Drive Train Change on Touring / Commuter
 

I recently replaced the BB on my 2000 Cannondale T2000 touring bike that really is a great grocery shopper for much of my loaded riding. A week ago, the left crank bolt loosened. Today I discovered the left crank is shot at the Octolink junction. I've been wanting to update the drivetrain and perhaps, now might be a good time to do it. It's a flat bar mod with 3 x 8, friction on the front in 52-42-30 and indexing on the rear 11x32.

I've heard there are new 48/32 & 46/30 compact doubles now being made by Shimano and SRAM. What would be a good cassette combo for this setup that could also suffice for touring? Also, will this old Cdale accept a 10 spd cassette? --I think it came with a 9spd. Thanks in advance!

8/9/10-speed cassettes do interchange.
10-speed road and MTB shifters/derailers aren’t compatible.
I wouldn’t want a 2x touring bike.
You’ll lose some low-end gearing and/or have to put up with bigger gaps between gears.
You’ll lose some top end too, but I’d consider that less important. At that end, coasting is an easy option.
10-speed does seem to wear faster and go out of adjustment more often too.

If you are considering at 32-48, might as well get triple 22-32-42 or 44 and change the big ring to 48. small ring is useful even though you seldom use it.

Your 8 speed 11-32 cassette is good enough.

I have tried a few bikes with a 46-30 and even a 42-26 (it’s hilly in Seattle and I am old and feeble), but the gap between the two made choosing gears unpleasant. I much prefer to have a 38 or 39 tooth ring in between.

I haven't seen these but if it's true please link them to me, those are the cranksets i've been waiting for. I really want a 46/30 but i've only seen stupid expensive options from smaller manufacturers, or very cheap square taper stuff.

i am using a 12-34 8 speed cassette. i have had 10 speed and dont care for it. i prefer to go 8 speed friction but thats just me. for the crank, any triple can be made into your compact double if thats what your looking for. personally for touring i like to have a halfstep so i go 24-39-42. i would never need 48-11 on any bike because i am old, old, old!

back to your point, i havnt seen the cranks you mention but i did use a velo orange 46-30 that i quickly changed to 40-26. it was and is a nice crank. if i only used the bike for commuting i would have kept it that way.

My gear choices for commuting and touring will be pretty different, but that's because my commute is very flat. For commuting I can get away with a 1x9 with a tight cluster in the rear. For touring I probably would go ultra compact as mentioned or stay with the triple. Agree that a 32t cassette is probably sufficient for touring with ultra compact or triple.

With a 48/32 you would keep most of your existing gear range, just losing a bit off the top and bottom. The question before buying any parts is: do you need the 52/11 top gear, or 30/32 low gear you have now?

https://i.imgur.com/OuYvm11.png

Great diagram! Thanks. I could do without the 52/11, but, I do need the 30/32. I'm thinking of getting a 12/34 cassette and going lower than 52 & 42 on the big & middle...

Thanks, it's a screen-capture from this awesome tool: Bicycle Gear Calculator

Going smaller on the big and middle rings isn't a bad idea, but shifting may suffer if you mix make/models of chainrings and get away from the original spec. Might want to get a whole set of something like 50/40/30 or 48/38/28. :thumb:

You can get a hybrid triple (28-38-48) and just ignore the outer ring. 52 rings have been irrelevant for mortals since the arrival of 12t cogs.

I don't see any reason to switch from 8-speed if your bike already has it.

you speak the truth!

Thanks everybody! I'm going with the 28-38-48, but I'm having a bit of difficulty finding a such a crankset in Octalink V1...

you may need to change bottom bracket as well. or go hollow tech. either one would work.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SHIMANO-HON...EAAOSwnTdaSt1V

this would get you started if you bought some rings.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-85-...MAAOSw~QRaBdHZ

this one and the bottom bracket it needs would also work well i would imagine.

Thanks! I'm wondering if I should go more "modern" style or square taper. I think I may have a new one in a drawer...

actually i only have square taper stuff now. i have had hollowtech in the past and its quite nice but i have plenty of square taper so thats what i usually use. the thing is with 110/74 bolt circle you can mix and match chainrings to your hearts content. i imagine with the 4 spoke mountain bike cranks the same is true. you can spend too much money on rings of course but if you have a co-op nearby they should have plenty of rings to choose from. i also wouldnt get too hung up on the 28-38-48 combination. if you find a 26 or 36 or 46 for that matter it wont make that big of a difference. actually 26-36-46 is what a lot of suginos came with i think.

anyway, hang in there. you'll have it running in no time!

Thanks lots! I ended up grabbing the crankset from my 1980s Mongoose Iboc pro, a Deore Xt sq taper, 46-36-26 and you're right, it works just fine for what I deal with. The arms are 170mm, however and I just need to get some 175s in 110/74. You're also right about the ring swapping--I'm gonna dial it right in!