MTB conversion to Disc Road bike

[SportingGoods]

I will post a ride report tomorrow (I forgot to buy a chain quick link  and I had to mess multiple times with the Front derailleur, so I had to open the chain once closed. Now closed with a 9 speed quick link!).

But, as we say in France: "Voila!"





Very happy with the result. Very proud of it 
Now I really need to ride it!

EDIT: I forgot to post a drive-side of the bike. I like the look of the XT, even though I still miss the Ultegra... And that reminds me of one more important point:
 I have used the middle/outer chainrings. Alignment is fine. No way to find 34 teeth on the small position anyway (64mm arms). I bought 48 and 34 (I had 44 and 32 in stock, too small). 50 is difficult to find, but 48 with a 11 sprocket is plenty fast, and the jump from one ring to the other will be better. Also, I could only find 48 ring in 9 speed. 10 speed is 46 max. That is not important, as the inner dimension of the chain is the same (9 to 11 speed), only the outside is different. So, we really don't care for the rings to be 9, 10 or 11 speed. I made sure to buy the same brand/speed for middle/out, as this is important, it enables a good sync while shifting.

[carbonazza]

Congrats! I look forward for the ride report

[Carbon_Dude]

Nice pics, the -057 makes for a nice looking road bike!  If I still had my -057 and wanted something to ride on the road, I'd probably just buy a set of compatible road wheels and tires.  I guess I'd also want a front derailleur and chainrings but then I'd need a new crank instead of the 1x specific crank I had on the bike.  It all gets complicated really fast and I'd end up with extra parts to sell.  Sometimes it's just easier to sell a bike and build a new bike.

[SportingGoods]

Thanks! This is actually a FR-202 frame, not a -057. Not sure what the difference is (I haven't seen -57 geometry).

I gave it a quick ride over lunch. It was just a short test ride (I still get a 9 speed quick link). It confirms:
- geometry looks good. Not too aggressive, not too relaxed
- 44 big chainring is too small. I'll get 48 tomorrow.
- B6 handlebar is very nice. The wide top area is really comfortable.
- saddle from smud-carbon is very comfortable too. It was a few minutes ride but I had regular shorts, and it pleased my bums
- I need to raise a bit my seatpost, adjust saddle then

[JohnSpeed]

Wow nice job mate, that looks awesome. Wouldn't mind having something similar myself.

[Carbon_Dude]

You are right FR-211 is a bit different than the -057, but yes, your bike looks really good SportingGoods.

[SportingGoods]

Sorry, no ride report yet (I'll ride over lunch). I had to work some more on the bike yesterday, but I got it completed. I've installed the 48-34 chainrings (and the 11sp quick link). Then, shifting was not as good...  Tried to modify a bit the FD position, cable tension, but no, it would not shift properly. By the way, a road bike has some tensioners to adjust the FD, not a MTB. I need to buy one and add it at the end of the cable housing, right before the stop in the seat tube.
I was about to give up, consider that I need to buy a new FD (but why??) and then I observed what's going on. And I realized that the spacing in the front of the FD was too large (either you don't push enough on the left or you don't hold enough on the right). So I have bended the front of the FD plate to reduce the local spacing from 1.1 to 0.95 mm. And now it works perfectly! It really makes sense as it is a 9 speed FD (3x9, those with the largest plates that accommodate better the large chainring, and I had that in my stock!) and 9 speed chains are wider. An 11 speed chain needs a shorter spacing.

Anyway, here is how it looks like now (I bought French rings from " Specialites TA", very nice looking, not expensive at all).

[carbonazza]

I suspect that in a few episodes, you will use some piece of woods or rock to solve an issue
Congrats on beating so much adversities! The bike looks great.
Now the question is how does it ride?

[SportingGoods]

Here we go, ride report



Numbers first:
- 42 km, 540 m climb (mostly at the end - not sure why it did not record properly the profile). An easy ride.
- 1:28:15, 28.2 km/h. That's 6 minutes faster then my best time (same wheels, same fork, flat bar, regular MTB drivetrain).
Numbers says it's a much better bike then the flat bar version of the same bike.

