This is the first time I have seen a ten year old thread resurrected by the original poster.
Four years ago, above I made this comment:
Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
Another six year old thread resurrected.
My thoughts on your comments:
1 - Front rack, the Ergo was slightly more adjustable for angle than the Tara. My 2004 LHT is long gone (frame was defective, put it in the recycle bin), but I kept the fork (which I sprayed black) which is now on my Lynskey. I have run a Tara on that fork on the Lynskey without any problem. If my 2004 fork has the same dimensions as your newer one, the Tara should work fine. Mine is a 700c, not 26, I assume yours also is 700c. See note below on maybe needing spacers.
2 - For rim brakes, I prefer Koolstop Salmon pads. They are a bit softer, work better in rain and are easier on rims.
4 - I think that the chain companies have added a few more links in their chains. When I built up my LHT in 2004, it was too short too. But since then I have not had any problems with chains being too short. As cassettes started to get bigger, I think the manufacturers realized that a few more links were needed.
5 - Those likely are cup and cone bubs. Exploded diagrams should be available on Shimano website, you would need the specific model number but you really do not need the exploded diagrams if you have done this before. My XT hubs are the older steel axle ones, yours might be the newer aluminum axle version and I do not know if the cone wrench sizes are different. When I look inside my hubs, if the ball bearings are shiny, I just add grease and close it up again, hopefully you are equally lucky. I have always pulled the cassette off before I did that, not sure if that is a requirement or not, but if you have the tools for that, that probably is a good idea.
I think I used some spacers on my Tara where it is attached to the dropouts, two photos attached:
