[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by SavoyWalrus

Will check out the Continental tyre. Yeah, 27.5 is a tricky size. They're primarily meant for MTBs which means hardly, if any, slim tyres. Decathlon has a thin tyre, but the reviews aren't great (too many punctures/blowouts). There's a Pirelli one too, but that's way out of my budget (3.5k per tyre).

Check out Maxxis Detonator slicks for 27.5 - see if you can source it anywhere from the local stores. They helped for my MTB a decade ago.

But honestly you are trying to solve the wrong problem. Even if you get ultra-thin tires, the speed difference on your heavier MTB would be minor; don't expect drastic improvements (unless your current tires are really shitty). Focus on other aspects - increasing riding distance, etc. You can target better speeds once you upgrade to a hybrid or a road bike.

https://www.maxxis.com/int/tire/detonator/

[SavoyWalrus]

Originally Posted by amol4184

What is the internal width of these rims? Going even wider on those rims is easy but slimmer is difficult because that is indeed MTB size as you mentioned.

Michelin makes slim tires in that size called Wild Run'r if you can find them.

Not sure about the internal width. The Michelin tyres are pretty tough to get, according to my cycle dealer.

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Check out Maxxis Detonator slicks for 27.5 - see if you can source it anywhere from the local stores. They helped for my MTB a decade ago.

But honestly you are trying to solve the wrong problem. Even if you get ultra-thin tires, the speed difference on your heavier MTB would be minor; don't expect drastic improvements (unless your current tires are really shitty). Focus on other aspects - increasing riding distance, etc. You can target better speeds once you upgrade to a hybrid or a road bike.

https://www.maxxis.com/int/tire/detonator/

Ah, fair. I think I'll probably retain these tyres and eventually save up to get a hybrid or road bike. I do love this bike though. It's great for commuting and takes on bad roads well.

[Fillmore]

Originally Posted by SavoyWalrus

Will check out the Continental tyre. Yeah, 27.5 is a tricky size. They're primarily meant for MTBs which means hardly, if any, slim tyres. Decathlon has a thin tyre, but the reviews aren't great (too many punctures/blowouts). There's a Pirelli one too, but that's way out of my budget (3.5k per tyre).

Check these they are slick smooth rolling tyres in 27.5

https://bumsonthesaddle.com/products...ts-17601159597

[amol4184]

After I stripped down my donor bike, felt bad to abandon the frame and wheels. My limited time on it was pretty joyful and the frame proved itself to be comfortable and reasonably light weight.
Since I did not have a flatbar hybrid bike I started looking into cheap drivetrain parts as well as a flat handle itself.

After some digging into local used markets and coming across some janky stuff, decided to buy everything new and AliExpress came to rescue. They also had 11/11 sale going on at the time and I was able to score a mini 12 speed Shimano groupset (M6100) on the cheap.

A CF flat handle, https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832337546076.html and brake levers were purchased at the same time too.

Except for the brake levers which turned out to be garbage which I discarded and bought Tektro ones from Craigslist, rest of the stuff is great.
Especially the groupset which is original Shimano except retail packaging. Everything came wrapped in thick plastic sheets minus any paperwork or manuals. I was a little skeptical since it cost less than half at what it costs usually but all good in the end.

The cassette is humongous 11-46 which is uncharted territory for me. When I put it together I had my doubts about shifting performance, mainly the top 3 gears where the jump between teeth is massive. But Shimano has worked their magic and shifts are just as good as on any road groupset with small cassettes. Wonderful!

Also if anyone is curious, some 12 speed cassettes do fit on regular 10-11 speed Shimano HG hubs. They are backwards compatible but not all. Some SRAM cassettes with 12s also fit on same hubs.

Here is the bike fully assembled in its flatbar hybrid avatar. Rides wonderfully, clocks in at 9.5 kgs. Pretty good weight IMO considering that massive cassette alone is 580 grams!

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by amol4184

After I stripped down my donor bike, felt bad to abandon the frame and wheels. My limited time on it was pretty joyful and the frame proved itself to be comfortable and reasonably light weight.
Since I did not have a flatbar hybrid bike I started looking into cheap drivetrain parts as well as a flat handle itself.

