jefnvk

Well, my cheap bike life took a new turn, delivering me a Trek 520 for $280. As this was less than the drivetrain and wheels I was going to put on my Miyata conversion project, to effectively make it the same as this bike, and as this is a touring bike from the beginning it was really a no-brainer. I hope this is my last stop on the hunt for something that fits well, that I am not too emotionally attached to from the get-go, and is cheap enough I don't mind risking damage/loss traveling abroad.

Bike itself is a 2004 example, stock except for bars, stem, and saddle (already replaced by me). Frame, wheels, and 3x9 105/Deore LX drivetrain are in pristine condition, brakes need a bit of work, as do all the cables/pads (expected). It was a 58, on the upper end of my comfort range, but riding it a little bit this weekend I got the fit to dang near the same as my comfy Mazama. There are a couple areas that need work:

1) Handlebars are too wide at 44. If I am swapping handlebars, I really like the ones on my Novara Mazama, pictured below. Are the Salsa Cowchippers the best commercially available example of these, as the Novara ones aren't sold? Also, for those that have them, how do they actually relate size-wise to more traditional flared bars?


2) Need new V-brakes arms, levers are fine. The springs on the brakes arms themselves are fairly corroded, while they are probably fine, I'd rather not find out the hard way they weren't when they break. Are the Avid Single Digit 5s that came stock a good replacement option, or should I look elsewhere? Not too familiar with V-brakes, the only set I have on the bike I took to Iceland are generic Tektros I got dirt cheap as an OEM takeoff.

3) Crank/gearing. It currently has the stock Hollowtech 105 triple, geared at 52-42-30. Simply put, with an 11t cassette and 38mm Marathons, I don't need or want 130 gear inches, and I do need lower than the 26 or so I have. In the long run, is it better to just buy a new Deore Hollowtech 48-36-26, which gets me to a more realistic 22-119 GI, or buy three rings and swap out what is on there, to something like a 46-36-24 giving me 20-114?

4) Wanting the loops for my Carradice, I am thinking about finally trying a leather saddle. Is the premium of the Brooks really worth it over the Gyes as far as quality? Has anyone used a Gyes long term?

And, because everyone likes pictures, here she is as purchased. Seat has come way down, and been replaced with a spare Avocet Touring for now:

saddlesores

i've got the gyes GS-17 (brooks B17 clone). had it about a year, with about 5K on it now. never tried a brooks, so cannot compare. this model is 28cm long, and 18cm wide for upright riding at same height as the bars. the gyes broke in after about 500km, nice and comfy now.

looks like you get a new one on ebay for $40 plus shipping.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gyes-GS-17-...IAAOSwu0hZd6Gn

Tourist in MSN

You got a GREAT deal.

On brakes, just in case you might want fenders you should make sure you have long enough brake arms so that the cable and associated parts clear the fenders. This is not a complete list, but it is better than most.
https://www.gravelbike.com/v-brake-arm-lengths/

When you swap out the rear brake, just in case the rack interferes with the brake noodle, it is possible to buy flexible brake noodles. A little harder to find but they do exist.

Does the license plate stand for Mercury?

jefnvk

Ha, no, I just hate photos that have childish scribbly marks all over the plate to obfuscate it, so I just killed the last few numbers in a color matching fashion to make it look like its only two letters.

And good info on the brakes, there will indeed be fenders added, hadn't considered the fender aspect.

J.Higgins 

I'd go with the new rings if you want to keep it cheap, Jeff. Wolftech or Raceface?

djb

how much are rings? From the few looks Ive done over the years, it ends up being cheaper often just buying a whole crankset that comes with a bb for about 100 bucks or less.
Here in Canada the Salsa Cowbells are about 60 bucks, probably a bit less in the states, but only flare out a bit, the cowchippers are probably more expensive, but easy to find out.

