What touring components

I'm getting a new bike made up and I'm thinking about components. This is what I'm thinking about have so far

Circle A Cycles frame
Brooks B17
Nitto stem and handlebars
Suntour or Dura Ace barend shifters
Shimano brake levers
Shimano long reach brakes
Mavic Open pro wheels
700x28 rolly-poly tyres, when unloaded, 700x32 when loaded
Sugino 46-36-24 crankset
Shimano XTR or Deore rear derailleur
Shimano XTR or 105 front derailleur
Shimano XT 12-34 9 speed cassette

Any comments/improvements appreciated

 

For a saddle, the Brooks Champion Flyer, "the B17 with springs," is very comfortable. I never used a regular B17, though.

Do 32 cm tires fit on Open Pros? Mavic used to show tire ranges for rims on their website, but right now they don't because they are redoing their site.

Which hubs will you use? I got an OP with 36 DT spokes and 105 rear hub from Quality Wheelhouse for a good price. So far it's fine, but I have not toured on it.

Have you seen Cane Creek SCR-5 brake levers? They are wider than Shimanos so you can really rest your hands on the flat tops. And they work well.

Also, Kool Stop brake shoes are great in the rain.

 

Good point about the Open Pros, I'll use Mavic MA3 or A719, hubs will be Shimano, 9 speed 105 or Ultegra on the back, with 36 spokes. I'll take a look at the Cane Creek levers

 

Website for scr-5 levers

http://www.canecreek.com/87.html

 

For touring I'd prefer to use Velocity Dyads which are stronger than an MA3 (can you still get them?). These are the right with to mount a 28 or wider tire on. Wide tires on narrow rims are not fun to corner on. I tried using Conti TT on a 700c DeepV and unless the pressure was high it felt horrible.

Cheers

Geoff

 

The MA3 are ok for 28mm max, but as I will be going up to 32 for touring I'll get the Mavic T217, A719 or the Velocity Dyad. Looking at the catalogs they are all ok for 28 and up, but the T217 and the Velocity are a bit lighter. I want to get good strong wheels, and I think any of the above will be great, but what about hubs the Shimano LX and XT will work just fine, but is it worth going to Shimano XTR, White Industries or even Phil Wood?

I think I'm settling on the best possible Shimano MTB components as I can afford for the drive train.

 

I run an A719 on the back wheel of my commuter/tourer and have found it very strong, although some consider it heavy at 560 odd grammes. I have done around 10,000 k on it now and only 1 broken spoke with only very infrequent truing required, and then only because I'm fussy - it wasn't out by alot. I have its predecessor model, the T520 on the front for the last 21000 k and it's probably overkill here. It's never had a single problem. I run 37mm tyres on front and back no problem. The Psi limits are clearly stated on the rim so no worries there either. At 37mm the limit is 88 Psi. So... definitely recommended.

 

XT will most probably be fine and last as long as the rims will, however when you know that you will be touring for a long time to come, buy hubs with sealed bearings.
As we tour on our tandem I tend to only go for parts that are tandem proof which isn't really a valid comparison if you only weigh 60kgs and pack lightly as reasonable parts will last you a long time.
I would rate hubs in terms of longevity the following:
1/ Phil Wood
2/ Chris King s/steel ratchet
3/ Hugi (new)/ White Industries
4/ XTR
5/ XT

We have the new Hugi hubs on our new tandem and have done 5000kms since June. They are silent compared to the CK's on our old tandem and so far so good. We have given them a fairly good test on some alps in France riding fully loaded.

If for whatever reason a sealed bearing does give out it is just a process of sliding in a new one and the hub is brand new again where as cup and cone hubs are a throw away item.

Cheers

Geoff

 

I would rather strong than broken. There are some things that are nice to save weight on and they can still be reliable. I do like my FSA team pro cranks)
Wheels aren't one of them. If your wheel fails your f***ed. The first tour that I did in '89 my first back wheel lasted one week. The rigidia rim was replaced under warranty with an MA3? but the bike shop wouldn't swap the front one which lasted another 6000kms before I had to replace it. After a total of 11,000 kms I had worn out the rear wheel again and every set of bearings on the bike.

Cheers

Geoff

 

What is the spacing of the rear dropouts, inside to inside, on your Circle A frame? If it is 130mm, you can use a Shimano road line hub, like 105 or Ultegra. If it is 135mm, you can use their mtb hub line, like Deore, LX, XT. I don't know about the spacing requirments of other brand's hubs, but maybe they too have 130mm road hubs and 135mm mtb hubs. If Circle A is building you a road frame, they might think you want 130mm rear spacing, but if you want a LX or XT rear hub, I think you need 135 spacing.

It is my understanding that anything better than 105 or LX is only better in weight, and not by much, especially for tourers other than ultralighters. At least with Shimano, I don't think the price increase of higher end components brings better quality, performance or durability.

Also, since your largest cog will be 34 teeth, you might want to check with Circle A about the length of your derailleur hanger. On my old '86 Trek, I tried using a Shimano Nexave cassette with a 34 cog and I used an LX derailleur. However, the derailleur pulley guard hit the 34 cog when the chain was on that cog. Ended up my derailleur hanger was too short, even when I loosened the derailleur's barrel adjuster all the way. Had to switch to a 32 cog.

Does Circle A know you need a derailleur hanger that will be long enough for a 34 cog? Do they know you want spacing for a 135mm rear hub?

 

Yes they know the gear range. I'm basically doing a lot of resaerch so I know all the pros and cons and can have an intelligent conversation when we finalize the component list. I'm not sure if the frame will be 130mm or 135mm wide at the back, but we'll talk about it.

So far I've had some good recommendations. Thanks for mentioning the Velocity Dyads they look good, strong, but not too heavy. I'll put some 700x28 Rolly-Polys on them and lace them up to a Shimano XTR or White Industries

 

phil wood products can't be beat in my book. i used a pair of hubs for well over 20 years with absolutely no complaints. i don't recall the names but they were 36 spoke large flange. great hubs