Bicycle drivetrain

Taking stock

It’s taking longer than I expected to strip the old paint off Ol’ Paint. Meanwhile I decided it’s time to take stock of all the parts to make sure nothing is missing (and in the meantime to clean up my study).

Bicycle wheel with tubes and tires in the box
Wheel and tires

First up are the new wheels for Ol’ Paint.

  1. Rims Alexrims DM18 26″ x 32H
  2. Hubs Shimano Deore HB-M6000 (front) and Shimano Deore FH-M6000 (rear)
  3. Spokes DT Swiss Pro
  4. Tubes Conti Tube Tour 26 Slim
  5. Tires Continental GrandPrix 28mm
Bicycle drivetrain
Drivetrain

For the drivetrain I’m going with SRAM Apex 1, despite its reliance on what some have called The Worst Crankset in the World.

  1. Crankset SRAM AM FC Apex 1 GXP 170 42T
  2. Cassette sprocket SRAM PG1130 11SP 11-42T
  3. Rear derailleur SRAM AM RD Apex 1 1X11SP long cage
  4. Bottom bracket SRAM AM BB GXP Team English
  5. Chain SRAM PC1110
  6. Trigger shifter SRAM AM SL Apex Trigger 11SP
Bicycle saddle, seat post, pedals, handlbar, stem and grips
Everything else

For the rest, I went with a mix of things I’ve tried or seen elsewhere, and then the Shimano Pro line for the remainder.

  1. Saddle WTB Volt Pro Cromoly
  2. Seatpost Pro LT
  3. QR skewer brand X
  4. Pedals Xpedo XMX24MC
  5. Handlebar Pro LT
  6. Stem Pro LT
  7. Top cap FSA
  8. Bar end grips Lifeline
  9. Brake levers Shimano Deore BL-T610
  10. V-brakes Shimano Deore BR-T610

The Xpedo pedals (and that’s probably the most unfortunate brand name in cycling, if not of all time) are really too nice for this bike, but I saw them on Fearless Leader Joe’s hand-built Chapman bike and fell in love with their looks.

Bicycle drivetrain components
Kuroko drivetrain

Last up is yet another drivetrain upgrade for Kuroko. The 34T large sprocket will drop my lowest climbing ratio yet again, from 25 gear inches to 23 or a reduction of 6%. (Compared to the original low of 32 gear inches, it’s a 27% reduction.) The change requires a swap of the rear derailleur to a newer model, and while I’m at it I may as well swap the front to match. With all new bits (except the crankset, of course), replacing the chain is a no-brainer even though it’s not really required. It might be a good time to swap out the bottom bracket as well for the fully integrated model from bbinfinite, but at the moment the existing bearings are working fine. (And if it ain’t broke … )

  1. Front derailleur Shimano 105 FD-R7000-B
  2. Chain Shimano 105 HG-X11
  3. Cassette sprocket Shimano CS-HG700-11 11-34T
  4. Rear derailleur Shimano 105 RD-R7000-GS
  5. Bottom bracket bbinfinite BB86-PF-RD

Now it’s all just awaiting a rainy day for me to tackle the project. Hmm … wonder if we’ve had any of those recently.


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2 responses to “Taking stock”

  1. […] As mentioned previously, I’m upgrading Kuroko’s drivetrain to make climbing somewhat easier and to sort out a front shifter that sticks from time to time. I’d gotten as far last weekend as mounting the new front derailleur and was in the process of attaching the cable when I realized that the shift lever was the reason for the sticking. So off I went to the bike shop to buy a pair of replacement levers. […]

  2. […] I scrubbed at the sprockets, silver teeth emerged in places. I had to check to make sure: they had originally been black. The coating has come off with wear. If they’d been silver, it meant I’d have a lot […]

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