nathand

No reason to replace the front wheel if only the rear is damaged, unless you're really concerned about the weight (it's probably not a huge difference) or you like your wheels to match.

Another wheelset maybe worth looking at is the Easton EA70AX. I have no experience with those wheels, but the older Easton wheels on my road bike have been reliable. I've seen EA70AX wheelsets on Craigslist locally, lightly used, at reasonable prices (sometimes as a take-off from a new bike, they're the stock wheelset for the Cervelo Aspero and maybe others) and I keep thinking about buying them for my Renegade.

Oso Polar

Stock wheelset is > 2.1 kg.

dwmckee

The GRX wheelset is exceptional for the price. Wheels tend to be grouped around $400 - $450, $800 - $900, $1200 - $1300 so not many choices around $600. The $400 bracket has great choices though with the Shimanos, Eastons and the FSA gravel set all arond that price. Be sure the front axle diameter matches what you need when you order. Some of the Hunt wheels are in this price range as well, and LOOK the nicest but are not as well made as the other choices I mentioned.

ReverendWrong

Headset for a 2017 Renegade Elite carbon?
Anyone replaced theirs? The bottom bearing on mine is toast - reached out to Jamis who gave me the following info:

The SHIS dimensions for the 2017 Renegade Elite headset are IS42/28.6 upper and IS52/40 lower. That should be all you need to track down replacements.


Ordered a Hellbender 70 from Cane Creek based on those specs (IS42/28.6 | IS52/40-H1), but the bottom bearing doesn't seem to have the same angle and does not fit quite right. Can anyone confirm if I ordered the wrong part? This is my first time replacing a headset. Any suggestions for an alternative to the original Ritchey headset?

nathand

Note - the following answer is based on general information about headsets, not specific to a Renegade.
Which part doesn't fit right - does the bearing not seat in the headtube correctly, or does the fork not sit against the bearing correctly? If the latter, you probably need to replace the crown race to match the new headset. The crown race is a thin washer, shaped to match the bearing, that sits at the bottom of the steerer tube where it meets the fork crown. I'd get a shop to replace it, especially on a full-carbon fork - shouldn't take them long. A shop will have the right tool to remove the old one and bang the new one into place without damaging the fork.

Mr_Pacman

Well, my 2017 Renegade Exile is still going strong 8,500 km's of riding. When I purchased this bike, I made the commitment to ride it to work as often as I could, along with with riding it on the weekends with the family during the summer. I was in my early 40's when I purchased it and wasn't sure if it was the right style bike for me, but I'm glad I went with it. It's comfortable, durable and very versatile. Most of my riding is on the pavement with a few stretches of tightly packed gravel but it's done well.

My only regret is putting on a set of 700x38C Schwalbe G-One Speed TL Easy Evolution tires. The original Clement tires were very easy for me to take off and put back on to repair a flat.

These Schwalbe tires were so hard to get on, my wife and I had to do it together. I wasn't sure what I would do if I got a flat while riding and that ended up happening. I couldn't get the tire back on and had to walk the 7km home. The fellow at the store even commented that they were difficult to get back on.

So, my question to the group here is, what tire are you using that is easy to get on and off the rim without needing two people to do it? Do the Panaracer gravel kings go on easily? I suspect it has to do with the bead in the tire? I run tubes and have no desire to go tubless if that makes a difference.

thanks
james

mstateglfr 

Unfortunately, there is no universally easy or difficult tire to mount. It totally depends on the tire and wheel/rim combination.
Some find GravelKing tires easy while others curse them. You see it play out of forums- someone comments on how difficult a tire is and someone else comments that the same tire and size was so loose it damn near fell off.

I have GK tires in 43mm SS, 32mm Slick, and 28mm Slick. The 43mm SS and 32mm Slick were both easy to get onto the rims. The 28mm Slicks were a bear. They are on 3 different wheelsets.
Its a relative crapshoot.

nathand

I'm likewise running tubes on my 2018 Renegade Exploit. I haven't checked the specs but I expect I've got different rims than you. I've run the stock Clement 36mm MSO's (but I found them too buzzy, I think because they're the low-TPI OEM version and not as flexible), the 40mm version of those tires, 32mm Continental GP5000s, and 32mm Ritchey Speedmax (one with a wire bead, one with a kevlar bead). Of those I've found the Speedmax the easiest to remove. I've been able to get all of them off on my own, some required more effort than others - the Continentals were pretty stubborn although they're also the only ones other than the stock tires that I bought new, so maybe the others were already broken in a bit.
I have a second set of wheels that one day I'll set up, the plan was to have a set for road and a set for gravel but then I built up/acquired two dedicated road bikes so I lost any urgency on that; I'll be interested to see if the same tires are easier or more difficult on different rims.

