Matthew — Apologies for the serious thread drift here about gearing. To answer your questions:
1) Either, it doesn't matter. The chances that your complete build suits a potential buyer *perfectly * are pretty low. I think that many of us here and on iBOB who buy used completes end up taking them apart, salvaging, parting out, hoarding the parts, then building up the bike exactly how it suits our needs and riding styles. I bought a complete Hillborne a few years ago. I really wanted a Hillborne. I had no interest in the way the previous owner had it built up: saddle, tires, bars, stem, shifters, etc. In my time looking at used Rivs I've seen plenty of hot builds but when it comes to completes for sale very few would I buy without making serious changes. It's worth considering selling it as a F/F/HS or perhaps a rolling chassis given the Bleriot is built around 650B wheels. 2) A small dent like you describe is something I think just about anyone on the forum would overlook. Pictures would be helpful! On Saturday, July 26, 2025 at 8:22:31 PM UTC-4 [email protected] wrote: > I bought my 45t x 110 mm 45t about 4 years ago, I forget where from. > Ordered from JBI, I think. It's a Dimension, no ramps n' pins, but in a > half-step, who cares? You might want to look at BMX suppliers, too. 45t x > 110 mm bcd x 3/16" chain shouldn't be too hard to find... 45t has been a > standard BMX size for decades. > > --Shannon > On Saturday, July 26, 2025 at 4:22:29 PM UTC-7 lconley wrote: > >> Whenever I want odd chainring sizes, I check Peter White 1st. He carries >> the TA chainrings in many BCDs. >> >> Laing >> >> On Sat, Jul 26, 2025 at 4:34 PM Patrick Moore <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> This is very interesting since it uses a *stock* cassette. Must >>> investigate further. >>> >>> I like the 45/42 option. >>> >>> Can one still get 45 t rings? I used to get odd-tooth-count sizes in 110 >>> bcd from Sugino 30 years ago — I used both 47/44 and 48/45 combos (25” >>> wheels) but I’ve not looked since. >>> >>> On Sat, Jul 26, 2025 at 12:05 AM Shannon Menkveld <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> The Shimano 9-speed 12-36 is a half-stepper's dream cluster: >>>> >>>> 12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32-36 >>>> >>>> Makes for a 7-9% half step with any of: >>>> >>>> - 48/45 (107 - 33.4 inches) >>>> - 45/42 (100" - 31.2", probably what I would build. 45t chainrings >>>> are limited to 110 bcd, so far as I can tell.) >>>> - 42/39 (29" - 93.6", best bet for a 130 or 135 road crank.) >>>> >>>> Similar logic applies to 1.5-step and 2.5-step setups. >>>> >>>> The SRAM, but not Shimano, 10-speed 11-36 just adds the 11 to the >>>> existing progression, giving a 112 inch high gear, at the costs of going >>>> 10 >>>> speed. Not worth it, IMHO, unless I was standardizing all my bikes on 10. >>>> (Which I wouldn't do, the price jump from 9 to 10 speed parts is still >>>> pretty huge.) >>>> >>>> You do have to use a road double front derailleur, or an older triple >>>> that's marked "for half step gearing" or somesuch. I know there's a Deore, >>>> and there are probably others. They don't have the dropped and profiled >>>> inner cage plate, which will hit the middle ring when you're upshifting. I >>>> use a Suntour AR, and it works great. >>>> >>>> I built my HS+G because >>>> >>>> - I was converting a bike that I bought as an un-Drewed single >>>> speed back to geared drive. >>>> - I needed low gears >>>> - I was cash broke and parts middle-class >>>> - I had a NIB 1980 Suntour Superbe rear derailleur that I really >>>> wanted to use, but its max cog and chainwrap are specc'd at 23t. >>>> - All my freewheels were 1x-26 clusters >>>> - I'd always wanted to try a half-step. It appealed to me, >>>> primarily because duplicate gears offend my sense of rightness. >>>> - I was broke >>>> >>>> It works a treat. The ~7% gaps are perfect, especially on the flats and >>>> into the wind. And, yes, with the Rivendell Silver D/T levers, it's a lot >>>> of fun to shift. (The way I do it is, from a stop, ride up on the 42 (~14% >>>> jumps, not a problem when you're accelerating,) until I'm just spinning >>>> just that little bit too fast. Then upshift the front and iBob's yer uncle. >>>> >>>> The Peugeot PKN-10 has 48/34 x 12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32, for a 28.4" - >>>> 117" 2.5-step "alpine" setup. >>>> >>>> The GT Karakoram will get 42/34/22 x 12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32, for a >>>> 92.1"-18.1" 1.5-step + granny. (I may try the double version on the >>>> Peugeot, as I think it will make the big ring even more useful.) >>>> >>>> --Shannon >>>> On Friday, July 25, 2025 at 7:27:50 PM UTC-7 Robert Tilley wrote: >>>> >>>>> Brompton 6 speeds are basically half-step gearing. Three speeds on >>>>> the internal hub with two cogs making 6 gears spaced about 25% apart. >>>>> I’ve >>>>> never used a true half-step. >>>>> >>>>> Robert Tilley >>>>> San