Just thought that I would give a final update on the project. The new bits for the project were a used Deore 9 spd RD, A Sram 951 chain and a Shimano CS-HG-61 12-39T cassette. The cassette comes as a solid block except for the 12t cog. I swapped out the 12t for a 13t cog. And that married to my Sugino XD-2 46-36-24 trekking crankset gives me 95.5 GIs at the top end and a stump pulling 18GIs at the bottom.

The SRAM 951 chain is 114 links long and was just long enough to get the job done. There is still a nice "S" bend in the chain when cross chained big ring to big cog but I wouldn't have been able to do it without adding some links if the big chain ring was any bigger. While I wouldn't normally use the big big combination, I think it important to set up the drivetrain to handle all available combinations. I've been known to make the occasional mistake.

I friction shift my touring bike. I went that route in order eliminate any compatibilty issues as I swapped out the sport touring drivetrain on my T1. The previous 10 spd cassette shifted quite well but could be very finicky when trying to lock into a gear. 10 spds really like to shift. The 9 spd seems to be a little more forgiving. Only time will tell.

That's it for now unless I decide to make the bike into a touring 2X9. Al