Entering another compatibility spiral vortex…..

[2manyoranges]

The sub-world of modern standards is a frustrating and restrictive one. I bought a lovely wheelset with microspline, so I thought I would move to 12 speed. Which meant new mech. And new shifter. And then I found that also meant a new chainring. Ands that meant a new crank….argh….purchasing spIral…

Then…bought a 35 by 35 stem…argh…entering another compatibility vortex…..

 

[benjabbi]

Just a normal day in the world of modern bikes then!

 

[coomber]

I have 35 and 31.8 bars and I honestly couldn't tell the difference

 

[hamster]

I have 35 and 31.8 bars and I honestly couldn't tell the difference

The difference is 3.2.
And lots of marketing.

I bet the mag reviews all talked about:
more/less stiffness (delete as appropriate)
more/less compliance
improved steering
better handling
weight saving (apart from your wallet)

And I bet nobody could tell the difference riding in the dark.

 

[coomber]

The difference is 3.2.
And lots of marketing.

I bet the mag reviews all talked about:
more/less stiffness (delete as appropriate)
more/less compliance
improved steering
better handling
weight saving (apart from your wallet)

And I bet nobody could tell the difference riding in the dark.

Last magazine I read had a reviewer saying 35 is too stiff and should be 31.8. This after years of pushing them!

 

[2manyoranges]

The difference is 3.2.
And lots of marketing.

I bet the mag reviews all talked about:
more/less stiffness (delete as appropriate)
more/less compliance
improved steering
better handling
weight saving (apart from your wallet)

And I bet nobody could tell the difference riding in the dark.

The thing is….

…we have quite a large stable, which includes DH bikes. Things need replacing and so a bit of playing with bits often happens.

I’ve not used 35mm diameter bars and read with caution all the ‘over stiff’ posts and blogs. And the amusing Deity blurb which says ‘….we noted that people were finding 35 bars too stiff so we made a 35 bar which rode like a 31.8…’ …..er…what?

But this still meant I wanted to find out…since it‘s been interesting to play with things like rim width. I was an early adopter of 36mm internal, and realised immediately the benefits of wider rims. That bit of experimentation really paid off. Likewise tyre size. Going up to 2.6 showed that they were good for long days of distance riding on a hardtail but lacked precision when doing downhill or tight singletrack. DH competition has stuck with 2.35ish to get that ‘dig in’ on loose surfaces. It’s nice to know through experience.

So….back to bars.

A Unity 35 by 35 stem came up.

And I bought some 35mm NukeProof Neutron Alloy bars - likely to be stiff.
And a very cheap but new Pivot Pheonix carbon bars - who knows?
And some nearly new Deity Racepoint bars (thanks FG) - which apparently ‘ride like 31.8’

I think there will be a difference. On one of the RoadRats in the workshop I recently replaced a RaceFace alloy bar with a USE carbon bar. Seriously, there was a world of difference to the bike and the comfort of riding. They are very well designed bars with vertical compliance built into the outer segments of the bar and high stiffness in the middle section. It was immediately noticeable. A lot more steering precision but less vibration - very noticeably so - and a lot less hand fatigue over 20 miles.

 

[2manyoranges]

Just a normal day in the world of modern bikes then!

Exact!!

 

[hamster]

I’ve not used 35mm diameter bars and read with caution all the ‘over stiff’ posts and blogs. And the amusing Deity blurb which says ‘….we noted that people were finding 35 bars too stiff so we made a 35 bar which rode like a 31.8…’ …..er…what?

 

[Russell]

Good carbon bars are fantastic things. As others, I’m still running 31.8mm on my modern bikes I just didn’t feel the difference on 35mm.

Things have always changed and caused compatibilty issues, part of the fun of being a ‘hands on’ cyclist is, and has always been, finding the work arounds….. I tell myself

 

[MuchAlohaNui]

The sub-world of modern standards is a frustrating and restrictive one. I bought a lovely wheelset with microspline, so I thought I would move to 12 speed. Which meant new mech. And new shifter. And then I found that also meant a new chainring. Ands that meant a new crank….argh….purchasing spIral…

Then…bought a 35 by 35 stem…argh…entering another compatibility vortex…..

Should have come here first

I went through all of this on my cargo bike. Was a 1x10 from the factory. Inferior drive-line kit which wore out prematurely IMO. Wasn't good enough to my simple life so why not complicate things and convert it to 1x12? Was just about to go through the mental anguish of building a Hope Pro 4 rear hub, microspline freehub, Hope E-Bike MTB rim, build the wheel, go through spacing and chain alignment issues...then I discovered from someone else on a different forum the 12-spd cassette made by SunRace. Fits directly onto a Shimano HG freehub with zero modifications. No chain alignment issues, no redishing the wheel. Less than 1/2 the price of a Shimano XTR 12-spd cassette.

Rather than build the Hope wheel w/microspline freehub + Shimano 12-spd cassette (was going to use SLX for price/longevity), rear derailleur, chain, shifter... all I had to do was buy the cassette, chain, derailleur and shifter with the new information.

I went with XTR SGS, XTR shifter, Sram X01 Eagle chain (dollars to donuts absolute best price for longevity for a 12-spd chain), SunRace MZ903 cassette.

Edit: For chainrings, maybe have a look at the brand Wolf Tooth.