Project, "Roadify," Has Begun!
 

Hey, all; first time posting here in the forums, but long-time lurker. I've decided to take on a bit of an upgrade/conversion project on a hybrid bike that we have as an opportunity to improve on a cheap bike while also getting some experience upgrading/installing bike components and becoming less reliant on my LBS.

Background on the project: I have a 2012 Diamondback Clarity 1 that we bought as a loaner bike so my girlfriend's sister can go riding with us recreationally and to throw on a Kurt Kinetic indoor trainer so my girlfriend and I can maintain or continue to improve our conditioning through the winter months. The first thing we discovered when we put it on the trainer is that the gearing isn't tall enough in top gear for a sufficient challenge/sufficient resistance, and also found that the seating position was much too upright compared to our normal, outdoor riding positions (we both have road bikes with drop bars for our primary rigs, mine a belt Alfine Civia Bryant and hers a Specialized Dolce Elite). With that in mind, I've selected a few components to swap onto the bike and replace stock components with.

The primary change is a conversion to drop bars from the stock flat bar. To that end, I've chosen the FSA Omega Compact 40cm drop handle bar as an inexpensive choice for this project. My girlfriend and I are both pretty small (I'm 5'6", she's 5'2") and the bike itself is also a small, so I felt this is the appropriate size to go with. Onto this bar would go a set of Shimano ST-2303 3x8 brifters and some white Lizard Skin bar tape. I did a very basic geometry check and realized I would likely need a shorter than stock stem so I selected a 70mm length stem to mount the bar on; the stock one on our bike is 80mm.

Since I'd be switching from flat bar levers to short-pull, STI-style brake levers, I'm thinking of replacing the insanely cheap/crappy stock linear-pull V-brakes with some Tektro CR720 cantilevers front and back. To ensure solid feel and power, I'd swap the stock cables/housings for some compressionless stuff (my experience with my road rig is that compressionless housing is absolutely indispensable for maximum power).

To tackle the gearing problem, and to take advantage of the new brifters' 8-speed rear hub compatibility, I'm looking to upgrade cassette. The stock cassette is a 7-speed Shimano piece with 14-28 range and I'm thinking about the Shimano Altus HG-31 with an 11-34 range. I'd leave the stock triple crank alone (for now).

Does anyone see any critical mistakes with these selections? Am I setting myself up for an epic bike fail, or is this a reasonable looking setup? This is the first time I'll be installing/replacing a rear cassette, handlebar tape, shifters, brake levers, brakes and brake lines, and I'm excited about the opportunity to engage in this project, but I do want to be sure I'm not setting myself up for a giant wad of headaches due to incompatible components or the like. Would anyone be able to chime in here?

And of course I plan on posting pics of the finished project (you know, since I'd need proof that it does, in fact, happen)!

-Ed

Def interested in seeing how this turns out. This is the bike I want to grab for my wife as a starter. She hasn't road since she was a kid so I figured a more relaxed riding style would ease her into it and allow for more of a chance that she would like it and stick to it. How does she like the bike for what it is?

The only issue I can see you having is an awkward geometry after all is said and done. The shape of the clarity frame is def set up more for an upright riding position, with drop bars it might create a weird reach situation. Other than that, I can't see you running into any compatibility issues.

Well her other bike is a lot nicer than this one, which she has indeed noted ("this bike is so slow compared to mine!"). Her sister, who has been the rider of this thing 95% of the time before we changed out the back tire and installed it on the Road Machine said the bike was fine, but she would definitely rate as much more recreational than serious when it comes to riding. I think it's a fine bike for someone just getting into riding, but if the person gets more serious in short time, they will likely outgrow the bike's abilities quickly, so I'd say it really depends a lot on the person who ends up riding it.

I forgot to mention that the stem I chose has a higher degree of lift/tilt than the stock stem, so the bar will mount closer and higher towards the shoulders than the stock flat bar. I'm thinking the only real way to see how the geometry works out in the end is to simply move forward with the project. There are two spacers on the stock steerer and with the new stem I think I should be able to get the new setup hopefully close to useable for both of us. Of course, half the battle as-is would be finding a neutral setup that works for both, myself and my girlfriend when riding the indoor trainer. The bike came with a 350mm seatpost stock and I ordered a second, 300mm seatpost. I moved the stock saddle to the shorter seatpost and took the original saddle from my bike and mounted that to the original seatpost that came with this bike, and we took advantage of the included quick-release collar that came with the bike so that whenever my girlfriend or I feel like using the trainer, it's a very simple swap of the saddle/post combo (which we used metallic pens to mark off our height settings). Hopefully, having separate saddle position settings helps reduce the effective of having to have a, "shared/neutral," handlebar position between the two of us (we even chose the frame size that was in between what she would otherwise use and what I would otherwise use).

