Shakedown ride on rebuilt bike. [View all]

[TexasProgresive]

Don't ask me why someone would take a less then year old bike down to the frame and fork and change out the bottom bracket, crank, derailleurs, brakes and wheels. But that what I have been doing for the past couple of weeks. I tell myself it is anti-Alzheimer therapy. A good part of that was learning how to do the work, the actual build did not take very long even when you take into consideration that if there is a choice between an easy way and a hard way I take the hard way.

The bike came equipped with Shimano Claris 8 which has a large chain ring of 50. For some strange reason I wanted 52. That's what I always had in the past. I bought a Shimano Ultegra 6800 groupset and wheels. This is a 10 speed conversion. The wheel upgrade is necessary to accommodate the wider cassette.

I was having trouble getting the rear derailleur to shift correctly yesterday- I started over this afternoon and got it shifting really well. I will have to add back some chain as it can't make it up to the large cog when on the large chain ring. I know that's cross chaining and not a good practice but it should be able to work.

Anyway I took the bike out for a short spin. It was amazing. It's true that it is a bit lighter but I couldn't believe how responsive it was. I was able to push the 52T x 11T on the flat. It felt really good. The brakes are phenomenal, smooth and will pull you down in a hurry if needed.