Nice work! That is a huge cassette indeed. The final ration must be more than 1?

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by amol4184

Here is the bike fully assembled in its flatbar hybrid avatar. Rides wonderfully, clocks in at 9.5 kgs. Pretty good weight IMO considering that massive cassette alone is 580 grams!

Looks mighty impressive - although it looks like a 29'er at first look. Think you mentioned your height in one of your previous posts, but I'd make a guess that you are in the range of 6 - 6'3 for sure (looking at the bike size).

Care to share a post with all the parts that have been swapped/added as a list - unfortunately, the Aliexpress links don't open here. I'd be interested in that inclined stem that's holding the flat handle - I'm on the lookout for something like that for my hybrid.

Also going by the heavy tires and the new handle, I'm assuming you are planning to use this on mountain and/or off trails a lot. Why then the clipless pedals - I'd assume they would be irrelevant?

[amol4184]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Nice work! That is a huge cassette indeed. The final ration must be more than 1?

Thank you!
Final drive is just about 1. The cassette is 11-46. The chainring is unusually large 48T (for 1x) because I simply converted 2x crankset into 1x by removing inner chainring. Its not ideal setup because the ring is made for front derailleur with teeth specific for shifting. That is the next update, to get 1x narrow-wide chainring but I am holding on it until there is a deal I cannot refuse.

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Looks mighty impressive - although it looks like a 29'er at first look. Think you mentioned your height in one of your previous posts, but I'd make a guess that you are in the range of 6 - 6'3 for sure (looking at the bike size).

Care to share a post with all the parts that have been swapped/added as a list - unfortunately, the Aliexpress links don't open here. I'd be interested in that inclined stem that's holding the flat handle - I'm on the lookout for something like that for my hybrid.

Also going by the heavy tires and the new handle, I'm assuming you are planning to use this on mountain and/or off trails a lot. Why then the clipless pedals - I'd assume they would be irrelevant?

Thanks!
I am 6 ft 1. Bikes sized 56-57 even 58 fit me well. This Diamondback here is 57 but DBs usually run larger so I am guessing its more of a 58.

Entirely skipped my mind that Aliex is banned in India. Here are the parts I used for conversion:

1. Shimano Deore M6100 12 speed rear derailleur.
2. Shimano Deore 12s thumb-index shifter.
3. KMC X12 chain
4. Sunrace 11-46 cassette. Cassette selection is important if yours is old 9-10-11 speed Shimano HG hub like mine. Not all 12s cassettes fit on HG hub.
5. Toseek T600 carbon fiber flatbar with 5 degree back-swept angle.
6. Tektro or any China made brake levers.
7. SRAM compression-less cable housing for brakes and PTFE coated inners.
8. Cheapo shift cable housing from Amazon. The derailleur comes with its own PTFE coated inner so need of purchasing that separately.
9. Flat pedals (replaced clipless eggbeaters)
10. 1x converted crankset. Removed small chainring from 2x crank. Used the spacers from 2x setup and wedged them between chainring and crank arms because for 1x the chainline needs to be altered to handle all 11/12 cogs on the rear cassette. What I did is not ideal but it works in a pinch. I had to play with it a lot.
11. Grips from Amazon, later changed to road bike bar-tape from Fizik.

The stem is ludicrous +35 degree 100mm Cannondale stem. I am planning to change it to a more normal +6 degree 100mm. The 35 degree stem gives an unusual ""flighty" feeling. I feel disconnected from the road.

The tires are tubeless 33c cyclocross type - not too wide but because of their knobs they look serious. Bit severe for paved roads but occasionally I go to a nearby trail where these come handy.

I was in two minds about the pedals since as you rightly pointed out that the bike is more of gravel grinder than a hybrid - but my use is mostly puttering around with some friends who don't ride road bikes or as a backup to main bike. Besides the XC shoes grip the pedals pretty well even without clipping.

[amol4184]

Originally Posted by amol4184

The stem is ludicrous +35 degree 100mm Cannondale stem. I am planning to change it to a more normal +6 degree 100mm. The 35 degree stem gives an unusual ""flighty" feeling. I feel disconnected from the road.

