jatho

http://www.i-mtb.com/general-lee-40t-cassette-adaptor-shimano/

The SRAM cassettes are split in a way that the top 4 rings come off (as one piece) and the General Lee is then installed in place of these last 4 rings, Shimano has a 3 ring split at the top, there is a Shimano version available now but to be honest I think the SRAM option is better as the gearing is split over 4 rings and not 3 giving a more subtle jump between ring size. You use the same RD, some manufacturers claim that the 10spd RD will only work with a maximum tooth size of 36 but this isnt the case, I'm running a standard XX RD short cage with this adapter and not problems at all.

or just download the gearing app for Android or iPhone

There aren’t too many amateur cyclists that can efficiently turn a 53/11 and get more speed (not power) than if they were using a 53/12, couple that with the fact that most of our races in SA are relatively flat when compared to say Europe so you’re not going to have massive downhills where you’ll run out of gears with a 53/12 and someone with a 53/11 is going to ride you off, you’ll also not be faster on a flat because of the 11 unless you’re Greipel! I’d say 99% of amateur cyclists don’t need anything more than a 53/12 and someone looking for higher gears on the back is a prime candidate for compacts. I ride compact cranks and race licensed vets, the only time I’m out the back is when I haven’t trained, even on rides like Panorama which have some of the biggest downhills on our calendar I’m able to hold the bunch albeit at a very high cadence.

It will be cheaper but given what the OP asked I think compact might be the better option, the 2 extra teeth wont make that much of a difference whereas the compact cranks will make a significant change to gearing. As for the group waiting, its not to say he's going to be slower just because he's riding a higher cadence, take Froome Dog for example, he spins like a mad man on the climbs and no one waits for him.

Do you have standard cranks? if so why not look at getting compact cranks?

I am indeed, so much easier for me to say its too cold and take the whole of winter off Hats off to you guys that raced it yesterday, you've got bigger balls than me

Drove there, did a 20 second spin on the bike, got back in the car and went home Our start was 6:25 and it was frikkin freezing, wasn't prepared to risk being sick from a race I hadn't trained for.

OK cool, thanks man, I'll maybe pop past this weekend if you're around?

I dont remember I'll need to check, wasn't a brand that I'm familiar with, its an integrated headset so I'll just replace the bearings, I have a feeling old bearings were installed to start with because the rest of the bike is in good / new condition and the headset has dome some serious mileage.

Hehe, thanks, I don't want to always bug you with these things.

Thanks for all of the advise, been out of the office so only catching up now. Read up on the net a bit and it seems I need the IS41 (top) which I believe is 1 1/8" and IS52 (bottom) 1.5" The top bearing has a bevel on the one side on the outside and the bottom bearing has a bevel on the outside as well as the inside, would these be considered standard bearings?

Hey Hubbers I need your help please...... I recently got a MTB that I want to convert to a single speed, it has a tapered headset and the bearings are toast, I measured them last night (With a tape measure so measurements might be slightly out) top bearing is 28/41 and bottom bearing is 40/52, any idea where I can get replacements? I can post pics if this helps? Thanks.

I think its a worthwhile security measure, been using it for quite a while and haven't had any issues with it, makes it a lot harder for fraudulent transactions to take place.

Can also confirm definitely 168, installed XX1 on my flash (well a hybrid of XX1 and XX)

The point of my topic was not to have a debate about whether or not Shimano is better than SRAM, thehub is littered with topics on that feel free to comment at will there, my logic in this instance would be to replace an inexpensive jockey wheel before spending R2200 on new shifters and RD.

Now why didn't I think of that? I'll tell him to bomb the RD and Shifter and shell out a couple of grand for replacement Shimano parts

I'll have a close look at the RD and check the chain length, misaligned cage etc... when we fit the pulleys but I've got them laying around and its a quick enough replacement so worth doing anyway and checking the outcome.

Chain length should be fine, if it were a chain length issue he would have had these issues from the start which wasn't the case.

On the last couple of MTB rides, my mate's XX RD is dropping the chain of the bottom tension pulley and it gets caught between the cage and pulley, on Sunday on a 2.5 hour ride it must have happened about 5 times, I'm also running XX RD and haven't yet had this problem but the RD is still new so I'm guessing when I get a bit of wear I'm gonna have the same problem, I recall this issue being mentioned on thehub a while ago so it seems its a common issue with this RD, I Googled it and there are a couple of suggestions on how to fix it. The first one is to replace the jockey wheels with aftermarket ones like KCNC, AEST etc..., the XX wheels are apparently quite thin so there is a bit of play on the chain over bumps which edges the chain off the jockey wheels, I'm going to give him a set of wheels to install and we'll test on the night ride on Wednesday and report back. the other fix which I guess would be a last resort is to put some epoxy on the inside of the cage next to where the chain runs so that it acts as a chain guide and keeps the chain from jumping off, by the look of it the chain has worn the cage quite a bit so it's only going to get worse and changing the jockey wheels might not be enough, in his case its probably worth doing the epoxy and wheels. I cant vouch for these fixes yet but will post some feedback once we've tried it, I'm posting this really to see if anyone else has come across a fix or perhaps if this does work then you know what to do to get yours sorted. I'd be interested in the comments about this.

Thanks man, all Cannondales are awesome

Nail on the head ysterperd, SRAM PG1070 bottom 6 and General Lee top 4. Its 1X10 so 10 speed XX RD, 10 speed chain and XX1 crank set, haven't dropped a chain once (not that I've ridden this much since the rebuild)

Some pics as promised....

No, it works fine with mine, I've got the XX with the short cage (80mm), I suppose the proof is in the pudding and I may still have issues but I doubt it. I read up on some of the reviews and the 10 speed RD's supposedly cannot work with a 40 or 42 but guys that have tested it for months with standard 10spd RD's say its fine.

I'll take some pics this afternoon and upload.