On the handlebar note, dont be afraid to put on a much shorter stem, people say it makes teh steering too fast, but in my experience its not an issue, and the 520 I've ridden was a pretty slow steering bike anyway, throw on bags and a handlebar bag and it really wont be an issue. Remember on my Troll I have a 50 or 60mm stem and it not squirrely at all.

Man, you and buying bikes, sheesh....(great find though you son of a gun)

re your licence plate, dont worry, Ive already used an algorithm that has narrowed down the possibilities, in fact Im in your back yard right now typing this on my tablet, so get a beer ready please.

on a side note, I still dont see why you wouldnt just take the new red bike, but in any case, this is a bike that you could resell if you want and I think its pretty likely you wouldnt loose any money, even after changes you pay for. A touring bike in good shape around here is far and few between, and they get bought rather quickly, simply from looking at the costs of new ones, which are pretty much in the 2000 cad. range (more or less $1500, add 15% taxes, racks, bottle cages etc, and you are at 2k Canadian pretty quickly.)

fietsbob

IDK wear, just the crank is as fitted at the factory, as shipped from the crank factory..

Now You can put on the smaller one , a 24t, I expect.. mudguards, maybe a front pannier rack ..

check the rim wear, your choice of saddle pedals bars , etc..

veganbikes

If you want good V-Brakes (a wholly owned Shimano trademark) Deore or XT seems to work well. If you want the best linear pull brake, Paul Motolites would probably win hands down and would be my ultimate choice for linear pulls and what I am probably going to end up with on the Klein.

You could swap chainrings but Deore Hollowtech is a solid low cost option. I will say I still support the idea of square taper for world touring for ease of replacement but these Hollowtech II type cranks and BBs are OK in my book. Pretty easy to use and no real issues plus they could over all be lighter?

mstateglfr 

Isnt that a 5500 series 105 crank? Yellow label.
if so, pretty sure its Octalink and not hollowtech.
i would spend the $100 and get a new Deore triple plus BB. 3 new chainrings that are 130/74 with ramps will be $40-90 depending on what and where you buy. I would guess that realistically you could save $25 buying rings. Going Deore will mean new BB so thats one less component that you will potentially need to replace which is a benefit to me.
is that a 105 front derailleur? If so, not sure if it would fit the mountain crank. Pretty sure it will work, but just a heads up.

as for the handlebars- i have some cowchippers on a gravel bike- like em a lot. The design is different from Mazama, based on what i remember, but pretty similar. Origin8 Gary OS Sweep is another option thats similar to Mazama's. I have those too, but wouldnt want them on a touring bike.

MQFg0QaQPeUrOdwDgXvDpYjuU0nX5xBRi6isfpWtNbp1oKIRfORoCwLUQAvD_BwE
these have 12 degree of flare and are still pretty traditional compact drops.

https://www.competitivecyclist.com/f...RoC0IMQAvD_BwE
same here- 12 degree of flare and still compact drops.

Tourist in MSN

On the crank, if you replace, you have a ton of options. I usually put on a square taper bottom bracket and crank. There is a wide variety of options that way.

The new Gran Prix I just got is the only bike in my fleet that is not square taper, but it is the only bike in the fleet that I did not build up from parts.

3speed

jefnvk

Well, in good news, I took her out for a 10 mile ride last night. Ran good, minus really needing to sort out the handlebars and brake cables and hardware.



Ha, if you're in my back yard, you failed, I don't have one! Don't worry, if you find my place, the taps are behind the bar, should still have a sour, a bourbon porter and a red on there. Just use the dimple mugs below the bar, the ones on the shelves are just for decoration!

As far as the deal, it also came with a brand new RoadMorph G pump that I took off before taking the pic. I was going to buy another of this spring anyhow, so it is really like a $250 bike!

