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Cycling log - random events in the day of a cyclist II

Are SRAM X5 derailleurs a bit crap? My previous bike had Shimano STX RC all round and never missed a beat in 20 years. Current bike has this SRAM effort and despite every adjustment I can't get it to reliably change up or down on all cogs. It's really starting to annoy me!

I stick to Shimano for MTB drivetrain stuff as it helps with compatibility so I've no personal experience with their latest stuff. However going by posts on the mountain bike forum I'm on (singletrackworld) it does sound like some of the current SRAM stuff is a bit shite, as lots of the guys there are switching back to Shimano.

Other than a fair few of their cassette's the only SRAM stuff I've had was on a road bike with a Rival groupset and that never missed a beat in the 10 years I had it.
 
I've got an 11-51 cassette on one of my other mountain bikes (11-speed though) and I had a 32t chainring on it originally but have now switched it to a 36 and that works pretty well. One of the other bikes (also 1x11) has a 34 up front and an 11-46 cassette and that's also pretty decent - the only real issue with that one is that it could do with a bit more at the high end as it's an XC bike. I might switch that to an 11-51 cassette and a 36t chainring although I'm not sure if there is clearance for the latter.

32 and an 11-36 was fine for a short ride like today's 12 miler, but if I'd had to do that hill with the 20% bits towards the end of a long ride or into a stiff headwind - then I'd definitely have been off and pushing!

Yes, son runs out of gears at the top end too (his legs are like Hoy’s!). I think 11/51 36 sounds a good combo, didn’t know they did 51’s (you learn something new...). I’m pretty much OK with a 32, as I’ve got a 10, surprising how much 1 tooth makes :). Both our bikes are 1x and love them, though I was forced to go out on my old 26” 3x 7 speed MTB late last year and in the high gears it flew! A good 3x can still do it, like I say, it’s a 7 speed, but the spread of gears is brilliant, even compared to latest 12 speed stuff. (I don’t miss the messing about with the front shifter though). A bit rambling but I’m sure you’ll follow :D
 
Planet-X have deals on for inner tubes at the moment so I've bought loads of road and MTB ones as I like to have plenty in stock.

My "bitsa/spares" bike has been updated a bit. I've added some of the carbon paste stuff that's supposed to help with the seatpost sliding, and it's gone from 1x9 to 1x10 for the moment - with an 11-36 cassette and a 32T chainring. It'll probably go to 2x10 as I've got the bits for that and it's about the only way to get high enough gearing on it - it's an out and out XC type bike and I like to have high gears on those so I can go fast on the flat bits. I've also ditched the flat carbon bar and replaced that with a riser bar as while they were really light they were too narrow. The only risers I had in the spares bin were old school 25.4mm ones (and not high spec ones as they're just Easton EA30) but I do have lots of stems to fit that including some nice Easton magnesium ones and the Easton EA70 one I'm using. Will be giving it another shakedown ride tonight and I really hope the seapost isn't going to be slipping this time.
Bought 10 inner tubes today from Planet X.
 
Yes, son runs out of gears at the top end too (his legs are like Hoy’s!). I think 11/51 36 sounds a good combo, didn’t know they did 51’s (you learn something new...).

I think the 11-51 11-speed cassette hasn't been available for long, although similar ones have been available for 12-speed for a while I think. It's a pretty good option for going 1x11 if you want a decent range - as long as the bike has clearance for something like a 36.