Mr_Pacman

I just checked the Jamis PDF specs on your bike and it appears that we have the same rims. The WTB i23 STS. I'm at a point where I would consider getting another set of the Clement 36mm MSO's as they were very easy for me to remove although I also wasn't fond of the buzzing on the pavement which is mainly the type of riding I do.

I might take a flyer on a set of Gravel King SS in a 38mm and see how they do. I can't see them being any worse than the Schwalbe I've got on there right now.

How did the 40mm tires do for clearance on your frame? I don't run fenders and interested if I can go a bit wider than 38mm.

Mr_Pacman

I might take a shot at some GK in 38mm or maybe wider if I can fit them on. They can't be worse than my Schwalbe.

nathand

I have no issues with the 40mm MSOs, plenty of clearance. There is a noticeable difference in bike height versus the 32mm tires, though.

The stock MSO tires are 30 TPI which are an inexpensive, OEM-only version. I have the 40mm in the standard 60 TPI; more threads means the tire is more supple and they've been fine for most riding, I don't notice the buzz even on the road. Of the tires I've tried, the 32mm Speedmax are my favorite, they have a fairly smooth center with knobs on the edges which works well for most of my riding. However, I got a couple of pinch flats on a ride a few weeks back while heading down a rocky fire road at speed, and I never had that problem on the same trail with the 40mm MSOs, so I'll probably switch back go to those until they're worn, and then maybe try the Speedmax in a wider size.

braveulysses

i have a set of portland design works 700c x 55mm fenders on my renegade and they work well but they're just a tiny bit too wide for the front fork and will have a little bit of contact with the fork. i could probably trim them or bend them slightly at the contact area but i just let it rub and dont really worry about it.

since my 700c wheels are too large in diameter i use 650b wheels for the winter and i have tons of clearance, but i'm also on a 61 frame

Darylb23

I recently bought a Renegade C2. I tried a handful of other bike, just short test rides mind you, but found the ride noticeably better so I went for it. I was between sizes but went with the 58 over the 56 to get the front end up. I don’t love that I really don’t have any stand over but I’ll have to live with it. I’m deep in my 50’s and don’t need a bunch of drop.

Im really impressed with the ride and hoping my journey back into cycling takes me many miles. Happy to be a Renegade.

nathand

I've got a stock 2018 Renegade Exploit - 50/34 front crank, Shimano 105 5801 front derailleur. I'd like lower gears for some gravel climbs, so I picked up a GRX-600 46/30 crank from a coworker. I'm seeing reports of mixed results using the GRX crank with road front derailleurs - has anyone done this with their Renegade? I have the matching GRX derailleur if needed, but it's a braze-on mount and my existing derailleur is a band clamp, so if the current derailleur doesn't work I'd need an adapter. It would be great to know in advance from other Renegade owners if this is likely to work, so I don't install the new crank, find it doesn't work, and have the bike out of commission for a few days while waiting for the adapter to arrive. Thanks for sharing your experience!

Also, on a related note, how large a rear cog can the 5800 RD reasonably handle on a Renegade? (I can look up the official answer from Shimano but I know there's often room for a bit more.)

mstateglfr 

I ran an 11-36 cassette with my 105 5800 GS RD for a few years, it handled that range just fine. No need for a longer b screw or anything wonky. That was with a 46/34 crank combo.

I have seen online examples of a 5800 GS RD mated to a Shimano SLX 11-40 11speed cassette with a Roadlink adapter.

t2p

I’ve also read reports of road FD with GRX crankset - but I went with a GRX FD when I installed a GRX crank on a Topstone

I used Shimano front derailleur band adapter SM-AD91 to mount the GRX FD

5800 and 6800 RD’s are rated for 32t max - but in many cases this can be exceeded (as reported by others including above)

R7000 and R8000 RD’s are rated for 34t max

nathand

Success! I installed the GRX crank today. The existing FD-5801 works great, no need to swap the derailleur.