Sunday, September 14, 2008

Rainy Day Musings - Finished my Salsa Fargo

Despite the last couple days of rain keeping me off both the roads and the trails, it still took me 2 and a half days to get my new Salsa Fargo built. It's built, rides great, works great. Even so, some of the parts are only temporary. First, take a look and then I'll discuss why the bike is built the way it is and why it took me so long.



This one is a bit different than my expedition tourer Fargo. I wanted a lighter, faster, dirt/gravel worthy bike. Essentially, a heavy duty La Cruz. I also upsized to a large on this one as it is just a bit more road bike like. I also just wanted to try getting road STI, Double Tap, or Ergo 10 speed drive trains to work....That is why it took me 2 1/2 days.





The crux of this bike and the reason it took me over 2 days is the crank/bb/front derailleur set up. You see, the Fargo is not designed for road style cranks and chain line. To date, there are no 10 speed mtn cranks. Yes, I know that 9 speed, or even 8 or 7 speed, may be more appropriate for this bike. I just wanted to try it and I really like the new SRAM stuff with the 1:1 actuation ratio. I wanted the 1:1 actuation ratio because I think it will work better and shifting will last longer in the elements of mud, muck and wet gravel.

In the end, I got it to work with a 22-36t ring set up and an 11-28 10spd cassette. It's the only thing I could get to work with adequate chain line and to work with the throw of the SRAM Rival front derailleur. This will work great for all around, but I still need to find a way to get bigger road/gravel road gearing on this bike. I wanted to do a 36-46 or a 36-48. I can get larger rings on here, but then the Rival front derailleur runs out of throw. If I use a different front derailleur, then the double tap shifter doesn't work. If you have some ideas, let me know.

So here are the rest of the components.

RD = Sram Rival
FD = Sram Rival
Crank = Shimano SLX 22-36=BG (This will be replaced, possibly with a Surly Mr Whirly with a 110 spider.
BB = Shimano SLX
CS = Sram Rival 11-28 10 Spd
CH = Sram 10 Spd Chain
Brakes = Avid Road Mechanical
Shifters/Brake Levers = SRAM Rival Double Tap (unfortunately carbon)
HD = Cane Creek S3
Post = Salsa Shaft
Bar = Salsa Pro Bell Lap, 26.0 x 46
Stem = Salsa CroMoto
Tape = Salsa Leather, black
Saddle = WTB Rocket V with Ti rails
Tires = Maxxis CrossMark 29"
Tubes = Salsa 29"
Rim Tape = Rox Super DutE 19mm
Rims = Prototype Salsa Semi
Hubs = DT Swiss 240, 32 hole
Spokes = Competition Black
Nipples = Silver alloy with 4 red alloy over each of the Salsa pepper decals
Skewers = Salsa Stainless Flip Off's
Housing = Jagwire Ripcord compressionless for brakes, stock SRAM for derailleurs

So...The crank/chainring set up will change and I haven't mounted all my bottle cages and pump, but this bike is lighter and feels like a heavy duty La Cruz. Should just rip on my off road/road combo commute to work. Just what I wanted.

18 comments:

Captain Bob said...

Awesome! I love it.

Captain Bob said...

forgot to comment on how much I like those rear dropouts. sweet.

blackmountaincycles said...

Jason, why won't the 36/46 or 36/48 rings work with the SRAM shifter/fd combo? Those ring sizes are essentially compact which should be compatible.

For mixing and matching parts, I like Shimano best because their brifters are compatible with their mountain derailleurs and one can put together Miche 11-29 cassettes from QBP ;-) Or IRD has up to 11-34 10s Shimano compatible cassettes.

GNAT said...

Mike, thanks. I was hoping you'd take a look. I see I didn't give enough info.

Essentially, if I run a 36-46 combo with a mtn crank, the SRAM Rival front derailleur won't swing far enough out.

I might try a mtn front derailleur. Not sure what else to do except run 9 spd

Michael Meiser said...

Tease. You have two and I won't even be able to get a frame until January or February. :(

blackmountaincycles said...

Ahh, and because the chainstays are wide you can't run the larger rings with a narrow enough chainline. Before going 9-speed, try a mountain derailleur - SRAM or Shimano. You may have to run the cable on the opposite side of the cable anchor bolt that it would normally mount.

Guitar Ted said...

gnat: Love It! Looks killer! This is the size I would go for as well, so thanks for the pre-view!

Mike has a great idea there, and I'm sure you have played that cable/bolt trick before too. Just might be enough to do the trick.

That said, I hope that the component makers see fit to accomodate the mountain bikers, monster crossers, and touring freaks that want to do what you are trying. I ran into the same dilemma with my Badger, and ultimately just went with friction shifters.

I sure hope you get that Rival shifter/front derailluer working, 'cause that's exactly what I was considering with my bike. It'd be nice to know if it worked.

Guitar Ted said...

Hmm..........what about a braze on adapter that sets the Rival derailluer outboard a tick more? I know I switched out a Trek spec'ed adapter that was too far outboard for theTrek it was on for an adapter that was at least a millimeter more inboard, maybe two. Maybe you could come up with something there?

blackmountaincycles said...

Sounds like G-T has an idea for a "Problem Solvers" item!

D.P. said...

Drool!

GNAT said...

GT and Mike, I already thought of that and will be sharing that with them when I go to work today.

I'm not going to worry about making this work until after Interbike.

I also got another idea last night. Mark, I'll be calling you because I know you have at least one of what I'm looking for and just might know where more are.......

DP. Yes, I am drooling too!

GNAT said...

Oh, and GT, this size should fit you just right.

MG said...

Wow... It'd fit me really nicely too.

Dang. Drool. Why am I at work now??? Crap.

Hmmm...

Well, I guess I'll stare at the pictures for a while longer. Thanks. ;-)

I know the crank/bb think will get worked out. I'm not too worried. The Mr. Whirly idea is a good one. I'd also think about an R600/700 series crankset from Shimano. I think that and some spacers could get you there. Get creative. I know you can do it...

MG said...

You need that handlebar we discussed the other day too... That'd set that ride up just right.

Captain Bob said...

I sent you an email too Gnat but here is something that might work too. Might get the chainrings farther foward so they clear the chainstay.
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=399787&highlight=eccentric

Captain Bob said...

I guess it's actually called this: Excentriker

Unknown said...

The slinky way to do that gearing is a VBC crank from White. You'll get the gearing you want, and the q factor should work for chainline. I just set up 2 Rawlands like this, 118mm spindle, 46-34, and they are killer. Cranks clear stays by 5mm, der shifts great, I love square taper bb's, and the cranks are gorgeous.

M E said...

You've likely got it figured out by now.... but here goes.... if for future reference.

What you are likely running into is the current front derailleurs just don't travel as far as they used to. Easy solution.... ebay is your friend. Look for any older front D designed for 6,7,8 or even 9 speeds. A 105 9-speed double front would work perfect .... fd-5500 or 5501. I use the 5500 with a 26/44/48 on my road bike. It can even work with a 24. Yes, it's a double front D and it has tons of travel and flawlessly handles those rings. So much for manufacturer specifications..... it's rated for 15 teeth.

-cheers