I’m pretty much OK with a 32, as I’ve got a 10, surprising how much 1 tooth makes :). Both our bikes are 1x and love them, though I was forced to go out on my old 26” 3x 7 speed MTB late last year and in the high gears it flew! A good 3x can still do it, like I say, it’s a 7 speed, but the spread of gears is brilliant, even compared to latest 12 speed stuff. (I don’t miss the messing about with the front shifter though). A bit rambling but I’m sure you’ll follow :D

My "best" mountain bike is still on 3x9 as I'm struggling to see a 1x option that'd work well for it. Something like a 36t up front and a 10-51 would be ok but I'd still lose something at the low and and, more importantly at the high end. Any 11-speed option would be worse due to not having an option for a cassette with a 10t. It'd probably be ok though, but would be expensive to do because as well as the 12 speed cassette, shifter and rear mech I'd also need brake levers (it's on dual-control brake/shifters at the moment but I could re-use the calipers) and also a new rear wheel. That bike has an XTR drivetrain and brakes as well, plus American Classic wheels, so likely wouldn't lose any weight either unless I also went XTR for the new stuff. I might go 2x11 with it though, but as I haven't tried an XC 2x drivetrain before (although I've run 2x9 on trail bikes) I'm thinking I'll try it out on my "spares" bike first and see how that works.
 
I've recently gone from a 34t to a 36t 10-42 on my 29er.

Frankly, it feels like I've bitten off more than I can chew, but it is very flat here, so I think it will be OK.

It also seems to have introduced some noticeable pedal "bob" which I wasn't expecting, and I run the rear damper with a maximum of 20% sag, so already fairly stiff.
 
I stick to Shimano for MTB drivetrain stuff as it helps with compatibility so I've no personal experience with their latest stuff. However going by posts on the mountain bike forum I'm on (singletrackworld) it does sound like some of the current SRAM stuff is a bit shite, as lots of the guys there are switching back to Shimano.

Other than a fair few of their cassette's the only SRAM stuff I've had was on a road bike with a Rival groupset and that never missed a beat in the 10 years I had it.

It's a Trek bike so mostly SRAM and Bontrager bits so I guess I'll stick with SRAM so I don't have to change anything else, but may do a bit of googling and perhaps move up the food chain a bit.
 
Current bike has this SRAM effort and despite every adjustment I can't get it to reliably change up or down on all cogs. It's really starting to annoy me!

Have you checked the B-screw position ?

The two big shifting problems I've had with my SRAM equipped bike I eventually tracked down to the B-screw position.

Very sensitive apparently. There is a perspex stencil type gauge from SRAM to set the distance between the cassette and the pulley wheels. Needs to be done with your weight on the bike if it is an FS because the position changes as the suspension compresses.

If not that, then the usual checks on the mech hanger - are the screws tight, is it bent slightly etc.
 
Have you checked the B-screw position ?

The two big shifting problems I've had with my SRAM equipped bike I eventually tracked down to the B-screw position.

Very sensitive apparently. There is a perspex stencil type gauge from SRAM to set the distance between the cassette and the pulley wheels. Needs to be done with your weight on the bike if it is an FS because the position changes as the suspension compresses.

If not that, then the usual checks on the mech hanger - are the screws tight, is it bent slightly etc.

Yes I have tried adjusting the b tension screw, but not used a gauge. So before anything else perhaps I should get hold of one of those and have another go. Thanks!
 
Bor, changing front ring size affects your antisquat quite notably on certain fs bikes.

36x 11-42, thats a XC gear spread if ever there was.
 
I've recently gone from a 34t to a 36t 10-42 on my 29er.

Frankly, it feels like I've bitten off more than I can chew, but it is very flat here, so I think it will be OK.

It also seems to have introduced some noticeable pedal "bob" which I wasn't expecting, and I run the rear damper with a maximum of 20% sag, so already fairly stiff.

All my bikes are 26" wheels so the effect on those would be lower than with a mountain bike with those clown wheels on (I'm very behind the times on this stuff!). With 36t and 10-42 the high gearing is good but I'd be wanting more at the low end as the lowest gear is still pretty high, although probably ok if you don't need to worry too much about hills. With the hills near where I live then with a 10-42 cassette on a 29er I'd probably be going the other way and using a 30t chainring as that looks like it gives a reasonable spread of gears.
 
I run 34 10-42 on my 26" mtb, very occasionally its too much for climbing super trick technical stuff, but with 170mm on the front and 150mm on the back it ain't built for that. Also, who the hell is pedalling at 30mph plus?
 
