Hi all, I am new to this group. Picked up a Joe A several weeks ago and have been mostly lurking here but after yesterday’s ride, am hoping to get some guidance from this group’s experience.
I live in NJ and usually do 1 of 2 kinds of ride: 1.) 10-15miles, strictly pavement, super flat, out to the beach and back. I do this ride almost daily just for my mental health, sometimes solo sometimes with friends, never fast. 2.) 15-25 miles: a combination of pavement, fire roads/gravel, single track with some roots 1,000-1,500 feet of climbing, some of it pretty steep. I did ride #2 for the 3rd time this season on the Joe and think I need to make some changes to my build. Tires: When I picked up the Joe A, i put some gravel king SKs on it (48) hoping that these would be a nice middle of the road. I find they are OK on the road and OK on the gravel but I really think that something with a bit more volume that I could run at a slightly lower pressure would be better for the minimal though bone-jarring sections of trails with exposed roots, etc. Would love suggestions. Gearing: The crankset (https://www.somafabshop.com/shop/new-albion-crankset-xdd-46-34-10-sp-2200) is (i think) the “clipper double” from the Rivendell website. I think the small chainring is a 36. (My 10sp rear cassette’s lowest gear is a 36t). I need a smaller front chainring for the climbs and I’m not sure: 1.) a 34t would be small enough 2.) if not, do i need to get another crankset to do more of a compact double with a 28t or similar without breaking the bank ($100-150). Would love feedback thoughts! In short, despite having a few other bikes (Surly LHT, Surly Midnight Special, 1986 Team Miyata) that each does one thing really well (rides to the beach, all terrain rides and fun/fast rides respectively), I love the way my Riv rides so much that I’m trying to sort of make it do the rides to beach/all terrain rides bike. Thanks all, have really enjoyed the discussions on here and hope to be able contribute something useful! Including photos so you can see current build and a non-rooty section of the single track on my routes. (I couldn’t resize photos to post so including link here) https://share.icloud.com/photos/0f4Y0ThIZCUFRZWjrqQBBqvLg Jim -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/67e6339c-af55-41e0-81f9-e560f3d2f04en%40googlegroups.com.
