joegoersch

I just bought a Lynskey Urbansky with Gravel Pro Fork. I have thru axels front and back (12 x 142), I need to build the bike up. I'll be using disc brakes. I'm planning on doing some light touring (I'm light 140 lbs) with 50lbs or less of gear. I would like road handlebars. The problem I'm having is the road groupsets I've looked at (Ultegra or 105) are 11 speed and few hubs 12 x 142 TA will accommodated such cassettes. I'm also wondering if due to the wider axel if I'll have any trouble with the low gears.


Are their other options or things I should thing about for my build ? Any other groupsets to consider ?
I'm thinking DT Swiss 350 hubs which will work (I think with Shimano 11 speeds).
I'm not settled on rims--maybe Kinlin XT31 ( ? asymmetric or regular for the rear), Mavic Open Pro, H Plus Son Archtype,
I'm thinking 32 spoke count rear, 28 front.


Any advice would be appreciate. I plan on building slowly, taking my time to optimize build...


Thanks !!!

djb

the deore Mwhatever number it is, trekking crankset 48/36/26 10 speed is a nice one, and the 44/32/22 or perhaps the 10 speed one is 42/32/24, can also make a lower geared touring crankset that is great for loaded touring.

If unloaded its one thing, but for any loaded touring, these two triples are very versatile and are very real life friendly to use. Yes, they are 10 speed, but are much better suited than 11 speed double setups you'll see.

consider them in any case.

joegoersch

I might have to buy the parts separately ? Shimano Deore XT T8000 Touring and Trekking Groupset has shifters and brakes for a straight handlebar, not a road handlebar. That's my problem...

djb

ah yes, I see, you would like to use road drop bar shifters, brifters?
I am just starting to understand 10 speed stuff, and it is clear that 10 spd road shifters will not work with 10 spd mountain stuff by shimano.
When I set up a dropbar touring bike last year, I stayed with 9 spd for various reasons and used the cyclocross purposed "Gevenalle" shifter system, simple and basic, although not as fun as brifters--but a lot less expensive and durable for certain uses.

https://gevenalle.com/shifters/

I don't have enough knowledge to give you suggestions for road shifters and road rear derailleurs that can handle larger cassettes, and neither of 10 or 11 speed front derailleurs that will work with road drop bar shifters.

have fun doing some researching and asking about what possibilities you will have.

what I can add is that if you are thinking of using front panniers, I would be hesitant using 28 spokes for a front wheel with 700's, the lowest I have used is 32, but I am lighter than you a bit and had relatively light front loads.

cyccommute 

Don't get hung up on building with a "group". Build for utility and hang having to have everything match. These bikes are all "touring bikes"...I just happen to think that mountain bikes are better gravel grinders than other bikes.

Not a single part on each of these bikes is part of a "group". The parts are chosen for durability and ease of maintenance...and not a little style

The Dean is my nonShimano bike. Not a single piece of the Big S graces that bike. It also happens to be a showcase of American made parts...Frame, stem and seatpost are Dean here in Colorado; handlebars are Thomson; barends are US made LC Composites; brake levers are Paul; headset is Chris King; bottom bracket Phil Wood; the wheels are made with DT Swiss spokes but Phil Wood hubs, Velocity rims and Wheel Fanaytk nipples. Even the colored bits (not in this photo) are US made from Purely Custom and Kustom Kaps. For extra added Colorado bonus, the cages are King Cages out of Durango.

The crank is old an school Race Face Turbine with an ISIS bottom bracket. I'd like to use a more modern crank but the inner ring on this bike takes a 20 tooth inner which lowers the gear significantly.



The Cannondale is similarly not equipped with a "group" from one manufacturer. Paul brakes; Chris King headset; Phil Wood hubs with Velocity rims and Wheel Fanaytk nipples; Thomson Stem; King Cages; etc.



The Moots is similarly equipped as well. You'd be amazed at stuff that will work together that Shimano says won't.