Feeling:
- I'm not a roady, I can't really compare and be smart (frame stiffness, power transfer, etc...).
- I felt great on the bike, could push strongly
- I never felt any pain in the back, neck. Actually this has removed a knee pain I had from not cycling (I'm serious)
- I'm aero enough when in the drops, no need for a more aggressive position
- I felt comfortable out of the saddle too
- I'm relaxed enough when on top of the bar (I really love this wide platform of the B6).
- Road cassette: what a joy to have short range cassette, 1 tooth at a time. Always in the right gear.
- 48-34 chainrings: I was most of the time on 48. I topped the 48/11 in the descent. I could do with a 50 but... why? I'd be 2% faster, maybe, but I appreciate to get the range I need with the 48 ring (maybe I would have to drop more often to the 34 with a 50). Then 34 ring with 28 sprocket seems plenty, I used the 34 for the final climb but only so that I could use the first 4 sprockets to maintain a speed >20 km/h (never moved to the upper side of the cassette). I anticipate to be OK in my local "Hors catégorie" climbs (but I'll wait a bit before I tackle that one).
- Brakes: honestly there is nothing to say for now. They enabled me to stop, slow down, just as I needed. Feeling is right. I haven't got close to their limit, so it's hard to say more then that.
- Tires: 28 mm is very comfortable. I'll still build the light 23 mm tubular for more hilly rides, I'll need it.
- Forgot to say that the smud-carbon saddle is incredible. More comfortable then my padded Selle Italia. I had the feeling to get my butt suspended in the air, feeling no pressure at all.
So feeling says it's a great bike that I'll enjoy riding.

Oh, finally, I will not be racing on this bike at the end of the month. My wife kindly reminded me that our daughter will play piano that day and that I will NOT be on my bike 
The good thing is that I will then take it easy and get started sooner on the CS-496 build (I still need to ride a bit, it was painful to not have a bike at home...).



EDIT: 2 more rides with this bike over the weekend. Still great:

- Saturday: gravel ride
I went for a short slow ride with the family (youngest is 6, so not fast!). We went on isolated roads, and then into some gravel trails along the river. The 28 mm tires were superb. They qualify for gravel riding
- Sunday: steep climb, fast descent
It was crazy hot but I thought I need to test the limit of the cassette. I went for an hour ride (an ideal lunch ride) in a place where I know there is a VERY steep climb. Steeper then you would expect even in a 1st category or Hors category climb. But a lot shorter I managed to go through on the 34/28. There was another climb, similar gradient as a difficult climb (but only about 2 km long), that I cleared with about 3 sprocket left.
Then, on the way back home, there is a long (not too steep) descent. I have MAXed at 64 km/h, pedaling (strange that after exporting the MapMyRide log to Strava it says 67km/h). So, 48 chainring is big enough, I don't need to go faster then that!
All this tells me that my gear range selection looks good.

Today, over lunch, I'll test the brakes. I'll go up Chamrousse (previous stage of Tour de France, regular stage of Criterium du Dauphiné), not to the top but I'll go down then on tight hairpins turns where you gain speed and have to slow down at every turn. This will tell me if the brake are good enough!

As I was walking in the forest with the kids last evening I captured a view of the mountains that I cycled that day. I did a loop around that hill you see in the middle, the closer one. It was nice

[SportingGoods]

This is probably my last ride report before I build my tubular wheels (in quite some time as I'll build my MTB first). So... BRAKE REPORT !

I'd say it's 100% good. Nothing I'd want to change.
- Levers: Ultegra levers have adjustable reach. I like a short reach, probably from my MTB preference. I can get it the way I want. Also, the touch of the carbon is very smooth, specifically with short gloves.
- Calipers adjust: there is no contact point adjustment on the Ultegra lever, so it's great that the calipers get it. Actually there is 2 knobs on each caliper. I like that you can easily match the feeling of both brakes.
- Caliper power and modulation: one word to describe it: Impressive. And my MTB brakes are SRAM Guide RSC, so I know what power and modulation is. I felt very comfortable in the hairpins turn, very safe. I'd even consider this for XC MTB.

Then, one thing I had not expected. Dropbar makes hairpins turns a lot faster then with my flatbar . Surprising. I could lean a lot better, carry more speed through the turn thanks to a good position. Also the levers make it easy to control brake and shifting simultaneously. This bike is made to descend!

Hopefully I'll be able to add that it's made to climb when I'll get my tubular wheels and drop 700g in the wheels+tires. Still, I have been 5'30" faster on this route then last April, so it's already not bad at all.

EDIT: I've uploaded the trace to Strava (forgot again to turn it on with Mapmyride) and it's very interesting. I'm in the 500-1000 on each segment (and honestly the KOM must be pro-riders or use e-bikes!!!!), except on the DH section, where I'm... 59th  . This really tells a lot, I'm a lot better DH then going up, and the brakes and bike fitting have a lot to do with it. I would stand on the pedals and reach behind the seat, hold it with my knees ; just like I would on my MTB! It seems to be pretty efficient on road bike too 

[carbonazza]

Thank you for the brake report, I'll definitely look about them for my coming build.
Can you share some more details of the type of wheels you will build. 700g will make a huge difference.

