Just about a year out how do you like the gravelkings? Did you go with the ss or sk and how do you find the rolling resistance on road?
Thinking about these for the Project 3....
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Anyone here a cyclist?
- Thread starter MaksTO
- Start date
Thinking about these for the Project 3....
daught
Well-known member
I did not end up using the 42 that much. I used the 32 SKs for less than 10 months for daily commute and rides. The rolling resistance is good for such a tire. They have a very soft casing, which lowers rolling resistance but also makes them flat prone. I got them mostly because in the winter I go over hard pack snow and ice city trails. I also do take my JTS on MTB trails. I did Albion with the 42s. There is a big improvement over 32s when it comes to such riding.
Just to bump the thread forward.... the shop is a **** show mess (see the pics) but here is where I am at with Bianchi Project-3 the gravel build....
I just had to add some Celeste but I should have done a fade instead of a hard line on the fork.... I may repaint next year ... Front rim is for mock-up. Rear is converted from 7 to 8,9,10 speed.
The paint on the frame was completely oxidized (spell checker says sodomized BTW...lol), I wanted to keep the decals... Post #660 it was covered in oil at purchase... I polished and polished to get it to this point. The fork was all chipped and had surface rust so I painted it. Second pic shows where I started oxidized paint wise after the oil was removed (where the stand was clamped to when I polished and...).
I just had to add some Celeste but I should have done a fade instead of a hard line on the fork.... I may repaint next year ... Front rim is for mock-up. Rear is converted from 7 to 8,9,10 speed.
The paint on the frame was completely oxidized (spell checker says sodomized BTW...lol), I wanted to keep the decals... Post #660 it was covered in oil at purchase... I polished and polished to get it to this point. The fork was all chipped and had surface rust so I painted it. Second pic shows where I started oxidized paint wise after the oil was removed (where the stand was clamped to when I polished and...).
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All said and done.... The Bianchi Project 3 (one of the first 700c/29er MTBs, early 90s), now a 700c gravel bike, before can be seen a few posts back. Went into the parts bin, Deore triple crankset, XT front and XTR rear mech. As an experiment I went with "MicroNew" brifters, they are copies of MicroShift R series (which I like the function), $68! Aliexpress to my door, lets see how they hold up (really hard to get parts these days so I might as well experiment)--so far they work perfect.
Painted the fork and polished up the frame, went with the original purple theme.
Converted the rear from seven speed to nine speed by swapping the freehub body and redishing the wheel. Stayed 130mm hub spacing as I swap wheels.... 9 speed because a have other 9 speed bikes so I have spares (like the XTR rear mech here) and a bit of a 9 speed echo-system. Cassette came from my turbo wheel...
Switched to mini V-brakes from the cantis, not much clearance on the 40mm Terreno Zeros.
Front hub was NFG, I grabbed a cheapo Quando hub out of the parts bin, painted it purple as an experiment (to see how the paint holds up) and rebuilt the front wheel.
It rides great, handles brilliantly, I am pretty happy with the outcome. Lots of naysayers about drop bar vintage MTB conversions, as usual many people just afraid of what they don't know.... Not a light-weight, all said and done as seen here 27 lbs 8 oz. The cromo frame alone is 6 lbs even. It was 31.5 lbs when I started (before as a mtb)... My target was under 28lbs, so all is well.
Painted the fork and polished up the frame, went with the original purple theme.
Converted the rear from seven speed to nine speed by swapping the freehub body and redishing the wheel. Stayed 130mm hub spacing as I swap wheels.... 9 speed because a have other 9 speed bikes so I have spares (like the XTR rear mech here) and a bit of a 9 speed echo-system. Cassette came from my turbo wheel...
Switched to mini V-brakes from the cantis, not much clearance on the 40mm Terreno Zeros.
Front hub was NFG, I grabbed a cheapo Quando hub out of the parts bin, painted it purple as an experiment (to see how the paint holds up) and rebuilt the front wheel.
It rides great, handles brilliantly, I am pretty happy with the outcome. Lots of naysayers about drop bar vintage MTB conversions, as usual many people just afraid of what they don't know.... Not a light-weight, all said and done as seen here 27 lbs 8 oz. The cromo frame alone is 6 lbs even. It was 31.5 lbs when I started (before as a mtb)... My target was under 28lbs, so all is well.
That chain is close. I usually respace the axle when doing a 7-8/9.
It is a combination of a few things, the shape of the frame makes it look closer than it actually is (where it matters), there are reliefs in the frame, the space with the seven speed also looked tight. The DS smallest cog is slightly less than 1mm to the right (closer) compared to my other 9 speed road wheels (not respaced). The angle of the pic.
It does not ever touch.
Static. Most people don’t realize just how much a lugged steel frame moves/twists under load.
I've never ridden them. They weren't light when I picked them up in store. With covid craziness you won't have a lot of options. In a normal year, I would say buy a good used bike and you will get a lot more for your money.
The cheaper the bike is, the less I want suspension. It is just heavy and crap and adding that decoration took money out of other components. With that in mind, I would be more likely to go hybrid than MTB at costco.
The last ones I looked at in store used mostly lower end but name brand parts (consistent with the price range), but I cannot say for all. I have "heard" that they are made by Giant, but Giant makes lots of bikes for lots of people at lots of quality points (biggest bike maker in the world last I checked) so it does not mean a huge amount if true.