Just sold my 10 year old Genesis Vapour cyclocross bike on facebook marketplace. I asked for CHF100 as the thing cost £850 in the UK at the time and I could not imagine that many people still want a bike with cantilever brakes.

however, i could have sold the thing about 10 times over and was bombarded with messages from interested buyers. I probably should have asked at least twice the price, but hey ho. In the end i sold it to a young lad who is just getting into cycling so hopefully it will give him a chance to ride a decent bike for not much outlay.

Now i am back down to two bikes. Didn’t really need a gravel, road and a cyclocross bike in the garage.
 
71bzOrobV1L._AC_SL1000_.jpg
I’ve been using one these in my seat tube bottle cage for a while and can highly recommend it. Waterproof and quick to switch between bikes. It holds an inner tube, two gas cylinders with adapter, repair kit, tyre levers, multi tool and doesn’t rattle with that lot onboard.
https://ride.lezyne.com/collections/bottle-cages-accessories/products/1-bc-flwcaddy-v104
 
I’ve been using one these in my seat tube bottle cage for a while and can highly recommend it. Waterproof and quick to switch between bikes. It holds an inner tube, two gas cylinders with adapter, repair kit, tyre levers, multi tool and doesn’t rattle with that lot onboard.
https://ride.lezyne.com/collections/bottle-cages-accessories/products/1-bc-flwcaddy-v104

I have something similar on my road bikes. I have one on each though, as I'm old and forgetful enough that if the stuff isn't always on the bike I'd likely forget it. Each of the road bikes has a mini-pump attached to one of the bottle cage mounts and the little seat pack (not so little in the case of the one on my Roubaix) has a couple of spare tubes, tyre levers, a puncture repair outfit, a mini-tool with a chain breaker and a spare chain link. I also have a small lock that goes in there if I'm out on a club ride with a cafe stop. The packs aren't the prettiest but they are useful.

165799640.qYkYBqxG.slr01.jpg
 
I put a speculative Ebay bid in for £90 for a 26" rear wheel with an 8-speed Alfine hub gear, built on a Mavic X317 rim. I was pleasantly surprised to win it at that price and I'm thinking that, with my On-One Inbred frame having slot dropouts, it'll get changed from it's current 1x10 configuration to an Alfine one and become my winter mountain bike. You can't get quite the gearing range of a 1x10 or 1x11 set-up but you can get a useable range and it's a hell of a lot better than a singlespeed!
 
I have something similar on my road bikes. I have one on each though, as I'm old and forgetful enough that if the stuff isn't always on the bike I'd likely forget it. Each of the road bikes has a mini-pump attached to one of the bottle cage mounts and the little seat pack (not so little in the case of the one on my Roubaix) has a couple of spare tubes, tyre levers, a puncture repair outfit, a mini-tool with a chain breaker and a spare chain link. I also have a small lock that goes in there if I'm out on a club ride with a cafe stop. The packs aren't the prettiest but they are useful.

165799640.qYkYBqxG.slr01.jpg

I have basic the same as you on each bike, but even carry a spare derailleur hanger on my gravel bike.

Having once been stuck halfway up a big mountain pass with a broken spoke and a wheel so badly pringle shaped that it would not clear the chainstay meaning i had to carry the bike down the pass has convinced me to always have the right equipment to deal with a mechanical in the middle of nowhere!
 
I have basic the same as you on each bike, but even carry a spare derailleur hanger on my gravel bike.

Having once been stuck halfway up a big mountain pass with a broken spoke and a wheel so badly pringle shaped that it would not clear the chainstay meaning i had to carry the bike down the pass has convinced me to always have the right equipment to deal with a mechanical in the middle of nowhere!

I've had something similar happen to me as well and it's one of the reasons I carry the chain tool and spare joining link as it means I can turn the bike into a singlespeed to get me home.
 


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