-Steering
a. Handlebar
I used my old 3T handlebar on the new bike. With 44 cm it is on the wider side, I prefer 42 cm or even 40 cm wide bars. I am sure I will swap it in the future when I replace my handlebar tape.
b. Stem
At first, I used a 120mm Deda MTB stem from my previous bike. But after some testing, I found my position be too stretched to reach my STI-levers.
For a more relaxing position, I swapped for a shiny 110mm Kalloy Uno stem in a, as manufacturer calls it, 'titanium black finish'. The angle of my upper arm and forearm came closer a more agressive 90 degree time-trial position, with the shorter stem the whole bike felt more agile.
c. Fork
Fortunately, the full carbon fork steerer from my previous bike was in original length. Instead of cutting it, I used some spacer to match the 58 cm frame for my preferred position on the bike. The steering head tube of my new alloy frame was so long that the original uncut 30cm steerer could be swapped over as it was. The supplied headset matched my Deda 120mm stem so perfectly that I only had to add one small spacer as chimney on the top of the stem. I literally took the whole fork with the caliper brake, cable (incl. STI-Shifter), and front wheel from the old bike and matched it with the new frame.
-Transmission
I used my complete Shimano 105 R7000 11-speed transmission/brake setup except for the front derailleur and the rear cassette.
a. Shifter: Shimano R7000 105 Dual Control Levers
My true and reliable mechanical 11-Speed shifters w/mechanical rim brake.
b. Front Derailleur: Microshift Centos front derailleur 2*11-speed
The Shimano front derailleur FD-R7000-F (with a new link or 'toggle' construction) on my other road bike was complicated to set up, it would be a nightmare if I had to work with it on the road. So, I'd rather opted for a simpler Taiwanese Microshift Centos 2*11 (FD-R58F-BK) front derailleur. It looked like a beefed-up version of the Sora R3000 9-speed front derailleur up-close. The setup of the Centos was as simple as the Sora front derailleur, it worked reliably and precise. As a bonus, it came for 2/3 of the Shimano price by nearly the same weight (96g vs. 95g).
c. Crankset: Shimano FC-RS500
Due to the same 68mm wide BSA bottom bracket of the old and new frame, I swapped my reliable Shimano FC-RS500 Crankset (in black) with its bottom bracket. Both were in great shape, so I saved on new parts. On the shiny black ex-50/34T black crankset I mounted slightly larger silver/greyish 52/36T chainrings from my silver crankset for faster road riding. This modified crankset looked a little more agricultural or gravel-bikish.
d. Rear Derailleur: SHIMANO 105 Medium Cage Rear Derailleur
My true and reliable 11-32T cassette for 11-speed.
e. Rear Cassette:
I've used my 'old' SunRace CS-RX1 cassette with 11-32T, mounted on my 11-speed rear hub of the wheel.
Braking
a. Lever: Shimano R7000 105 Dual Control Levers
b. Cantilever Brakes: SHIMANO 105 (R7000) Dual-Pivot Brake Caliper
I am neither a racer nor a gravel biker. For my riding style, caliper brakes are working well enough. With the experience of riding 38.000 km in 5 years, I found them efficient and reliable. Especially after replacing the harsher original Shimano R55C3 with softer Duro 2 Kool-Stops Dual Compound (black-salmon) pad inserts, I feel my braking got more sensitive with imporved brake power. I feel not only safer downhill but especially on white road markings in very wet conditions.
In my whole cycling life I had some shifting cable failures but never a brake cable failure - a new cable and an allen key would be all I need.
(to be continued)
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