Raleigh Dynatech MT4 titanium build

[ferrus]

Re:

I'm so pleased you kept this Andy and have managed to make it comfortable. I can imagine the Ti tubes and supple stays making a great bike-packing ride, especially with those fat tyres. A pretty much ideal gravel bike.

Friction shifting's a bit of a revelation isn't it. It's surprising how quickly you learn to 'index' mentally. Like you I think I might actually prefer it, and have chosen to build my Edge Ti road bike with Retro-Friction DT shifters instead of Ergopowers.
As you say, it also allows you to get away with all kinds of otherwise incompatible components and gears. 'Be very interesting to hear how that 10 speed set up would work out!

 

[ultrazenith]

Re: Re:

I'm so pleased you kept this Andy and have managed to make it comfortable. I can imagine the Ti tubes and supple stays making a great bike-packing ride, especially with those fat tyres. A pretty much ideal gravel bike.

Friction shifting's a bit of a revelation isn't it. It's surprising how quickly you learn to 'index' mentally. Like you I think I might actually prefer it, and have chosen to build my Edge Ti road bike with Retro-Friction DT shifters instead of Ergopowers.
As you say, it also allows you to get away with all kinds of otherwise incompatible components and gears. 'Be very interesting to hear how that 10 speed set up would work out!

It must be partly due to muscle memory from having used the thumbshifters in indexed mode for years that means we get the shifting just right in friction mode. Perhaps over time this will wear off (I hope not). Some people have claimed you can't run friction shifters with 10 or 11 speed because the jumps between sprockets are smaller and require much greater shifting precision. But I'll try it anyway.

 

[ultrazenith]

After months of putting it off because cantis are usually a pain to set up, I finally got round to fitting my Tektro CX brakes on the rear of my MT4. Surprisingly easy to install and set up, I got everything positioned just right on the first try. That's a first for me!





And I'm impressed, amazing stopping power when coupled with a DiaCompe SS5 lever. I may get another set to go on the front.

I actually wish I'd known how well high-profile CX and touring cantilevers work way back in the 90s when weak low profile brakes were what the bike industry wanted to sell us.

 

[timseren]

I really dig that purple accents