Triple Conversion Update

As regular readers of the Pixies blog will know, a few weeks ago I changed the Specialized over from a 4600 Tiagra compact 50/34 set up to a 5703 105 triple 30/39/50 set up (along with a few other upgrades to cables, bottom bracket etc) The earlier blog post on the subject can be found HERE  

I've done several hundred miles on the conversion now and thought it might be useful to provide a brief update on the conversion for those people considering a similar plan of action and also for those people that are interested in hearing how going from a compact set up to a triple has been in the real world?

I've ridden the Specialized over a variety of terrain, including some fairly tough hill training in Wales and three very different Sportives. One of the biggest benefits that I have found with the conversion is the fact that the middle "39" front chainring is providing me with a set of ratio's that suit my particular riding style and current level of fitness. I am finding that I spend a lot of time riding on the "39" and in conjunction with my preferred high (for a novice) cadence pedalling rate I am able to maintain speeds of 20-22mph over mildly undulating terrain with the full range of the rear cassette available to me. With the previous compact set up, I would find myself constantly swapping between the outer "50" and inner "34" over this type of terrain when trying to maintain a speed of 20-22mph, especially over ground that included long but not particularly steep climbs that were to much for the gears available on the "50" or required a the less than ideal "large to large" chainring/cassette combination. I'm sure this is a personal preference thing as the right gear selection is available with the compact set up, I just prefer to not be constantly swapping between chainrings and prefer a set up that allows me to easily maintain my preferred cadence rate.

Of course opting to use a triple rather than a compact brings with it a weight penalty and a little more complexity. With reference to the weight penalty, in the real world I reckon it's about 200 grams, which I can make up for by losing a little more body fat (I've still got plenty to spare LOL) If I was weight obsessive when it come to the bike, I guess saving a 200 grams in the weight of the crank and then going on to save weight in other components would be something to consider seriously, however at the moment I still have around 4-5 kilos that I can lose in body weight which is effectively cancelling out any theoretical small weight saving measures on cycle components. Therefore given the way that the triple set up suits my preferred cycling style, I think in the real world of being a relatively novice Sportive rider, I'm happy to live with the weight penalty to gain the spread of useable gears that the "39" provides whilst also having a lower set of gears for tough climbs and a higher set of gears for faster stretches of road.

On the subject of the weight of Shimano components, much is made in the world of cycling about the merits of buying a better group set to save weight when compared to a lesser group set. As some readers will no I am currently building a new bike around a LOOK 566 frame and I have been researching the differences between the current Shimano 5700 series 105 group set and the 6700 series Ultegra group set and one of the things that I have established is that the difference in weight between the two group sets is approximately 180 grams. The other difference between the two group sets is obviously cost with Ultegra being around £150-200 more expensive. So that's about a £1 extra spent per gram saved in weight. When the fact that the surrent 5700 series 105 probably performs as well as the previous incarnation of Ultegra and is not actually that far behind the performance of the current Ultegra, the "financially careful" amongst us might consider 105 to represent more "real world" value than Ultegra and we might choose to save those 180 grams by not eating as many pies for a couple of weeks!

What does 180 grams look like? this bag of sweets weighs 200 grams, not much is it?

Current Shimano group set weights (actual not claimed)

Dura Ace Di2    2375g
Dura Ace 7900 2111g
Ultegra 6700    2441g
105 5700         2624g

In terms of added complexity, the triple set up is a little more time consuming to initially set up as the front changer does seem to need to be in just the right place in relation to the chainrings and cable tension does seem to be more critical if consistently flawless shifting is required. It probably took me three or four attempts spread out over maybe two or three weeks to get this aspect of the conversion just right, however now that it is set up and the cables seemed to have stopped stretching, it shifting really well every time. I guess if I was having to take the bike to the local bike shop to have any required adjustments done, this initial setting up phase may have had the potential to test my patience, however as I do pretty much all of the work on the bike myself, it's just been a question of investing some time into getting the set up just right.

Photo from Park Tools

The Hope bottom bracket has been taken out a couple of times since it's initial installation in the pursuit of a good chainline, which has in turn probably helped to further improve the quality of gear shifts. Following the initial installation I noticed that I had a little bit of  sideways movement or "float" of the crank within the bottom bracket, not much, but it was there and left unattended I'm sure it would have led to premature wear of the bearings in the bracket. The float was removed and the chainline improved by installing a different selection of spacer washers from those originally supplied with the bracket (washers of varying thickness are available on e bay and from Hope) Getting this aspect of the installation was simply a case of trying different combinations of washers until the correct chainline was achieved and any float in the crank was removed, again a little time consuming but at least I wasn't paying somebody else to bugger around with it until it was spot on. There is a great article from Sheldon Brown on chainline and chainline adjustment HERE which is worth looking at if the subject of chainline is something that is new to you.

