Friday, October 29, 2010



This is probably a mistake, but...
I thought I would give it a go. Looking at the profile of the Moser Farm, race it looked like it could be really slow in some parts, and really fast in others.
So...think, think, think...how does one gear for a course with very slow spots and very fast spots? Very fast flat spots.
With mtb I never really have the "what if?" running in the back of my head when I race singlespeed. It is what it is, and I'm happy with that. That's not to say I'll rule out gears someday, maybe even someday soon, but cross is different.
There is limited elevation change, and one of the major factors I've seen in my brief cross career has been the consistency of the course surface, or lack there of. Sand, grass, mud, hard pack, and tarmac all can be part of one 1.5-2.5 mile loop with only 50' of elevation change.
So how do you gear for that? Rather how do I gear for that?
Wednesday I bit the bullet, dug out an old Campagnolo Daytona shifter, stole the derailleur off the Sunday Princess and did the deed.
God invented parts bins for a reason
But then Thursday, I went for a mtb ride. My second since I started cross. I was feeling super strong on the climbs. My time didn't really reflect this, because I also spent a good deal of time crashing on leaf covered rocks. But I felt real strong crashing.
This got me thinking. Maybe sscx was having the desired effect? Maybe it was making me stronger on the ssmtb? Maybe I jumped the gun with the shifty bits?
Well they're on there now, so I guess I'll give them a shot.
Campy levers don't play nice with v-brakes
An old derailleur makes a great chain guide. Notice the chainstay protector. Like my old buddy Bongway (RIP) would say when he bought ribbed condoms, "Because I care".

5 comments:

MMcG said...

If they would help (probably not) I've got some Tektro drop bar levers for V-brakes. You can borrow them if they'd help.

Mark

CB2 said...

That's what I have on the left side. It's set up as a 1x9. A Tektro lever won't shift a Campy derailleur.

Mookie said...

How big's your ring up front?

CB2 said...

36.
13-23 in back.
The way I look at it, I ran a 36x16 @ Stratton Brook, and a 36x18 at Smith Farm, so this gives me 3 gears higher and lower than those two combos. If I had a 38,39, or a 42, I'd probably run that with 13-26 in back.

Mookie said...

I have a 42 (130 bcd) with a chain guard if you want it. I also have a couple of those Deda Fangs laying around as well. Just figured I'd throw it out there.