Few issues with taking the red bike: first, it fails the emotionally attached angle, I really don't want to lose that bike, it'd be dang hard to replace. This one is just meh to me, especially in that color, I can drop a few more bucks and buy another one at a moments notice. Secondly, and I agree this sounds silly, but the red is too "new". Wife knows it is new, it looks modern, she wants a generic new one if I take it. Even after telling her that this effectively has the same drivetrain and is modern and we'd get a her a new one if she wanted, she doesn't care. It looks like my old classic bikes, so she considers it an old bike. FWIW, I have no issue with us getting her a new bike, I just dread the buying process, because she won't make her own decisions (she bought her last bike for a tour because of the color, I only signed off on its suitability for our ride). Finally, I have as much fun buying and tinkering as I do riding

Component wear is negligible, minus the corrosion on the brake hardware. Rims look perfect. Last guy used it as a college commuter for a few years, and judging by the wear, I took that to mean it sat on a porch around his house rarely being ridden.

Yeah, I think I am just going to go new crank. I haven't ridden anything besides my Mazama and fat bike for the last half year. Took this out for 10 miles yesterday after getting a new saddle and making some adjustments, I hadn't realized realized how much more used to the wider Q-factor I had gotten. I'll probably just go for that Deore. And good to know there are no real things to think about with the brakes, probably will just go for the Deores.

What were those first bars? It just came across as a string of numbers and letters. I actually went to REI last night trying to figure out if I could order another set of Mazama handlebars through the parts department. Their main bike guy was already gone, but he is supposed to be looking into it this morning. I'll look into those other ones too.

Also, no clue on the Octalink v Hollowtech thing, just going based on the label on the crank:


Are all these bottom brackets compatible with the same threading on the frame, i.e. are they all interchangeable? Not too familiar with modern bottom brackets.

Tourist in MSN

I heard of someone losing the crank arm bolt back in the 80s, and then suddenly his crank arm fell off and was hanging from his foot from the toe clip. That was before clipless pedals existed and I only heard of that happening once. Have you heard of this happen to someone in the past couple decades?

Maybe the external bottom bracket bearings have gotten better now, but they were a common source of problems a few years ago. When I did Glacier Waterton in 2012 one of the riders had to have new external bottom bracket shipped overnight to a bike shop that we were going to be at a few days later when his bottom bracket failed. His loose wobbly crank sure looked funny when he was trying to pedal, and he had to pedal for a lot of miles to get to that bike shop.


Almost all my bikes have the standard British thread pattern, but I have one old Italian bike that has Italian thread.

Some of the British thread bottom brackets have a 73mm shell, that was more of a mountain bike standard. My expedition bike has a 73mm shell. But from what i have seen, most touring bikes stay with 68mm.

My new Gran Prix and my one year old Lynskey both have 68mm British thread bottom bracket shells. I am sure your 520 would be British thread with a 68mm shell.

When it comes to the new carbon frames, there are lots of other oddball options like press fit, etc. And I have no clue what is going on with fat bikes, they likely have some other standards too.

jefnvk

OK cool, that was mostly what I was wondering. This looks like it had a standard thread-in BB, just didn't know if the different technologies all used the same threading (or what was threaded v press fit), or if they were all special. I wouldn't object to just tossing in a UN55 and finding a suitable square taper crank, but I may just run with the Deore too since I already know it.

jefnvk

And the Gyes question is moot, didn't realize you could actually get Brooks under $90.

fietsbob

Putting out more than the minimum, the Brooks adds skirt *skivving - hand done, a bit better hide , hand set copper rivets.
*tapered edge

Octalink is a splined interface vs a square taper, un screw the crank bolts and Look.



....

mstateglfr 

https://www.rei.com/product/116187/s...RoCwLUQAvD_BwE
salsa cowbell 3. Only $40 right now at REI and in wits narrower than what your current bars are. As for REI Novara Coop branded components, I was told by REI that they are not available for individual sale. That was a couple years ago though, for what it's worth.