Diego, CA >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Sent from my iPhone >>>>> >>>>> On Jul 25, 2025, at 7:13 PM, Ted Durant <[email protected]> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> On Friday, July 25, 2025 at 12:57:43 PM UTC-5 Patrick Moore wrote: >>>>> >>>>> Shannon’s post reminded me of the pleasures of half step gearing... >>>>> Does anyone here use a half-stepped system? >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> This is a timely post for me. I recently took delivery of a new >>>>> Chapman "light touring" bike and, as part of the process of deciding what >>>>> did that bike want to be, I worked hard on a half-step gearing setup. It >>>>> turns out to be impossible to buy a cassette that works for that, so I >>>>> cobbled together something from Alibaba and spent some time with it on a >>>>> test bike. I'm pretty sure I'm as nerdy about gearing as anyone, and I >>>>> have the Excel workbook to prove it. I am supportive of the idea of >>>>> half-step and I wanted it to work. In practice, though, I didn't find it >>>>> worked well for the riding I mostly do around here. >>>>> >>>>> My take on it is that, if you are limited to 5 or 6 cogs in back, then >>>>> half-step makes sense for all the usual reasons. Like Shannon, my >>>>> preference is for a 15% step between gears, just enough to be meaningful, >>>>> not so much that I have to ride at a cadence that's outside my comfort >>>>> zone >>>>> between gears. The Shimano 9-speed 11-32 cassettes are >>>>> 11-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32, which is average steps of 14% from the 12 to >>>>> the 32, with a minuscule 1.4% standard deviation among those steps. The >>>>> 11-12 jump is pretty much a toss - okay, fine, I can turn it to 11 for >>>>> that >>>>> little extra more at 50kph. >>>>> >>>>> I also understand the idea of efficiency and not having any duplicate >>>>> gears, but in practice my 2x9 is an 8-speed transmission with a two-speed >>>>> transfer case and one extra gear at the top. I'm normally in the big >>>>> ring, >>>>> shifting to the small ring when facing a sustained climb of, say, 5% or >>>>> more. In either ring I've got lovely, consistent 12-15% jumps between >>>>> each >>>>> cog. What I really care about in front is that the change between the big >>>>> and small ring is around 30-35%, big enough to get me to some appreciably >>>>> smaller gears, but not so big that it's a massive change in RPMs when I >>>>> shift. A 42/26 combo is a giant 48% change (I use log-differences...), >>>>> which is way too much for me unless I first shift the rear at least 2 >>>>> cogs. >>>>> Minimizing shifts is another form of efficiency, and I'm happy to use the >>>>> 9 >>>>> cogs in back to improve that aspect. I've learned not to grind my gears >>>>> (hah) over duplicate gear combinations. >>>>> >>>>> With 11+ cogs in back it opens up another style of gearing, which I >>>>> have on one of my Sams. The small part of the cassette is 1-tooth jumps, >>>>> 11-15; the large part is 2+ jumps, 11-15%, average 13%, stdev 1.3%. This >>>>> creates something of a 4-range gear setup - 1) big gears/small jumps; 2) >>>>> medium gears/medium jumps; 3) medium gears/small jumps; and 4) low >>>>> gears/medium jumps. Well, that's the theory. In practice I end up using >>>>> it >>>>> as simply high gears/low gears, and I tend to spend most time in the >>>>> bigger >>>>> 2/3 of the cassette. >>>>> >>>>> Ted Durant >>>>> Milwaukee, WI USA >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> 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/6577996b-ec92-4ffa-98a2-1c5748ab947en%40googlegroups.com >>>>> >>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/6577996b-ec92-4ffa-98a2-1c5748ab947en%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>>> . >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>> 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/8a9eb0da-3595-4b74-86d9-6c3236aca823n%40googlegroups.com >>>> >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/8a9eb0da-3595-4b74-86d9-6c3236aca823n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>> . >>>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> >>> Patrick Moore >>> Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum >>> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> >>> Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing >>> services >>> >>> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> >>> *When thou didst not, savage, k**now thine own meaning,* >>> >>> *But wouldst gabble like a** thing most brutish,* >>> >>> *I endowed thy purposes w**ith words that made them known.* >>> >>> -- >>> 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/CALuTfgsQfUipYu9NnefQoqGVATpspp%3DJLgOoJ0pHesFyFfJ-mA%40mail.gmail.com >>> >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgsQfUipYu9NnefQoqGVATpspp%3DJLgOoJ0pHesFyFfJ-mA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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