Each part is chosen not for how it fits in a group but how it works. It's a Frankenstein monster but if you've ever read Frankenstein, you'll realize that the "monster" in the book may be hideous but is also eloquent, educated, and intelligent. Don't be afraid of the "monster" if it is a superior bike.

Tourist in MSN

I recently built up a Backroad. I was surprised how high the rear rack mounts were at the rear dropouts, my rack was about an inch and a half higher than I expected it to be. Just thought I would mention this since you might not have yet bought a rack. I probably would have bought the same rack as I bought, but it was a surprise when I put the rack on and it was sitting so high up. Some racks have lower rails to mount panniers on instead of on the top platform, I would recommend that if you plan to use panniers.

Front derailleur needs to fit on an unusually large seattube. Keep that in mind when you go shopping to get one that fits.

I have no suggestions for drivetrain, as mine is built around older technology and a 135mm rear hub.

Make sure that the rear dropouts are bolted in to the frame with tight bolts, maybe add blue locktite. I had a bolt start to unthread on me while riding.

On a new build since you have not had the wheels built yet, if you might want a dynohub to charge electronic devices, do that now instead of trying to upgrade later. My front hub is conventional quick release, so I can't tell you what kind of dynohubs are out there for your type of axle.

I do not know how much touring you have done, but I like pedals that can use SPD cleats on one side, platform on the other. On my Lynskey I have Shimano A530 pedals, on my other touring bikes where I am less concerned on weight I have M324 pedals which weigh more.

Alan S has done some touring on a frame like yours, if he does not comment you should send him a private message and ask for advice.

joegoersch

[QUOTE=cyccommute;19638387]Don't get hung up on building with a "group". Build for utility and hang having to have everything match. These bikes are all "touring bikes"...I just happen to think that mountain bikes are better gravel grinders than other bikes.

beautiful bikes !!!

joegoersch

Thanks ! Great advice !

Tourist in MSN

You can see in the first photo what I meant in my above post about how high my rear rack is. But since I hang the panniers on the lower rails, the panniers are not way far up there like they would be if I hung them from the top platform. My frame(the backroad model) has a different rack mount than your bike, I think yours will put the rack further forward too.

Squeezebox

My Trek 920 is through axles. Sram deraileurs and crank, 2x10. My LBS was able to convert to brifters. Looks like there's lots of space for 11 speed. I like the idea that all my spokes are the same length, offset rims sounds good.
Good luck.

joegoersch

Do you know brand of brifters ?

bradtx

joegoersch, Building up a multi purpose bike, like a touring bike, is a little different than building a high tier roadie or mountain bike, more so when drop bars are in the equation. One difference is that mid to lower end components are often used, mixed road and mountain bike components, and those items are often from multiple manufacturers.

Using your upper cargo weight as a guide, you'll like a drive train with the oft recommended range of 20-100 GI. This is a good range to start with and then modify to suit your needs and wants.

Wheels on a touring bike, primarily the rear, are under stress when touring with that much dead weight. There are several suitable rims on the market, I am looking at Velocity A23s for a build. Besides the typical four bagger route you can mix up traditional touring pannier set-ups with bike packing set-ups to spread the weight along the bike.

Brad

cyccommute 

Sram, probably. His 920 was equipped with Sram barends to begin with so the conversion is fairly easy. Sram plays nice across more of the platform than Shimano does. There are work arounds for Shimano, however. Look at Wolf Tooth for possible solutions.

On the other hand, Sram isn't a bad choice. I just wish they had a triple option on road shifters.

seeker333

You could try Salsa's Alternator 135 Low Deck rack. It was designed expressly for the Marrakesh due to the fact that it's swinger dropouts locate a normal rack much too high.

https://salsacycles.com/components/ca...k_135_low_deck

OP is likely going to have issue with heelstrike on rear bags on the Urbanskey - 435mm chainstays and the rack bosses are located 50-65mm forward of the axle. OP needs a long rack (JandD) plus smallish bags located rearwards.

joegoersch

[QUOTE=cyccommute;19638387]Don't get hung up on building with a "group". Build for utility and hang having to have everything match. These bikes are all "touring bikes"...I just happen to think that mountain bikes are better gravel grinders than other bikes.