My main concern with bikes like this is how well they are assembled by the big box. You really need to go over them to make sure things are adjusted correctly (including bearing pre-load!) because they are slapped together during manufacture and then the store only does the basic assembly without checking much. Same for pretty much any big box bike BTW. The deal is good if you can do/check it yourself, the deal usually stinks if you have to pay a LBS for assembly or something was off and the cups and cones in the wheels are toast in a year.
The advantage in theory of a LBS is they check these things when they assemble the bikes or will stand behind them if something fails, but there are no guarantees in life. Obviously some are better than others. Of course Costco likely has a sweet return policy on these...
Finally, like GG noted. Less is more at this price point, less suspension etc.. Also stay away from lower end bikes with fancy spoke patterns, wheels usually warp and cannot be trued.... IMO 32 or 36 spoke three cross evenly spaced on the rim is the best for these price points. Some of these brands like to make it look extra fancy (dual suspension, crazy spoke patterns to look like an expensive bike) to sell but not so good to ride.
I will keep an eye on it. So far no problems and I hammred it pretty hard during set-up rides. Not a big deal to add a mm or two of spacer to the DS and adjust if I see a problem... The advantage of the Park dishing tool mentioned earlier, I can do all that with the tire still on the rim and also while in the truing stand....
You can retain the 130 spacing. 2-3mm longer axle spacers on the drive side and 2-3mm shorter on the non drive side. You’re basically shifting the hub body over. You end up with the correct (or better than before) chainline as well doing that.
That is basically what I already did (and do quite often) during the freehub upgrade, it is just one more minor axle spacer and dish adjustment if needed.
The position of the small sprocket to the frame is really close to what Bianchi sent out the door at 7 speed (almost exact) and less than a mm compared to the other factory 8,9,10 speed wheels I have, what cannot be seen easily in the pics are the factory reliefs in the stays.
On the "good" used front.... That used 2006 Gary Fisher Tarpon I picked up for my youngest is also finished.... I did a full tear down service (including the crappy RST fork) on this one, new cables of course, new tires (not required but better suited to where and how they ride), new seat (not required but better), new chain and all the bits and bobs to make it HTA legal... Pretty much looks and rides like new now, maybe better. It is very hard to find anything decent used for a decent price during COVID (and they go fast, in minutes when they come up), paid too much IMO for this one but best deal I could find at the time and the old 24" was too small. All said and done with the new parts ~$250, which is more than I wanted to spend for this basically entry level bike but much less than I could have.... I will take advantage of the high prices when I sell the 24" GT of course....
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pfbmgd
Well-known member
Thanks for the information .
Costco is sold out . I see on the marketplace several people reselling them for $200 to 250 over original price . I'm sure when the weather gets better people will pay . Deals come across all the time .
I picked up a crappy 12" bike for cheap. BNIB. Wow. No wonder they suck after being assembled by minimum wage teenagers. It was horrendous. So crunchy and the cranks felt like they were in mud. Stripped the whole thing and reassembled and now it is reasonable (but still not great). IIRC, stores give the kids 15 minutes/bike to assemble. There is a reason they come with a tag saying it is visually together but take it to a LBS to ensure it is safe (which doubles the cost of the bike).
A kid up the street has a name brand 24" bike from a local bike store. New in february. Crap. He was complaining that his gears didnt work and it was obvious the derailleur cage was rubbing on the chain stays. The derailleur had rotated on the hanger. Not sure if it wasn't assembled properly or if the tourney derailleur doesn't have enough lip to catch on the hanger. Apparently this is the second time the derailleur has failed to work on this bike.
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If it happens again for that kid check the hanger, likely also bent.
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I always wonder how many of the people that don't like riding as adults or just think cycling is stupid got there because they only ever had "bicycle shaped objects" and never had an actual properly functioning bicycle???
The good old.... I don't need a decent bike, I don't ride much....or is it really I don't ride much because I don't have (or never had) a decent bike?
The hanger on the frame looks straight. If I was repairing it, I would add some more bend to the crappy tab on the tourney. The kid is a friend of a friend so for now I am letting the LBS fix their crap. If they are unsuccessful, I will talk to the kids dad to see if he wants a better repair. I don't know the dad at all and some get touchy about their man card if you offer to help fixing things.
pfbmgd
Well-known member
I find spent a little on quality . You will enjoy the bike much more . When you are ready to move on .
What do you thing of the these two bikes ?
Rockhopper | Specialized.com
Soul
Ready for camping trips with the family and the gravel paths of your neighbourhood. If you’re going to ride, ride in style.
www.bikes.com
They are in my price range .
Historically both of those have been competent brands. I have not touched either one recently so I can't comment on those specific bikes. Availability on everything will be rough this year. I would start by finding something available (in-stock) instead of trying to find the right bike and then spending the rest of the summer locating it.I find spent a little on quality . You will enjoy the bike much more . When you are ready to move on .
What do you thing of the these two bikes ?
Rockhopper | Specialized.com
Soul
Ready for camping trips with the family and the gravel paths of your neighbourhood. If you’re going to ride, ride in style.
They are in my price range .
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