London to Brighton on an old Marin

[Ackers]

That's looking good. Last time I did the London to Brighton was in 2010 and I built up a 1992 Kona Lava Dome....DX/XT and slick tyres. It flew, but as others have said, it gets quite congested. I remember seeing one bloke on a unicycle!

 

[Stanflashm4n]

For skinny tubes, a chain-line of 47.5mm was the Shimano spec. for MTB if it helps. Anything around that value will be OK.

Looks a well capable bike

Measured with a calliper best I could and it seems like the chainline is about 50mm…is that too far out? Like I said I have two spacers on the drive side of the BB would taking one off be an option?

 

[Stanflashm4n]

Shimano say in top gear the Jockey wheel centres should be at 90 degrees to the floor. We all start somewhere, nice bike

Going by that the chain might be too far the other way!

 

[Stanflashm4n]

Added the grips and some old bar ends I had . Got some slightly less battered ritchey ones on the way from eBay . Gunna take it out for a little spin now while it’s still light!

 

[Stanflashm4n]

The bike rode really nicely, pretty happy with everything...except one thing . Going downhill I could really have done with a little bit more . Legs were spinning pretty quick. In hindsight maybe I should have gone for the triple or double. Im tempted to put a 40t chainring on but not sure how I’ll cope up Ditchling beacon. Could put a triple or a double on but all these options mean another chain , finding a derailleur/shifter and setting it up before Friday… and probably ripping the grip trying to get it off

 

[al-onestare]

I was going to suggest, you'll end up spinning out a lot on that.

 

[hamster]

To size the chain I put it on the largest / largest , attached the quick link pulled it together where it could be joined then counted two rivets down and cut there. Is this correct?

Shimano tech docs say it has to be big-big plus two, so that is correct. You MUST be ablse to get big-big, or it can (and will) stuff the rear mech through the back wheel.
Mech orientation helps but it's not an absolute guide, depending on cassette and chainset sizes.

 

[Stanflashm4n]

I was going to suggest, you'll end up spinning out a lot on that.

change of plan , going to try the triple

 

[Stanflashm4n]

If this doesn’t turn out well i will go back to the 1x, thought I’d give it a go. This crank is fc m552, chainrings are 42,32,24 10spd apparently . Looks a bit worn but I’m hoping it’s got a little life left. What do I need to look for with front derailleur compatibility? I’ve got an xt m738 or an lx m560, they’re not the right band size but I can get a shim, will either of them do the job? I always find working out what will work when sticking different parts from different eras together tricky. The cassette is 9 speed 11-34

 

[greencat]

Nothing stopping you manually lifting the chain onto the right ring as you need to if you can make the front mech/shifter combination work. So you could ride most of it in the big ring, and pop the chain on the granny for the beacon.