Those are some beautiful bikes. I can't quite tell from the pics, do they all have brifters or do some have separate brakes and shifters. What do you think of bar-end shifters for a touring bike/commuter. There are some very nice indexed bar-end shifters out there...

Marcus_Ti

Yea I dunno WTF Lynskey was thinking when they put the rack/fender mounts high up on the forks.

Actually I suspect I do....they could get the Syntace Ti dropouts cheaper than proper dropout plates with the rack/fender points on them. The Syntace dropouts like Ubansky and GR250 use are $75 for the pair in Titanium for 12mm thru axle....versus the Ti plate dropouts (like Backroad uses) that are $125USD for the pair or more.


Cheaper for Lynskey's bottom line to just drill and weld in the dropouts in COMPLETELY the wrong place....than to do it right.

cyccommute 

The Cannondale has Shimano STI 9 speed. 9 speed STI Shimano works with both road and mountain for the rear derailer.

The other 2 are mountain bikes with Sram XO 9 speed shifters and derailers. Brake levers are separate.

I'm not a fan of bar-end shifters. They just get bumped too easily for my tastes.

Tourist in MSN

I have used bar end shifters on several bikes since the 80s. I have a rear brifter on one bike, I like that too but for touring I use bar end shifters.

A friend of mine just left last week for his third cross country trip. Did Trans Am about a decade ago, Southern Tier (with vehicle support) a couple years ago and is doing Northern Tier self supported this year. All on the same Cannondale. And a month ago, his rear brifter crapped out. He was in a hurry to get the bike ready for his trip, could not find a new 9 speed brifter and asked me what I thought of bar ends. I let him ride one of my touring bikes for about 10 miles while I rode one of his to answer questions. At the end of 10 miles he decided to buy the bar ends. I suggested the Shimano, but a friend of his had some new Microshift ones that had less than 100 miles on them that he sold to him for a good price.

We did a five day test ride, him testing his bike with a variety of new parts and his new tent, me testing my latest bike build and I also had a new tent. After our five day test ride, I think he prefers brifters (which he still has on several other bikes), but after having a brifter crap out on him a month before he started a cross country trip, he wanted something with a better reputation for reliability so he decided to get the bar ends.

I think one thing that bothers him on bar ends is that he never uses the drops on his drop bars, so reaching to the bar end is odd to him. But I use the drops whenever I have a headwind so I am quite used to having my hands down on the drops, so the bar end positions do not feel that odd to me.

I have heard of people that wore out bar end shifters, but I have heard of a lot more people that wore out Shimano brifters. My one brifter is a Campy.

alan s 

No heel strike issues here. YMMV, depending on shoe size, frame size, rack and bags. Mine, in that order, are 11, large, Topeak Explorer and Ortlieb back rollers.

sarahbruce

I love everything about your post and pic!
Bruce

bradtx

[QUOTE=joegoersch;19640681]For me the difference is moot, I like both systems. Integrated shifters were not a first choice in touring builds for many years with most preferring bar-end shift levers. This may've been due to a fear of a more mechanically complex integrated shifter failing while on tour compared to the simpler bar-end shifter. While integrated levers have proven to be very reliable over the years, there is still some concern among some touring riders about failures.

Brad

Leebo

OP, front axle width check? Probably 100 or 110 mm? 32 front, 36 rear spokes? I go with 36/36, lots of bike/me to carry. Weight penalty is? Couple oz per wheel? Tire width planning on using?

fietsbob

Don't Go Too Boutique on the touring bike components,

or it means that you sit around waiting for repair parts, for days, for special order stuff, to be shipped..

When, if you got mid range Shimano, the odds are better the bike shop in a rural town would have stuff in stock..

Squeezebox

Sram brifters, Apex.

Squeezebox

Really not that simple, as the 920 comes with hydro brakes. The LBS decided it was cost effective to switch to cable brakes as part of the situation. So there's a pair of bar-ends and a set of hydro brakes w/o shifters left over.