Marcus_Ti

Hollowtech is/was just a way of making the arms light, originally. Later it came (HT2 IIRC) to be the branding moniker for Shimano's entire external-cup-BB and arm/spindle interface system. Whereas ofc Octalink has always just been an axle interface for attaching two arms together with a sealed cart BB. Shimano did indeed make a generation of these retrospectively-bizzarro Octalink BB cranks with Hollowtech arms.

saddlesores

you can still find beautiful NOS sugino 5-arm triples that will give you suitable gearing.....something like a 24-36-46.

jefnvk

Ah, learn something new every day! I'll take it apart tomorrow, see what it looks like. As I stated, I was just going off the sticker.

That would actually be right about the gearing I want, and those old Suginos are beautiful (about the only reason I wouldn't want the Deore, its looks leave a lot to be desired). Don't tempt me

fietsbob

That 105 should be fine, 130 bolt circle , just means your middle ting is 38t or larger..

I've used a 24,40, 50 triple for decades with various (cold forged) cranks ..
13~34 t rear..

Tourist in MSN

I have a UN55 on my expedition bike. Trouble free.

I have no clue what tools would be needed to remove the bottom bracket you have on there now.

jefnvk

No clue either, but it looked fairly similar to the tool I have for the UN55. The non drive side is simply the one that can be taken off with any spanner wrench.

A sealed Shimano square taper is what came out of my 20 year old abused MTB when I rebuilt it for Iceland. I really had no need to even replace it, still smooth and acceptable. but I figured for the cost it might as well get done with everything else. Pretty much tells me all I need to know about its reliability.

djb

Id start by at least seeing how much it would cost / availability of a smaller mid ring like a 38 , and a smaller granny like a 26 or 24. Confirm the bcd for this first, do the measurement thing if not sure, look it up to see how.
My wifes entry level road bike has an octolink crank on it, I seem to remember that I had to buy a new crank puller/bolt loosener tool for it, as its a bit diff than square taper. I did that because I changed out the 30 granny to a 25 yr old 28t I had in a box, and also changed the 12-25 cassette to a 11-28, was the easiest change to slightly lower gearing without changing the rd, I think I even had the 11-27 or 28 or whatever it was, taken off another friends bike at some point, to put a 11-32 cassette on.k

If you go the oiutboard bb route, you'll have to buy the tool to remove put it on, I got a no name brand one which was maybe 15 bucks, I dont recall, but after viewing vids and reading, I was able to remove and reinstal the outboard bb on my troll properly after I stripped the frame after buying it.
Was my first time doing anything with this type of bb and I must have done it properly, as it is still turning perfectly after about 6000km or more.
It was pretty straight forward to do, I just followed instructions I found on various vids, like the Park /tools ones for example, these are ones you can trust.

But you may be able to find a good used crank like someone mentioned, and just change the crnak, still using the existing bb, but see what it is first obviously.

cyccommute 

Hollowtech refers to the method that is used to make the crank arm. It has hollow chambers on the inside. Don't know how they do it but it make the crank lighter and stiffer. For your bike, it has Octalink since that's what Shimano used on their splined version of the Hollowtech. It may be Octalink or Octalink 2, there's no way of knowing without taking them apart. The Octalink 2 has a longer spline.

The tool you need to remove the crank arm is a Park CCP-44 crank puller (does anyone else think Russian space program?). It has a larger "button" for the larger axle of the Octalink. For the bottom bracket, you need a Park BBT-22 bottom bracket tool and a large wrench.

The bottom bracket should be the standard thread that you'll find on millions of bikes...i.e. British 1.37" x 24 tpi, left cup, right hand thread, right cup left hand thread.

I'd suggest looking for a 94/58 mm BCD crank. This allows you to use a 20 too inner ring. My current bike has a Race Face Turbine with 46/34/20 chainrings and the option for either an 11-34 or 11-36. That gives me a range of 117 gear inches to either 16.5 GI or 15.6 GI. That comes in handy around the eastern US.