I'm looking for a bike that will do everything pretty darned well. and most of all it should just be fun. not neccessarily the best at anything, but fun to go everywhere on. I love the feel and control of hydraulic disc brakes... I come from a motorcycle racing background so the feel of discs is intuitive for me. I have some questions and hope people can give me some suggestions! My main choice right now is the salsa la cruz disc.
I'm not a super rich ****** so i've got a budget of about $2k. Actually i'm a poor ass kid, but I sold my car and motorcycle and everything i don't need and I plan on traveling the world/country by bicycle volunteering on organic farms (
www.wwoof.com &
www.organicvolunteers.org) as I go. I'm actually in Japan right now working on a farm near the ocean, wishing I had my bicycle! The "mama cherry" heavy ass single speeds that the farm lets me borrow suuuck. So yeah. This will hopefully be the last bike I buy for a long time and should be bullet proof enough to not break down on the back roads of a country in which I don't speak the language.
My current tourer is a custom '77 scwinn SLT 12.2 with triple chain ring and 13-32 8-speed casette which I love but I can't fit very big tires and I've already ran into problems getting parts quickly for such an old bike. I took this bike on an 850 mile tour and the seat was my only real complaint. My lowest gear is something like 28 front & 32 rear, and I do find myself using that gear often, especially going up hills fully loaded. My highest gear is 48 front and 13 rear and I pretty much never use this gear, going down a steep ass hill trying to break my top speed record is the only time I get a chance to use that gear. Loaded or unloaded I'm almost always using my middle chain ring which is 36 or 38, shifting down to the smaller 28 chain ring for Colorado hills. In other words, i'm not a racer, and If I was I wouldn't be racing on a touring bike. I hope this gives you a decent idea of what kind of a rider I am.
Here are the specs on the salsa la cruz complete:
http://www.salsacycles.com/laCruzComp08.html
12-25 casette, 39/48 double chain ring... everything else looks pretty awesome.
It comes with 29'er mtn bike rims, which apparently fit 700c tires? I'm a little confused about this as I though my old 27" schwinn rims were BIGGER than my 700c's? I guess 29er = outside diameter of tire? not the rim? could I run 700c x 25c road tires If i was so inclined, or would the rims be too fat since they're designed for mtn bikes?
105 gear is good from what I hear. Am I going to need new derailleurs if I run a triple chain ring on the front?
Would you all suggest I just buy the frame and get the components piece by piece? I don't have time to sit on ebay & craigslist for months trying to win auctions to save money... So will I save money buying the complete setup and just swapping out gears? will a double chain ring set up be OK if i get a cassette with taller gears? 10-speed cassette makes it a 20 speed w/ a double. My current schwinn setup is only a 24 speed with a triple & 8-sp cassette, so It doesn't seem like a huge difference, but my understanding of gearing is lacking.
Eggbeater pedals seem to be great from what I hear. I've never had major problems with my shimano SPD setup. I've never ever got stuck in my pedals and fallen over (knock on wood.) I do sometimes have a heard time clicking in, especially if i've been walking in fine gravel and walking around going click clack is pretty annoying and on my last tour I would have to stop and clean my cleats and pedals if I got into some gritty mud (one time i did when the pavement unexpectedly ended.) I use shimano MTB shoes because they look like normal shoes and were cheap. I'm guessing these aren't gonna work with eggbeaters. So, pedal shoe tips & suggestions?
Oh and I will be using this bike unloaded most of the time since it will be my only ride. Tire suggestions??? size and brand? mostly road I'm guessing, but should be capable off road as well. No plans to be riding in deep mud or racing cyclocross. I love my armadillos on my schwinn tourer as I've never gotten a flat! and they seem to last forever. I'm guessing tires with tread are going to wear faster, and that's quite alright.
Sorry I have so many questions! I would love to search and search and research this setup myself but I work in a rice feild every day for 6 hours and spend the rest of my time meeting people, sightseeing, practicing my Japanese and learning learning learning about agriculture and sustainable living. I hope someone can help me out! I can tell you where all the cool farms and communities are in Japan!
Oh, and if there is some other frame i've overlooked that fits my budget and desire for disc brakes let me know! is installing drop bars on a 29'er mtn bike a possibility? (is that basically what this la cruz is? or much different geometry?) And i'll be installing a brooks saddle of course!
Domo Arigato Gozaimasu! Mata ne!!!!