Originally Posted by
nauboone
Tabor, did you include the Salsa bash guard to avoid chain drop or just to put something in the place of the missing chainring? Or both? The Salsa bash guard sure looks cool.
Also Tabor, which XT rear derailer did you decide to use? I read on Sheldon Brown webpage somewhere that a low-normal would work better with a bar end shifter, which is what I want to use. I dont understand why it would matter, though.
Is it your Surly Pacer that's set up as a 1x9? If so, that's good new for me, since my chainstay will be 1.5 cm longer, which should reduce the cross chaining problem just ever so slightly.
So I can buy everything, including whatever crank I want, except for the bottom bracket. And then adjust the chainline as close as possible with the bottom bracket with the correct spindle length. Is this correct?
Your guess is correct. I mainly got the Salsa crossing guard to replace the outside chainring. This let me use the crank I had in the way it was designed to be used. I am sure you could work something else out, I am just short on free time. Running a single speed crank without a crossing guard would reduce rotating mass. Just be careful you don't get a track crank with a 144mm BCD, because that wouldn't let you run a ring smaller than 45t. Be warned you MIGHT have trouble with chain drop without the crossing guard... but I don't *think* you will... but my advice is worth what you paid for it
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I got the low normal, but mainly because I found one on clearance. I run one downtube shifter, FWIW. I can't complain about the low normal RD, I actually find the construction to be superior to the Ultegra derailer it replaced.
My Surly Pacer is my only bike right now. It is 1x9 and I am loving it. It used to be 3x9 with Ultegra brifters and I PREFER 1x9 with a downtube shifter. You can fine tune your front chain ring choice so that most of the time you are running a pretty straight chain line. But really, when I ran 3x9 I never worried about my chainline when I was on the middle ring.
Just to give you an idea, these are the gears I have. I run 700x28c:
94.9 - There is one hill I know of where I could theoretically spin this out... but I haven't been down that hill since I changed up my drivetrain. But at 120rpm I would be going north of 36mph, so who cares?
80.3 - very infrequent use
69.6 - The is the tallest gear I normally use. I use it at least once every day.
61.4 - This gear too I use frequently, I cruise in this gear a lot of the time.
52.2 - This is my default gear, the gear I am in when cruising through my neighborhood or coming to a stop light.
45.4 - I use this gear frequently up hills.
40.1 - very infrequent use
34.8 - very infrequent use
30.7 - This is my bailout gear. I use it to get up a hill on my way home from work. I also have it there for when I am towing my trailer.
I don't see why you couldn't buy all your parts except the BB, but I am not a professional bike mechanic.
EDIT - PS- I spin like a mofo.