It's all one big compromise, in terms of geometry, so I think in the end the best we can do is find the least amount of compromise overall. Good thing this will not be serving as our normal road rigs!

-Ed

The big issue that I see, is that the bike most likely has a freewheel, not a cassette, so swapping the rear wheel would be necessary for upgrading to 8 speeds. If it is only going to sit on a trainer, you could probably get a Sunrace 8 speed freewheel, but I wouldn't recommend that for actual riding. They aren't released yet, but Shimano A070 shifters will be 7 speed. There are also discontinued 7 speed shifters that you can probably find too.

When riding the bike, try and imagine what it would be like with drop bars. I was able to guess that they would feel great on my Schwinn, so I did a conversion, and was right. Pretty amazing that the bike felt great with 4" riser bars, and also drop bars 5" lower than the saddle.

Clearly, this is why I post threads like this!

The specifications do indicate that the bike has a Shimano 7-speed freewheel out back. I'm not familiar with the differentiation here--does it mean that I won't be able to install the cassette at all, or does it mean I still can, but I'd end up with a 24-speed fixie?

Assuming that I can't install the cassette, would it still be possible to use the ST-2303 brifters with the current 7-speed freewheel, or is the spacing between cogs different so I'd have problems with rear derailleur alignment? I actually am not against having two wheels for this bike if the brifters can work with either gearset, since I'd keep one wheel for road use and one wheel for trainer use and not have to deal with tire swaps when seasons change.

Otherwise, does this mean I need to start looking for extra rear wheel parts? :eek:

-Ed

hub is different, But 7 speed freewheels are still out there as replacement parts..

C&V folks still covet the freewheel hubs of yesteryear..

If you want a Cassette wheel, you can find cheap ones brand new.. the 8th cog requires
4mm more axle width.. to 130 from 126.. frame spread will resist putting a wider axle in.


oh and Fixie is also a different hub, the cog unscrews unless there is a Lockring.
those rings screw on in the opposite direction.

So the brifters are compatible with your new cantilever brakes? I'm no expert but I think you may have a problem with road brifters. Check for compatible levers in the cyclocross forum.

Cantilevers and road calipers have the same cable pull, so brifters will work fine. V-Brakes have a different cable pull and either need the correct levers, or travel agents.

Freewheels and cassettes use totally different attachment methods, so a hub will only work with one and not the other. If you do get a new wheel, make sure it has 135mm spacing for MTBs and hybrids, not 130mm for road bikes. The spacing between 7 and 8 speed is the same, so if you set it up right you could use the 8 speed shifters with the 7 speed freewheel. I've done the reverse and used 7 speed shifters on a 8 speed cassette on my Schwinn, and it works great.

I'm having a really hard time believing ANY bike made in 2012 has a threaded on freewheel. the bike in question is http://www.diamondback.com/2012-clarity-1 .... that page says...


[TABLE="class: specs_geometry, width: 604"]
[TR="bgcolor: transparent"]
[TH="bgcolor: transparent"]Gear[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Shimano 7spd Freewheel (14-28t)
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="bgcolor: transparent"]
[TH="bgcolor: transparent"]Hubset[/TH]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"](F) 32h Alloy QR (R) 32h Alloy QR Cassette
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


well, ONE of those has to be wrong, you can't put a freewheel on a cassette pub. Shimano hasn't made threaded on freewheels in close to 20 years, I bet its a cassette. you'll need to stick with a 7 speed, or get a new shifters (and those EF51 are integrated brake+shifter). the derailleur can handle 8 speed fine.

14T little cog makes me think Freewheel, but you need to find out for sure.

DNP and Sunlite make 8-speed Freewheels if that's what you need. Interloc used to, but Universal just pulled the 8-sp Interloc from their site.

Shimano still makes 7-speed freewheels and sells millions of them every year.

the shimano tourney 7 speed stuff is 14t high gear. oh crap, its FREEWHEEL?!? ahh, but there's an 11-28T 7 speed, the MF-HG50
http://techdocs.shimano.com/media/te...9830612546.pdf

I can't seem to find those in anyones catalog, however, only this 13-28t 7 speed
http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-MF-HG3...=Shimano+MF-HG

here's a noname 11-30 7spd.
http://www.amazon.com/DNP-Epoch-Free...peed+freewheel

best of luck. not the warnings about requiring a special freewheel tool.