The Jagwire cables that I installed as part of the conversion have performed well. I can't say that they have improved the quality of shifting or braking in any significantly noticeable way, however they are quietly getting on with the jobs they are their for. I have had to take up some slack in the gear shift cables after about 300 miles which I am putting down to some initial stretching of the cables. It may be that this initial stretching may have only been noticeable on the triple because the front changer set up does seem to need to be "just right" and is definitely affected by cable tension. On a compact set up I suspect this initial stretching might go unoticed as they don't seem to be as fussy when it comes to front changer set up and cable tension. Would I change standard Shimano cables for Jagwire cables if all I was looking for was improved shifting quality? Probably not, because I suspect good quality Shimano cables are as good as Jagwire cables. If attention to cosmetic detail is one of the desired goals from a change of cables, Jagwire cable sets come in a variety of colours and can make a difference to the final look of a bike build. (I've got a white set sitting in the garage that are destined for the LOOK 566 that I am currently building up)

On reflection, this blog post is probably making the triple conversion sound like it has been difficult to get running right and us perhaps quite fussy to keep set up for flawless shifting? This hasn't been the case and now that it is set up and has a few miles under it's belt it is performing really well, with only the type of minor adjustment that would be required by the critical owner of any any set up. It's probably not a conversion that many people will consider as for many people a compact set up will do everything they want it to do in respect of providing a reasonably wide set of gear ratio's and being simple to live with. Where the triple provides added value for me is with the ability to provide a low set of gear ratio's for steep climbing via the inner "30" chainring whilst still be able to run a relatively closely spaced rear cassette to allow for a nice close set of gears whilst riding on the "39" It works for me and I guess that's what's important!

As always thanks for taking the time to take a look at the Pixie's blog and I hope you are able to pop back for another look sometime in the future.

Dha weles diwettha

VP  

                            

         

              

Installing upgrades to make riding upgrades easier?

Time for a quick update on the actual bike I am riding and some changes that have been made to it over the last six months.

(There has also been a further update to this blog post, reviewing the conversion detailed below after a few hundred miles of use which can be found HERE ) 

As regular readers of my blog will know, earlier this year Mrs Pixie bought me a new bike for my 50th birthday present (she is a very generous Pixie and I am extremely lucky to share the Pixie cave with her) The bike in question is a Specialized Secteur Elite which was chosen because it offered Sportive friendly frame geometry (taller in the headset and therefore less likely to break an ageing Pixies back), a sensible compromise between price & specification and I liked the colours!

Over the course of the last 6 months I have grown to really like my Secteur, I know there are fancier and more expensive bikes out there that would possibly be a bit more comfortable or maybe make me a few seconds faster in a Sportive, however all in all the Secteur I seem to rub along nicely together. Despite being happy overall with the Secteur there were a few aspects of the bikes specification that I felt would benefit from a bit of an upgrade.

First things to get changed were the seat and seat post for items that promised a ride that would insulate me from "road buzz"  and be easier on my bum, namely a new Specialized S Works carbon seat post and a Selle Italia Max Flite gel saddle. I am pleased to be able to say that both of these modifications have been a complete success, ride quality has been much improved and my bum no longer gets numb!

Selle Italia MaxFlite and S Works carbon seat post

Swiftly following the saddle and seat post was a wheel change. A bit of an impulse e bay bargain saw me becoming the new owner of a brand new pair of Shimano RS10 wheels complete with new Schwalbe tyres and a new Ultegra 12-27 rear cassette for not a lot of money. The Shimano wheels and some Continental GP 4 seasons tyres were installed together with the original Shimano Tiagra 12-30 rear cassette. Again these changes made quite a bit of difference to how the bike rides and definitely made it feel a bit livelier on hills. 

Next up was a need to look at the brakes. My wet Welsh hill climbing trip with Simon from Total Cycling Performance had highlighted how inadequate the standard fit Tektro brakes were on long fast descents in the wet, providing only minimal retarding capabilities which were "we'll stop eventually but not anytime in the immediate future" in nature. As luck would have it, Wiggle had a sale on (actually I think it's a continuous sale) and I picked up a very natty looking pair of FSA Energy brakes. The FSA brakes were supplemented with some Swissstop green pads and as they say the "job was a good 'un" We now have stoppie inducing brakes on the front and more than enough power in the back. As a bonus they even work in the wet.

FSA Energy brakes

The Secteur actually stayed in this specification for about 6 or 7 weeks and to be honest I was really happy with how it was riding and performing - reliable, comfortable, quick enough for a Sportive newbie and good fun. However, some time ago I decided that for l'etape I wanted to have the perceived security of a couple of really low "bale out" or "granny gears" of the sort provided by the new generation of 32-12 and 34-12 MTB type rear cassettes.

