Additional to yesterday’s put up, after a 20-mile check journey the chainring swap seems to be a hit:
Shifts to the so-called “granny” ring now appear to be constant and dependable, and as a bonus upshifts are a little bit smoother too:
Why is it known as a “granny,” anyway? Is it as a result of grannies are purported to be weak? Or is it as a result of they’ve fewer tooth? Both approach, it looks as if grandpas are equally weak and toothless, and I’m tempted to say that going ahead we must always merely name it the “grandparent” ring. Nevertheless, triples are nearly extinct as it’s, so at this level it most likely doesn’t matter.
Anyway, see that bulge alongside the inside plate of the derailleur, adjoining to the chain?
With the smaller ring the chain was under that bulge. Subsequently, the derailleur needed to transfer farther inboard as a way to reliably transfer the chain off the ring, on the danger of dropping it. However with the bigger ring, every little thing appears to line up kind of the way in which it ought to, so hopefully we’re all good now and that’s that.
So why use a triple on a street bike in 2025, anyway? Effectively, for one factor, I already had all of the elements. (Okay, possibly I had to purchase the chain.) However extra importantly, I needed the Roadini to be the alpha canine in my kennel of street bikes, and subsequently I needed it to have All The Gears–every little thing from teeny-tiny ones for scaling steep unpaved grades on summer season trip to big-ass ones for taking place the opposite aspect, plus all the same old street bike combos in between.
The trendy method to attaining wide-range gearing on a sporty all-terrain drop bar bike is one thing like SRAM Purple ASSPLR:
In equity to SRAM, I do know you don’t need to get Purple in order for you the newest wide-range gearing. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t level out that their battery-powered distant management derailleur alone prices Seven Hundred American Enjoyable Tickets:
Setting that apart, firing up the Sheldon Brown Gear Calculator, right here’s the drivetrain on the Roadini:
And right here’s SRAM Purple ASSPLR with a 40-tooth chainring, which I imagine is fairly typical, and their $600 ASS-tastic 10-46 cassette:
Not solely are the low gears nearly equivalent, however I’ve obtained a a lot larger gear too, which implies I’m 100% assured to win a race towards anybody driving a motorbike outfitted with SRAM Purple ASSPLR.
Better of all, I don’t even need to plug it in!
Additionally, a friction shifter permits you to use just about any cassette you need whatever the variety of cogs, and in the event you haven’t checked recently it’s possible you’ll be pleasantly shocked to study that 8-speed cassettes nowadays price little or no. Presumably sufficient individuals are shopping for $600 cassettes that the identical firm is ready to promote you this for about what a few inside tubes* prices:
*[An inner tube was sort of a bladder made out of butyl or latex that cyclists once used to keep air inside their tires.]
In any case, with the shifting situation (hopefully) sorted out, I’ll subsequent transfer on to brake curation:
The stopping energy with these rims is great, however as I discussed, I’m getting just a little little bit of squealing, and I’ve now tracked down what stands out as the final remaining ceramic-specific street brake pads on planet Earth.
Think about what I may accomplish if I cared about one thing that was truly necessary…