Nasbar Build
 

I'm rebuilding my Nashbar Touring Bike and looking for a bit of advice. This is the aluminum frame they used to sell.

I used it on a couple of tours and just found it a bit weird. I was mainly using it for gravel riding and a bought a used aluminum Jake the Snake. Last year I toured with the Jake and it was fine, but over the winter it has developed a crack.

So getting ready for a week long self supported tour and fixing up the Nashbar again. I think I'm going with a compact double 34x50 over the triple I used last year.

I have 10 speed bar end shifters or some 8 speed Dura Ace brake/shifters Can't decide, but I think I'd like the bigger ratio changes of the 8 speed cassette for touring.

Is there any reason why linear pull brakes with travel agents would cause me problems touring? I have one on the back of my Jake and I think I'm going to set up the front the same. Seems like I read an article awhile back claiming that Linear pull brakes were not suitable for touring bikes, though I can't understand why not.

I also have a front low rider rack, but have never mounted it. I carried everything in the rear paniers last year, though they were stuffed full. Thinking maybe the bike might ride better and things may organize better in 4 bags.

Yes, v-brakes (linear) will be fine if replacing cantilever brakes. Brake levers won't pull enough, but the travel agents will address that.

Yes, better balance with panniers front and back is what many prefer.

Some touring bikes come stock with linear, so travel agents are fine. They are on my broinlaw's touring bike for 20 years now...work fine.

Front bags are great! Its what ill continue to use after trying it last year. Front bags and a compression dry bag on the top of the rear rack. It works great for climbing and really slows the steering(stabilizes).

I bought one of the last Nashbar green touring frames (the last XL) two(?) years ago, built it up as a basic road bike, and its worked quite well; heavier than a roadie, but comfortable. I'm reconfiguring it now to be a light touring/credit-card touring bike, will probably change out the original Nashbar fork for something more forgiving (a SOMA or similar). Also looking at the front rack with panniers and rear rack with dry bag arrangement since I hated the heavy rear end on my former tourer (a Cannondale that got stolen in early 2001 :( ). My commuter has a front rack and its worked great,I just don't overload it since its an above-the-tire rack (higher Center of gravity) and not lowrider pannier racks. I've been using bar end shifters (9spd) on it and linear brakes on drop bars with no problems.

can you explain weird?
intertubes advice won't help a bent frame.

Yeah, generally it just has a really long top tube and short headtube for it's frame size, 58. I'm used to riding short wheelbase race geometry and found it strange. ALso the Nashbar fork is like a 4 pound beast, I don't think the frame is bent, I'm just not used to riding bikes that long and I found that I was mainly riding it for gravel rides and didn't really benefit from the touring features and the anchor fork so I started looking for a new fork. I ended up finding one attached to a frame so I dismantled the Nashbar and it's been collecting dust for 3 years.

Also I had problems with cantilevers since the frame doesn't have the appropriate cable stops I had to get adapters. Using the travel agents and Vs will fix that.

Travel Agents work fine— get the ones with the barrel adjustment.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/y...T/DSC_0072.jpg

I am only going to address the travel agent question and 8 speed question.

I did have one problem with the travel agent on a tour last summer. I usually use fenders, but did not bring them on this trip because they did not fit in the S&S case. My rear brake and travel agent collected a lot of mud on an all day rainy gravel road ride. Enough mud, that when I actuated the rear brake, the brake stayed stuck in brake mode and did not release. I had to stop, get off the bike and pull the brake arms apart manually. Later, bought a brush and used a lot of water at the campsite to clean the bike, and especially the brake and travel agent. After which it was fine. If I recall correctly, I also put some chain lube on the travel agent bearing and where the wheel rubs on the plate behind it too.

That one bad experience has not caused me to avoid them, I installed one last month on my newest touring bike on the front brake (rear is disc) and I continue to use them on both wheels on my expedition bike. I mention my muddy day problem because if you are not using fenders, you may want to keep a close eye on them on wet days.

