droo

In my experience with overextending RDs a SRAM 10sp will do 40T max. Even with a longer B screw you'll destroy your upper pulley on a 42T. You can use a hanger extender but the shifting will suck. I eventually reverted to the 36T and cup of cement approach. But then again I did ride the same bike SS for 10 years, so YMMV.

I've got a MTB based commuter hackaround thing with 650 x 42 tyres, a 38T chainring and an 11-36. I did cannon challenge on it (170km / 2800m) and didn't feel under geared at any point except hacking up the front of Signal Hill at 20% gradients, and held on on the flats at 50km/h+ without spinning out. Chances are you'll need a new RD as well if you go to a 42T cassette, so start on the chainring and see how you go. To keep it 2x you'll probably still find some 44/32 3x chainrings lurking in someone's parts collection, but you'd need a 3x crank to make them fit since they're both 104BCD and the SRAM 2x sets only have space for one.

Fixed it for you.

Drop us a mail or a PM. If we don't have it, either we can find it or it doesn't exist...

Depends on the frame. If it's flat mount you'll only get 160s to fit, if it's post or IS mount you might get 180s in there. Maybe. 160s on properly set up brakes should be more than enough on a gravel bike though. Your tyres will run out of runway long before your brakes do.

Where are you looking? Suspension specialists will always have stock. Online bike shops not so much.

The main issue with the entry level Shimano brakes is the cheap and nasty rotors. Swap those out and size up while you're about it, and you should be well on your way to better braking. Failing that, the Deore 4 pot brakeset is about the best price to power ratio that I've found so far.

Beat me to it. Same okes that copied the look and feel of the Park Tool branding on their tools. I would't buy their stuff just for that. Also, OP, if you've ever snapped a chain under proper load, you'll realise that it's not a place to try saving a few bucks.

4 bikes will always be a pig, especially MTBs. Most carriers' spacing is still designed around 135mm QR frames, so fitting 148mm MTBs on them needs some advanced Tetris, if it's even possible. Generally N-1 is the number of MTBs you can fit on a platform rack. 2 on the roof and 2 on the towbar is probably the easiest, followed by 4 on the roof and a step - especially if you've got a bakkie or SUV those middle 2 will be a joy to get up there. Towbar rack will make towing a trailer impossible if that's a thing you do when camping, and also deletes your departure angle. Roof racks mean you have to keep an eye out for trees and parking garages though, so everything has a tradeoff...

The main issue with most CX bikes is tyre clearance, generally they'll only fit up to 33c which is a bit skinny for gravel. Agree on there being better options out there, but often the best bike for the job is the one you've got...

Depends. If the spoke tension is even all the way around, you should be fine. If you don't have a truing stand, a zip tie round the seatstay will give you a decent idea of how true the wheel is when you're done. And as you say if you get it wrong there's always the LBS as a backup. As long as you don't over tension any of the spokes it's reasonably difficult to break it properly. And a last point - take the tyre off before you start.

https://capegrosports.co.za/products/fsa-gamma-pro-chainring-1x-82x32t Looks like they have 34 in stock.

It depends. If the RD you have has a long cage version, you should just be able to swap the cage out if you can find the long cage version for that specific RD. A hanger extender is a recipe for terrible shifting.

I'd imagine that by the time you've paid a decent machinist to make one up you may as well just have bought the kit.

Not much you can do for those aside from either replacing with an air fork, a rigid fork, or learning to pull it apart and grease it up on a regular basis. If it's got a preload adjuster you may be able to tune the play out. The only things they do reliably are rattle and hold the front wheel on.

I got my last lot from Black Frog Distribution, not sure if they're still at it.

What length are your current cranks, and when was the last time you went for a bike fit? What cranks are on the old and the new bikes? As for the ratios, the 11-32 should work on the new bike with the 53/39. RD range between the two should be the same. Shimano's website will tell you what's what in that regard.

For the 34 Rhythm (and anything with a GRIP damper) it's best to use the proper Fox oils in our experience. That said, Fox are out of stock of the 5W PTFE stuff that's meant to go in there, so the Motul 5W will do the job. As for the 20W fork oil, it's not the same stuff as the Gold 20W which is closer to a motor oil than a suspension oil.

Aside from the hanger - clutch, B knuckle and pulley bearings are the most overlooked things that cause weirdness. Shimano 12 speed B knuckles are notorious for seizing up. Also check for bent teeth on the cassette.

There are a few brands that do 96bcd, but CSixx is your best bet. You can order and customise on their website and you'll most likely have it by the weekend.

Unfortunate really, I was hoping for a few really nifty improvements so I could pick up a 2 year old 7X Pro for a steal in the classifieds. My 5X will have to keep on keeping on for another while then I guess (not that there's anything wrong with it, just upgrade-itis).

Rule 1: never trust the manufacturer's ERD number. Measure first, even if it costs you a few days. Ideally, and especially with carbon rims, measure at a few points.

https://www.xoss.co/#/product/manuals The answer should be in here somewhere. Seems the Nav+ has base maps and the Nav just has breadcrumbs, but you'd have to be able to upload something for navigation and .gpx would hopefully be the default.

Morewood's single pivot bikes used bog standard bearings, it's highly unlikely that anyone would have been able to find a bearing that was the wrong size and would actually fit (although in fairness I've been quite "impressed" by some of the hack jobs I've seen in my career.) IIRC it should be a 6003 - 17mm ID x 35mm OD x 10mm thick.

Far less embarrassing to be told once, even loudly, than ride around for months with a window. It's one of the duties of your riding group, right up there with pointing out (other) road hazards.