When you've mastered the hills of Texas, go west, young man. There's a hill in Los Angeles that will test anyone's gearing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgIL6eHHgZU

:bike2:I'm not sure I could go that slow and not fall over. :bike2:

I agree with that but don't take it as a Bible.

Sheldon is dead and he can't update his website. Even when he was still alive he admitted that he had so many pages that he couldn't keep them all updated. Much of his information is timeless. Some of it is accurate so long as you are working with vintage bike parts. Some of it is gradually becoming obsolete.

I agree. It's the Internet, after all. You know how reliable that ith...

crusintx: I've enjoyed reading your posts here. It sounds like you've been learning a lot about parts, mechanics, and all sorts of things, enjoying the journey and enjoying the results. Thanks for all of the updates as you worked through this. It was interesting reading. Keep asking questions, learning, riding, buying tools and fixing things. It's all great fun.

yeah, this was a very good learning experience for me. I really appreciate everyone who chimed in to help, even if I didn't always understand the jargon, I eventually figured it out (with the help of Sheldon Brown's website).

Something else I figured out during the course of all this that I thought I should share is a way to store multiple bikes in very little space. This rack is on castors, takes up only 3' x 12' and it could be adapted to hold even more for those obsessed with owning a whole herd of em. :D

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=189868

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=189869

I would try a 28 small ring, the greater the difference in ring sizes the greater the chances of having shifting problems. It should be relatively easy to replace the 30 with a 28, you won't even need to break the chain.

appreciate the input, but this project was completed and the bike made it home from the bike shop on 01/29, ready to roll.

one step further
 

I'd like to thank everyone for their input so far in this saga. I have been logging up some decent mileage since getting the new chainring, rear cluster, etc. Now, after tackling these hills for the summer and getting a good feel for the current gearing, I am going to also swap out the middle ring. I have paid pretty close attention to my shifting habits over the summer and have just ordered a 41T middle ring to replace the OEM 42. I am hoping to accomplish two things with this mod. One, is to give a bit tighter range in the low end when climbing hills (and I have done some caculating to confirm before ordering parts). and two, is to hopefully get a bit smoother shifting from the granny ring up to the slightly smaller middle ring. The OEM middle ring is showing signs of pretty good wear from the chattering I get during up-shifts so it is probably time for a new one anyway. That makes me think this is the opportune time to try something different.

My questions now involve what tools do I need to do this work as well as some basic tune-up & over haul work on some of the other bikes? Is there a place to find out what sizes my components are and what size tools will work on them? For instance, the lockring tool, crank extractor, etc. Do those come in various sizes to fit different models and brands of bikes? I'm ready to jump in and start doing my own maintenance on a more serious level but would like to go into buying the proper tools with some good knowledge. (side note: I already have a very large selection of hand tools in both SAE and metric from doing my own motorcycle and car maint. so, bicycle specific tools are going to be all I need at this point.)

That said; give me your thoughts; I need to learn.

edit: just to save any potential advice givers the trouble of reading back, my primary work for now is going to be on the Felt F80 mentioned at the beginning of this thread and secondary efforts will be on the old Trek 730 hybrid. So, I guess the tools I need should focus around those two bikes.

seriously? 48 hours with no reply on a tool question. I figured you guys would be all over this one like ugly on an ape. Now, I'm even more confused than if I had gotten 50 replies with 50 different suggestions. :trainwreck:

Don't bother with the 41. The change is going to be about half of the negligible difference between a 25 and 26 cog.

You might try a 39 (common) or 38 (less common) where 39x25 is like 42x27 and 38x25 nearly 42x28. You'd need a different crankset with a 110mm bolt circle diameter to run something smaller than that.

The 41 (and 38) may actually shift worse since it's not going to be made by Shimano or Campagnolo which do a very good job with pins and ramps on their chain rings which help lift the chain up onto the next larger ring.

It's probably chain wear with chains getting more flexible as they wear so they don't shift as well. Rings are good for a very long time (20,000 miles isn't out of the question) and while the wear on black anodized chain rings looks bad it's not affecting shift performance.

Yes.

Yea, funny thing you ask a question about bike mechanics,
to bike mechanics,
and they answer in the language commonly used by..
bike mechanics. go figger.. :bang:

:roflmao::roflmao:

+1

You will absolutely not notice a difference in gearing between a 42T and 41T ring. If you need to change a ring, you will need an Allen wrench, and a the appropriate crank puller if you're changing the granny ring on a triple. There are different types, so the best thing to do is bring your bike to your LBS and have them sell you the correct tool.

"It's not shifting as well anymore." Have you checked your front derailer adjustment? They can be finicky, and if something has gone out of whack you will notice it. It's definitely not chainring wear, unless you've damaged something or managed to put a LOT of miles on this bike.

Some of the FSA cranks have Torx bolts on the chain rings.

Some cranks are self-extracting. Regardless you want to look up the torque spec and use it on re-installation because a loose crank arm often leads to replacement when the movement damages its soft aluminum.

This has been a very interesting thread to follow. I found the thread - and this forum - in a websearch for info on swapping out a granny ring on a Shimano 105. To my delight, more questions than I could possibly think of were answered right here. The collective knowledge among you guys is absolutely amazing!! I'm a great grandfather, and discovered on the last Hilly Hundred (I ride with my son and granddaughter) that I need a slightly smaller gear to make up for my waning strength. And now I have a real good idea about just how to make the swap. I'm looking at a TA Zelito ring - has anyone used one of TA's products on a Shimano crank??

greetings fellow grandfather with waning strength. Despite what others (probably young and strong folks) say about 1 tooth not making a difference; the 41-T did indeed make a big difference for my old weak legs. I have now taken this gearing modification to yet another level by swapping out the 12-26 rear cluster in order to have closer gear spacing more suited to my abilities and the hills I have to tackle on every ride. I got a rear cluster from Universal Cycles that is a 12-27 with the first 8 (largest to smallest) being spaced out by 2 instead of the standard 3T from the largest to the next smallest. The gearing I now have on the rear is 27-25-23-21-19-17-15-13-12. Combined with the two new front rings in the past year, I am now very happy with the way my F-80 shifts and performs.

TA makes good chainrings and their 74 mm BCD rings will work fine on a Shimano crank. Actually granny rings don't have the ramps and shaped teeth shifting aids that the larger rings do so any maker's rings work about the same.

Thanks for the info, guys. I didn't think about a granny ring not needing ramps - but now that you point it out, you can't shift 'up' to the inner ring, so there's no need for ramps. I think I'll try one of the TA rings and see what happens. I'll wait for awhile on swapping the rear cassette, though - one move at a time. I'll browse Universal to see what's available in the meantime. Thanks again.