They do not have the best bearing (none) so a bit of dry lube on it can improve it a lot. When you first install them, I think it also helps to put some tension on the brake cable, perhaps a velcro strap around the brake handle and let the cable sit that way for several hours. That helps the cable take the new shape where the cable bends on the wheel. I think doing this makes them work better faster.

On the eight speed, you said it was Dura Ace eight speed. If I recall correctly, the eight speed Dura Ace had a different cable pull than the non-Dura Ace Shimano rear shifters. Thus, if you match a eight speed Dura Ace shifter and non-Dura Ace rear derailleur or cassette, you may have difficulty. My Shimano eight speed bar end shifters (SL-BS64) have a sticker that says that they are not compatible with Dura Ace. (For more info, google it.) Just giving you a heads up that you have to be careful on compatibility issues with your eight speed Dura Ace shifters, I am not saying you should not use them.

Thanks for the info. I have the matching 8 speed Dura Ace rear derailleur, but I was not aware of the cable pull compatibility. The derailleur has even been modified with a medium cage cage that says 32T Max.

My question on the Linear pull brakes was mainly about an article I read years ago where someone claimed that cantilever brakes were far more suited for touring and that linear pull brakes were designed for mountain bikes and not suited for touring. The author explained that even with road lever adapters linear pull brakes were inferior to cantilevers, but I can't remember his arguments. My experience with cantilevers, though only a few different models, couldn't be more different. I have never been able to match the power and modulation of linear pull with any cantilevers I've tried, no matter how I've messed with the yoke.

Mini V will be just clearing the top of a 700c-32 tire & mudguard, but length=MA (influencing) cable pull demand.

Basic lever math going back to Ancient world.. V brakes are just a Type2 lever [pivot-work-effort . in that order ].



:50:

Whatever you read sounds like a crock. There is no inherant reason why cantilevers are better for touring and V brakes are better for mountain biking. I personally prefer cantilever, but there are people that prefer V brakes. In my opinion, a well set up cantilever brake can be comparable to a V brake, but setting up a cantilever can be a bit more complicated. Since V brakes have more cable pull than the cantilever, the travel agent OR different road levers are needed when using V brakes. Tektro makes road levers that will work with V brakes without travel agents (RL520), that is another option.

I have both V brakes and cantilever. Most of my V brake setups are V instead of cantilever due to difficulties that I would have installing a cable hanger.

When I was putting my bike together, I did some reading at Sheldon Brown's site, and it said something like v-brakes were the only reasonable alternative to cantis, because they are just another type of canti. Not in so many words, obviously, but I took it to mean the v-brakes are an evolution to cantis, though different. 🤔😉
I also started using trekking bars then, partly to avoid the lever issues. Normal MTB levers for v-brakes fit those trekking bars fine, no travel agent required. 😎

+++ They can be made to perform equally well. Koolstop pads help.

Slight problem, the travel agent is right in front of the rack mount. The pads have the wide spacers for narrow rims in, if I switch them around that may bring it in enough, but I doubt it.

I do not have a good solution. On one of my bikes I planned to use cantilevers and had to switch to V brakes when I could not find a good way to install a cable hanger, thus I had the opposite problem you have.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7435/2...cd380fe7_h.jpgP5150111 by Matt Gholson, on Flickr

That was my setup last year. I was planning on installing my front rack on the nashbar touring this year, but having second thoughts. As you can see those rear bags are really packed and stick out alot. I was really surprised by how slow I was on the flats and how wide my bike looked from the rear.

I'll have a similar load so I know I can take it all on the rear rack, but maybe with the sacks cinched up tighter and less wide I'd be better off.

Also second question. Me and a friend are driving to our starting point and making a big loop, any good suggestions where to leave the car?

police station parking lot(get permission letting them know whats happening).
Walmart.
train station depot.

Local airport. Small regionals airports are very cheap to park at.