I was in two minds about the pedals since as you rightly pointed out that the bike is more of gravel grinder than a hybrid - but my use is mostly puttering around with some friends who don't ride road bikes or as a backup to main bike. Besides the XC shoes grip the pedals pretty well even without clipping.

Fixed some things after two rides on the bike. That stem was first to go. Installed the OG Diamondback 7 degree stem in + configuration.
Next and some what unexpected change warranted by real life conditions was the brake levers with more clearance for fingers. Since it’s quite cold here I am riding with thick gloves and earlier Tektro ones left almost no space between lever and handlebar. Shifting was especially difficult too - so they got the boot and Chinese levers were put into duty which have quite the clearance for large hands and thick fingers of mine. Cheap but have nice clicky feel.

Next up were pedals. Once you are used to clipless the advantages are hard to ignore. So out with flat pedals, in with Crankbrothers eggbeaters.

And finally the cassette. Found an even larger SRAM variant (11-50) on Craigslist that is compatible with Shimano HG hubs. It’s definitely an upgrade over previous Chinese make cassette with 46 teeth as far as shifting performance goes. Shifting is now even smoother. Have kept the previous hub as a spare. Did not increase the chain length from prior setup. There is slightly more tension than before but manageable. Forgot to weigh it but I am guessing it’s close to 600 grams.

Also meddled with grips made for flatbars but went back to thick roadbike bartape from Fizik. At 2.7mm thickness it provides enough cushion.

[ninjatalli]

Saw a cyclist today on the Bangalore ORR cycling alongside my cab for pretty much 3-4 kms. With the heavy traffic and all, he was able to keep up pace with my cab while doing it leisurely on the side of the road. He had a small Bluetooth speaker tied up on the handle and listening to music at not so loud but loud enough to be heard over the traffic noise. Quite a good idea to leverage when traveling on city roads during peak traffic.

[amol4184]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Saw a cyclist today on the Bangalore ORR cycling alongside my cab for pretty much 3-4 kms. With the heavy traffic and all, he was able to keep up pace with my cab while doing it leisurely on the side of the road. He had a small Bluetooth speaker tied up on the handle and listening to music at not so loud but loud enough to be heard over the traffic noise. Quite a good idea to leverage when traveling on city roads during peak traffic.

He was having a ball on the bike! I scoff at people who play loud music while in the nature, on hikes but on the bike in crazy traffic? Bring it on. I feel it is also much safer than using earphones that many people use while in traffic on 2-wheelers.

[amitoj]

Man I love getting stuff from Rapha. They usually have pretty decent end of year sales going and it helps that their material is top notch quality and their customer support is excellent.
This time, I really liked even the packaging that my stuff came in! Reading this message at the back of the package gave me goosebumps.



"In anticipation of the ride" couldn't have said it better as I eagerly wait and dream for the outdoor riding season to start.

[deepclutch]

I saw this Raleigh branded classic bicycle in a bicycle shop in Muvattupuzha market 2 weeks back. Is this genuine? I don't think so. But, sure reminds me of the old Raleigh's we had long back.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Raleigh, the British brand is permanently licenced to an Indian, Ludhiana based family. They market Lappierre as well as SunCross brands. This is based on my understanding and observation, and I may be wrong. Or in other words, the Indian Raliegh branding has nothing to do with the Raliegh cycles available in the UK

[SavoyWalrus]

I'm planning to join the road bike gang later this year, moving from my Giant MTB.

I currently do 40km rides, but my goal is to do a 100km ride by the end of this year. My budget is around 50k, which ones should I shortlist? I live in Bangalore, so there are plenty of stores and many brands that I can choose from.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

For 50 k, you'd get a claris 2 x 8 geared model. This is already entry minus 1, so It will suggest to stay away from tourney models. Scott speedster 40, Giant contend 3 are likely available. These however are above the budget by atleast 10 k. If suggest a triban 500 or 120 in that order. Of course, the used market is become sir with people getting busier.

Make no compromise on frame size that matches your height and body dimensions.