The crux of this build was the front derailleur set up. The road Rival front derailleur didn't have enough throw for a Mtn Chainline. Because I wanted to ride the bike, I ended up with a 22-36 SLX crank...Notice the nice bashguard. Nice drop bar 29er with roadie stuff and a freeride crank!
Well, I have finally solved the problem and the results are in the B to B+ range. I'll put out the required disclaimer here stating that super quick or road shifting snobs will probably not like my solution.
My end set up is as follows.
- Surly Mr. Whirly cranks
- 36-48 Shimano 110mm bolt circle 9 speed rings - $$
- SRAM X.7 mtn front derailleur
This set up is sweet. In all honesty, the shifting is a bit slow going up into the 48 tooth ring. Thankfully, Shimano rings have pick up teeth and they lift that narrow 10 speed chain right into the right place. Besides, when are you shifting into the outer ring under full power? OK, someone will need that and that's why I put out my disclaimer. It's a B to B+ performance. It works for me and if you are not too picky, it will likely work for you too.
Beyond that, this is my first experience with Surly Mr. Whirly cranks. They are working really well, but I was shocked at how many pieces are in the kit. I had some difficulty getting the chainring bolts to snug down. Not sure what is up here but I'm guessing it is just tolerance stacking and that the 2 rings and the spider all add up to the low end of the tolerance scale. I also set up the external BB with only 1 spacer between the BB shell and the cup, this means two are on the left side. This gives a narrower chain line and works really well.
I've got about 400 miles on this set up and I'm pretty pleased. Now that I've got this one running perfectly I'm converting Fargo prototype #1 into an off road warrior. Stay tuned.
3 comments:
I was kind of surprised at the amount of parts in the Whirly package too. But they all went together, and I didn't have any left over parts. Yay! Oh, and the cranks, I like 'em. A bit heavy, but a ton stiff(185's here).
All those holes in the fork. Any worries about moisture getting in there?
I guess. I started filling them but ran out of time. Do you know how long it takes to put 6 water bottle mounts on? ;)
As of Saturday, the bike now has 4 bottle mounts and I will fill the front fork holes this week. I've just been lazy.
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