they were cheaper and more readily available. They do have the disadvantage of losing air faster and thus requiring daily topping off.

And then there are slime tubes. They are heavier yet and messy when they leak. They do delay flats a bit but they still flat, it just takes longer. They were one thing I experimented with and was happy to abandon.

Most places I have toured I'd want lower gearing.

fietsbob

I rode from Dublin Eire, to Aberdeen Scotland , via the west coasts of both..
with out a puncture , on thorn-resistant tubes ..

range 18 - 95 gear - inch is a good range..

Kool stop Salmon compound pads are always a good idea.

escii_35

I was all ready to post then seeing the end comments... I'm posting anyways

At least for me, the 32 in the middle would cause a lot of front ring shifting when not -fully- loaded. I switched my 94/95 t-series from stock 48-38-28 to 48-36-24. (Would rather have a 46 as the big.)

Ditch those breaks post haste if they are orig from 95.

geeza

As a fellow Cannondale touring bike owner, I, for one, would like to see pictures.

NoReg

I also know the gearing doesn't seem low enough to me.

"I rode from Dublin Eire, to Aberdeen Scotland , via the west coasts of both..
with out a puncture , on thorn-resistant tubes .."

I used to live in Dublin, but these days with the tires we have I wouldn't really expect a flat on a trip of that length anyway. I'm also a believer in light tires and tubes, though I don't doubt there are some kind of conditions that would change my mind quickly enough. I don't mind patching tubes anyway. I don't want to have to do it a lot, but I wouldn't change anything to get rid of the flat tire per 2000 miles I currently average.

How do you get to Scotland via the west coast of Ireland, where does the ferry leave from?

bradtx

Thanks for the remarks. I don't know why I bought those tubes, I guess I felt like I should even though I've never had much of a problem with flatting. I think the ideal tire size would be smaller, not sure what size yet. Those tubes and tires will be around for awhile so there's plenty of time for better choices. I'll pick up a set of Tektros, thanks.

It's pretty flat around here, tho' wind can be a problem sometimes and I doubt I'll have more than thirty lbs. in the panniers and rack bag so the X1 crankset should be fine, but heeding y'all's advice, I will find a smaller inner chainring as I will be in the Texas Hillcountry now and then.

I'll try to get some pics up tomorrow. Thanks again.

Brad

fuzz2050

I'd get better brakes before anything else. Those Acera cantilevers are just barely adequate in my mind, and a nice set of Tektro CR 720s is cheap.

LeeG

tire size is pretty much related to load and road. When I was 145lbs riding 26lbs of bike and 20lbs of gear 28mm tires were fine. Later at 180lbs 30lbs of bike and 25lbs of gear 32mm-35mm is comfy. Now I'm a fat ass weighing 220lbs riding a 30lb bike and 20-30lbs of gear and 35mm are fine. On my heavy load carrying LHT used for around town groceries and the after the Apocalypse ride 1.75" (50mm?) are great for carrying 75lbs of stuff and all kinds of roads. There isn't an ideal size as much as a range and specific tire that works well in that range. Personally I'd rather ride a 400gram 35mm tire than a 700gram 32mm tire.

BigBlueToe

I'm one more who doesn't like heavy tubes. I've had good luck with my Schwalbe Marathon tires (700x32). They roll nicely and I haven't had a flat in three years. I used to use Specialized Armadillos. They were good and I didn't get many flats, but I think the Schwalbes are nicer.

bradtx

Here she is:



Thanks again for all of the constructive advice.

Brad

PS The Old Man Mountain didn't work by modifying the brackets so I'll do a little clearancing work on the Blackburn rack's bracket (to clear the welds on the brake cable hanger bridge).

Philly Tandem

I don't see a huge problem with the Acera brakes. Sure, not high-end, but functionally not a whole lot different from most cantis of the era. When set up correctly, they should stop just fine. (Sheldon Brown has the most advance treatise out there on correctly setting up cantis.) Do they really not stop well, or do they just "feel" mushy? If the latter, it might be the angle of your straddle cable. From your pics they look to have a shallow angle, which often makes brakes feel mushy at the lever, even though they are stopping just fine.

You lever cable pull should also be fine for those, unless you have a set that are made for "v" brakes, like the Dia Compe 287V levers.

I totally agree about the Kool Stop Salmon-colored pads. Instant upgrade to ANY brake setup that uses pads.

If you want to stay with cantis and not mess around with Travel Agents or other adapters, Avid Shorty brakes work really well in my experience. I've used them to good effect on my C'dale touring bike and my Santana tandem (stopping a lot of weight). Very easy to adjust, too. The older versions work fine, but the newer models are even better.

truman

I tried the Avid Shorties off of my own tandem on my T1000 tourer. I liked the braking very much - way better and quieter than the canti's - but the linear-pull cable impinged on one fender, so I went back to the old canti's.

If fenders weren't an issue, I'd have left them on.

fietsbob

see no mudguards or racks .. my favorites Bruce Gordon and Tubus for racks .. Steel tube.

Esge Chromoplast Mudguards work for me.

bradtx

briwassen, I used Sheldon Brown's tutorial to adjust the brakes, which helped from their 'new to me' set-up, but still not quite what I expected from the braking performance of my old, long gone mountain bikes. The Kool Stops are absolutely going to be installed first no matter what other changes may/may not be made to the braking system. I have a set of Avid 1.0 direct pull brakes in the parts bin along with a set of travel agents that are a last resort. I also agree with you about the 'lowly' Acera cantis, they are fine brakes.

truman, I like the Avid Shortys also, if for nothing else they look great. Like my road bikes, this bike is likely to never be officially finished.

Again thanks for everyone's assistance. I've built many road bikes, my favorites multiple times, and while much is the same there are some subtle differences that are best pointed out by the experianced.

Brad

PS fietsbob, I have a set of SXS(?) plastic mudguards in the parts bin that can go on when needed, looking for some bushings now for the Blackburn rack, rather than make another non-reversable modification.

LeeG

BradTx, that looks perfect. fyi, you can route bar end housing up along the underside of the bars and have it exit 3" from the stem then down to the down tube stops. I haven't had any shifting problems and it makes the bike look neater. Just make sure to have the right length so it can't pull out when the bars go to extremes.

fietsbob

People have used the advantage of under the BB cable routings to hook up the left shift cable to the right adjuster on the frame , and the right to the left one, then cross them back over , under the down tube.

There is a little more flexibility with a bit longer shift housing that way..

bradtx

LeeG and fietsbob, I considered that style of routing, but as you may've already guessed, I didn't have enough of the SIS compressionless shifter housing in my parts bin.

Brad

Grim

Looks really good!
I like that brake cable bracket you went with. I may change mine up with that.

bradtx

Thanks, Grim. Seems the old CODA stuff I had on hand has found a good home, at last! Let me know if you go with that bracket, I have an extra 2 mm spacer should you need it (3 mm is better, tho').

Brad