Fascinating...so what I'm getting from this is that initially, I should be able to simply swap out the stock bar, shifters/brake levers and brakes for the drop bar, ST-2303 brifters and cantilever brakes and they would work fine with the current derailleurs and rear hub. If I wanted to actually upgrade to the cassette I chose, I would then also need to buy an extra 700c wheel that has hybrid/MTB-style spacing of 135mm and would accept the 8-speed cassette. This would leave me with the stock 7-speed wheel & hub, which I could leave the stock tire on, and use for outdoors, and have the optional 8-speed wheel with the indoor trainer tire mounted for use with the trainer. Is this all correct interpretation of the above? I even have the original skewer that came with the bike that I could reinstall in the stock wheel/tire/hub set and move the skewer that came with my trainer to the newly assembled 8-speed wheel & cassette set!

Could anyone kindly provide an example of an appropriate wheel to go with the said cassette? If the derailleur and brifter combination will work with both wheel setups, I'd prefer to have that option available--I had a really difficult time and a terrible experience trying to get that Continental indoor trainer mounted on the wheel the first time and would love to be able to avoid having to do it more than once more! :cry:

-Ed

PS Thanks to everyone so far for all the advice; this is really helpful and I can't wait to get this project really moving!

You don't NEED to get a cassette. You can get this freewheel if you can verify that your rear wheel is indeed freewheel. Remove it from the bike and take a pic of gear cluster and we should be able to tell.

You may want to call to make sure a Park FR-1 will work on these. I think it will, though.

http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...&category=1665

Another option is just getting 7-speed brifters. I love my 1999 vintage RX-100 7-speed.

But, to answer your question, I like these budget wheels. Rims are probably skinnier than current rims though, so you'd have to adjust brakes @ every wheel swap.

http://www.velomine.com/index.php?ma...hrq33hm630ha15

any wheel you buy is likely going to be a BETTER wheel than the one on that bike. I'd suggest the handspun wheels 'pavement series 5' (or 5.1), these use deore hubs (suitable for 7-10 speed cassettes) and mavic or velcity dyad rims, about $100 each (front, rear). handspun is distributed through QBP, so virtually any LBS can order them, or you can get them online. they are made with DT stainless spokes, and are quite well made. you can't buy the parts for what these wheels cost.

there /are/ some $50 wheels, but they are pretty junky.

thats a 130mm rear axle, suitable for modern road bike, but wont fit hybrid quite right. not a problem on a steel frame, but problematic on an alloy frame.

Oh, yeah probably 135 on the hybrid. Give them a call at the number on that page. They're really good about spacing fixed/SS wheels from 120 to 126 or 130 for folks free of charge, maybe they'll do 130-135 free also. Worth a shot.

typically, a 135mm wheel needs a hub from a mountain bike groupe, like Deore, rather than a road hub like a Sora or Tiagra or 105.

You can put long axle in road hub, I've done it. Thinking about it I doubt velomine would want to do that for free, though. Axle swap is not fun.

Okay, so after doing a bunch of digging around, it seems the DNP 11-32T 8-speed freewheel and Park FR-1 tool combination is the least heavy ding to the wallet method for expanding the gearing. I'm going to adjust plans to go with this setup and just stick with the stock wheel for now (anyway...I could use the practice changing tires :beer:).

-Ed

much easier to get mtn/hybrid wheel in first place.

http://www.amazon.com/Avenir-Shimano...ef=pd_sbs_sg_6

you'll probably need a spacer to put a 7 speed on there. for extra fun, the derailleur MIGHT need readjusting to swap wheels, but maybe with the right spacer it won't. or, put an 8 speed on it and just use the taller 7 gears, this IS for a trailer, after all.

to switch a freewheel from 7 to 8, you might need to shift the axle some and swap the spacers around so there is more room on the drive side for an extra gear. and you'll need to redish the wheel after doing that. I swapped my old stumpjumper rear wheel from 5 to 7 speed when the original suntour freewheel finally wore out. its wheel was symetrically spoked (0 dish) originally, the rim had to move over about 1/4" relative to the hub so that the brakes stayed centered and there were room for 2 more gears

(semi-ignore my previous comment, I forgot you were switching to road brifters).

Eek...redishing a wheel is not something I'm ready to tackle...is this part going to become a step that requires a visit to the LBS? Hmm...

-Ed

It may require a trip to bike shop. Sometimes you don't even need to respace & redish, though, depends you your current spacing - how close the small cog is to your dropout/stays. We'd charge about $15 to redish, probably $20 to respace and redish.

Alrighty, I've decided to work this in stages. Bar/brifters/brakes/stem/lines/bar tape first stage and then I'll mess with the freewheel as a second stage.

Parts ordered!

-Ed

wait. what gear count brifter did you order? most new ones are for 9 or 10 speed rears, and those won't work with a 7 speed freewheel or cassette.