[SportingGoods]

The difference between these JuinTech (what a funny name! "Juin" is June in French) and the Hayes I had in the past is night and day. It's hard to tell these are not full hydro.

And to answer your question about the wheels:
Gravel wheels (those were my 29" MTB wheels): ZTR Crest on XT hubs
Front: 759g
Rear: 919g
Total: 1678g
Tires: 278+293=571g
Inner Tubes: 2x110g=220g
Grand Total: 2469g

Road wheels: 30mm deep carbon tubular on Novatec hubs (from my MTB carbon wheels)
Front: 303 (rim)+140 (hub)+140 (light spokes)=583g
Rear: 303 (rim)+271 (hub)+140 (light spokes)=714g
Total: 1297g
Tubulars: 2x260=520g
Grand total: 1817g

Difference=652g. And some more in favor of the carbon wheels due to disc that will be lighter.

It should really be great climbing wheels!

[SportingGoods]

One more brake update. Yesterday, I was coming from a short ride back home. There is a very narrow road right before I arrive at home and a big truck in front of me 
I was going fast, over 40km/h, on that flat narrow section. Not the smartest thing of the day 

So, I've hit the brakes and I've locked the rear wheel. Just a split second, I could then modulate to slow down. All that to say that there is plenty of power in the JuinTech brakes! More then I thought. I'm still not 100% comfortable with those road levers, that wheel lock was really my fault. But now I'm even more confident in my brakes, they are really strong.

[SportingGoods]

another quick update on my road bike. I've just converted my winter wheels (the ZTR Crest) to Tubeless. I had tubeless compatible rims (already equipped with tape), valves and sealant. It was a shame to not convert!

In a nutshell: I highly recommend tubeless to anyone who has compatible components.Yesterday I've beat more then 10 Strava PR in one single ride

There are not many official Tubeless tires, I've picked the Schwalbe Pro One, 28 mm. My previous tires were Schwalbe Durano, 28 mm, mounted with tubes. Here is my review:

- MOUNTING: difficult. I'm experienced with tire mounting and tubeless setup but those were difficult. I had to fight to mount the tire on the rims, but that's probably because my rims are MTB, not road rims. The profile is probably higher on my rims. Tubeless setup was easy then.
- BENEFITS:
   * The first benefit is comfort. There is a huge improvement, even though I start from 28 mm tires. Same pressure but the tires are a lot more supple. I used to feel a hit when rolling over road cracks, bumps. It's all gone now. Everything is absorbed by the tire. I even rode on cobblestone, crossed railway. Smooth.
   * The next benefit is grip. I went down hairpin turns, long descent and felt more secure then ever. I have beat my PR on a descent yesterday.
   * Then, amazingly, there is a rolling resistance benefit, very noticeable. This is odd as it does not fit with added comfort and grip, but hell it does! Schwalbe claims that Durano with tubes suck 29 Watts when Pro One suck only 17 Watts. My ride yesterday tell me this is real. And what a sound, as Simon and Garfunkel sang, the sound of silence.
    *Weight. There is a benefit here. 80 g / wheel, with 30 ml of sealant (half of what I use in my 27.5x2.8 MTB tires). Does it make a difference? It should. Did I feel it? No! But it's there and it's better this way then an added weight!

I don't mention the obvious benefits of tubeless but they apply here as well as in MTB: no more tube pinching, ability to reduce the pressure to what you need (rather then what will prevent punctures), auto-repair of punctures.

So, I'm sold to tubeless for road bikes now. I will keep these wheels all winter and will mount my mountain wheels (carbon tubular) next Spring.

[SportingGoods]

It's been a long time since I have posted here. The bike has over 1200 km now and is just great. I really love it.

The reason I post now is because I've been brave yesterday and ordered some "exotic" stuff for the bike (you can call that "stupid" as well, the limit is very narrow  ). So, as I'm getting closer to building my carbon tubular wheels I considered a post on weightweenies forum about Ceramic/Carbon disc. I thought it would look incredibly cool on my already-all-Carbon bike. It would also save 160 g total. Then I looked at the price and... it was not that bad. So I ordered those discs (absolutely untested by anyone reliable and from a Spanish company that I never heard of and that I could barely read, because I don't speak Spanish - now you get the "stupid" part of it  ).
Then, I thought that carbon wheel with carbon disc would look stupid with steel bolts. So I did a 2 minutes search on Aliexpress and found a lot of 12 Ti disc bolts for 13 bucks. 2 seconds later I had pressed on "order". Now you really understand what I mean with... brave 

I would never take such a chance on my MTB, but hell this is a road bike with 160 mm disc brake, it will do it (and look so cool!!)