The existing Tiagra 12-30 cassette when combined with a compact chainset provides for a pretty wide set of gear ratio's, with the lowest two gears being low enough to stay in the saddle on all but the steepest of climbs, however what this does mean is that there is one big gap between the gears where a a 16 tooth cog would normally be found on a 12-27 cassette which can make itself felt when trying to "crack on" on flat roads. What I wanted was a set up that would provide for a low set of granny gears for later in the day on long hilly Sportives, whilst maybe tightening up the gaps between the intermediate gears and decided a conversion to a "triple" set up might be able to provide this in conjunction with a 12-27 cassette.

There is a weight penalty when converting to a triple set up, however for a rider at my level I think the increased range of gears that are made available is probably beneficial enough to outweigh the increase in weight. Besides, I can just lose a couple of pounds of body weight to counter the weight of the new crankset.

Of course a conversion of this type isn't as simple as it at first seems and as usual my "inner perfectionist" surfaced and took the opportunity to "upgrade" some components that were working perfectly well but were ripe for upgrading at the same time.   

So whilst I say the Secteur stayed in it's then current specification for 6 or 7 weeks, this was only because I was I was collecting together the various components that I wanted or needed to fit as part of the triple conversion. 

In the end I had a pile of new parts that contained the following;

• Shimano 5703 levers
• Shimano 5703 Triple cranks and chain set
• Shimano 5703 front derailleur
• Shimano 5700 GS rear derailleur
• SRAM 10 speed chain
• Hope stainless steel bottom bracket
• Front chain catcher
• Jagwire Pro Racer cable set
• New gel type bar tape
• Red hoods for the 5703 levers

I elected to utilise my trusty copy of "Zinn and the art of road bike maintenance" and complete the instalation of the new components myself. This decision was made on the basis that if I can rebuild a 1978 XS650 Yamaha motorcycle, I should be able to cope with a push bike! Well, the conversion took me probably a day to complete, over the space of a week, working on the bike when I could grab an hour or two. 

Shimano 105 50/39/30 crank set

Shimano 5700 105 GS rear Mechanism

Hope road specific stainless steel bottom bracket

Chain catcher

Shimano 5703 / 105 levers and after market hoods

Look no cables!

I'm actually really pleased with how the conversion has finished up, the 5703 levers and concealed cable routing have really tidied up the look of the bars and the shifting action of the levers seems to be a lot crisper than the old Tiagra levers. The SRAM chain went on with no drama and was chosen because it allows the use of the SRAM powerlink system for joining and making roadside repairs. The chain catcher may be working but as the front set up is shifting flawlessly it hasn't had to do any work yet! The rear 105 GS rear derailleur feels like it is providing a cleaner shift than the old Tiagra component (although to be fair, the Tiagra rear mech' performed well and was only occasionally reluctant to shift cleanly when under load) The Hope bottom bracket? Its a bottom bracket, it looks nice in its anodised red finish and it feels buttery smooth. Hopefully it will provide long and trouble free service over the winter? 

In theory the conversion to a triple set up has increased the number of available gears from 20 to 30. However the actual ratio's achieved in each gear mean that their is some overlap between what is actually produced by each of the front chain rings, so the actual number of unique gears is a little less than 30.   

At the present time I have kept the Tiagra 12-30 cassette on the rear wheel to see what a 1:1 or 27 inch low gear will be like to ride with in the real world. I suspect it might be a touch to low and I wont be surprised if I find myself swapping it for the new Ultegra 12-27 cassette that I acquired with the RS10 wheels as this should in theory give me a lowest gear that is the same as the compact/12-30 set up and provide me with the missing 16 tooth cog.

Testing of the new set up has so far been limited to very short local rides, however I have another session in the Welsh hills with Simon and a couple of hilly Sportives, planned in the next month, so I should start to get a feel for whether either of these cassettes are going to give me the spread of gears I want or whether I may want to try another cassette.

I'll report back sometime in the future on how this set up is performing and I will provide an honest assessment of whether the expense and the slight weight penalty of the triple conversion is actually worth it when compared to the compact/12-30 cassette set up.

Whilst sitting in the garage this morning getting the bike ready for a training run, I realised that the only original bits left on the bike are the frame, forks, bars and stem.

Hmmmm....that means I've got nearly all the bits required to complete the build of a second bike sitting in the garage. I feel a new project coming on, anybody got a cheap frame and forks they don't need?  

As always thanks for taking the time to stop by and read about my journey to l'etape and associated Pixie ramblings. I hope you can pop back again some time in the future to see how I'm getting on.

Dha weles diwetthaVP