Friday, December 26, 2014

Saving my knees, one piece of junk at a time...

After the past few doctors visits and the 3rd time they had to remove pieces parts from my left knee, I've been contemplating getting a new 29r with gears to replace the one I sold years ago when I thought one gear was all that was necessary.

It hurts to spend money on another bicycle so I have been working on a solution to Team Cheap, a budget geared 29'r and still keep my single speed.  After much deliberation and digging around in Gorman's Garage, going through all the stuff Turra told me to throw out years ago, I've come up with a solution I hope to test out Sunday.

1st, I had to find a way to get multiple gears on a single speed rear cassette.  I wanted 9 speed donor cassette to modify, but I found an old 8 speed I was saving as a back up for the Raleigh Ti. It sure beats cutting up a Sram Red 9 that only has 3 rides on it!  I rigged up a cutting disc in the drill press and started cutting away a little off the front...


Then a little off the back...


The freehub has quite a bit of offset on it, wasted space that only a cassette with an offset spider can use, almost as if they were made for each other.  


Thanks to Mr Drill Press, they are!  


Just enough room for a lock ring.  If I can find an old freewheel with a 14 or 15 tooth small cog, I can thread that on instead and make it a 6 speed


Problem 2, I have no derailer hanger, yet...


I found a bolt with the same thread pitch as a thru axle, I drilled it, tapped the inside with a 5mm thread, cut it to length and slotted it for installation into a Shimano Saint Rapid Rise Derailer.  I slathered the insert with anti-seize just in case I changed to a thru axle later on and it needed to come out.



The derailer is now part of my quick release.  No need to patent that adapter design, the rapid rise system was a doomed and Shimano canned it years ago.



Now all I need is something to shift it with.  I was going to use a 7 speed XT thumb shifter, but low and behold, Gorman's Garage coughed up yet one more useful relic from the bicycle parts high-rise crypt known as the wooden filing cabinet.  I found a nice little XT 8 speed shifter pod!














Anyone who knows anything about Rapid Rise Technology, knows it's bass ackward.  I'll only use the 1st five of the 8 gears on the shifter pod but 1st will be 5th and 5th will be 1st.  When I push the thumb shifter, it will get harder instead of easier.  You can bet your last dollar I will be huffing at max exertion trying to climb Mt Doom and push the wrong button and go from struggling to laying on the ground wondering what happened.

To be continued, maybe....