'94 A2MS budget build

[Derek]

I am getting excited to get this thing out of the 'shop' and popping wheelies. Thinking that lacing the cables will prolly be the tough part. Ain't gonna do nothin I ain't sure about. Hell, if it's spring 'for it happens it's spring. Want to do it RIGHT but I'm not gonna pay retail for none of it. Working on rounding up some shifters, and will use zip ties if needed.

[Derek]

AND I had a little old Mexican lady follow me into my driveway on her bike pleading and pleading for help day after last afternoon. "Please can you help me, my chain fall off two time every block. She is my car and take me to work." [sic] I thought (You just hit up the right stranger) The front derraileur was way out of whack.... a hex wrench and a little tugging later and she was on her way. Ride on, senora.

[neo_pop_71]

AND I had a little old Mexican lady follow me into my driveway on her bike pleading and pleading for help day after last afternoon. "Please can you help me, my chain fall off two time every block. She is my car and take me to work." [sic] I thought (You just hit up the right stranger) The front derraileur was way out of whack.... a hex wrench and a little tugging later and she was on her way. Ride on, senora.

Well done amigo! Pay it forward... the Bike Karma Gods have smiled upon you, a little less Darma headed your way! Hell, you probably just saved yourself from a broken collar bone or some potentially worse form of bike related accident!!! I'll never take issue with helping a lady in need or someone who is working... it's the lazy bastards that suck the system dry and won't work! We have 30 million people in my state and 2 million of them don't work... I hear people defending those numbers all the time, "Only 1/15th of the population... blah, blah, blah" Okay fine, now think of the population of your state... do you go to work? Would you want to pay for 2 million people to stay home and watch The Price Is Right while you're being the hardworking production citizen we expect everyone to be? SORRY! Soapboxin' again...

[neo_pop_71]

I am getting excited to get this thing out of the 'shop' and popping wheelies. Thinking that lacing the cables will prolly be the tough part. Ain't gonna do nothin I ain't sure about. Hell, if it's spring 'for it happens it's spring. Want to do it RIGHT but I'm not gonna pay retail for none of it. Working on rounding up some shifters, and will use zip ties if needed.

Smart move! To this day, having built hundreds of bikes, I still take my brakes in for a final fine tune adjustment by my buddy at my LBS. Why not let the guy that does hundreds of brake adjustments every week put the final tweak on my brakes? Yes, I can and will do the brakes but I have no trouble letting the professional put that perfect finishing touch on those ever so important life saving components! Especially if it's a build for someone else, I would feel terrible if a friend or customer were injured because I didn't set the brakes up properly!

[Derek]

Is it absolutely impossible to tune a 9 speed shifter for use on a 8 speed cassette?

[vpc66]

I would think the rear derailleur could be set to stop inline for the high and low gear but the shifter would still have room to move and if you were not paying attention and tried to slam the next gear...Think I would just wait and get the right parts for the job...but that is me

[vpc66]

Wow....You were one of the guys that I thought was a X-bike shop guy.....but with all the bikes you have dealt with you might as well have. With me brakes go easy,but I have never done canti's so when I do I might scream for help as to what I am doing wrong... I have had a couple of rear derailleurs that drove me nuts because they would be almost there yet not and I would run into the shop before I pulled my hair out or beat the bike with a hammer....then I have had those that fall right into place....

[neo_pop_71]

Is it absolutely impossible to tune a 9 speed shifter for use on a 8 speed cassette?

Yep! It will never be perfect, sorry brother. There are key reasons and secondary reasons why it will always be sloppy... but not so sloppy that it won't work most of the time. First, a 9 speed shifter pulls less cable because the gear and chain spacing are narrower than a 6, 7, or 8 speed cluster. However, the shifting does work cleanly on most of the cogs because there is so much gear overlap. The secondary things vary from worn teeth up front on the chainrings or in back on the cassette, used chain will have chain stretch that adds to the sloppiness, new vs. used shift cables... both can play havoc on shifter.

It can work, the commuter I just finished for my friend has a 9 speed Deore trigger shifter and an 8 speed STX rear derailleur and both are pulling the chain over a Sugino singlespeed track crank and a 7 speed Sachs (Malliard, pre-SRAM) freewheel. If it sounds like pure mish-mash, it is but my buddy was on a super tight budget. He supplied some of the parts, I had to fill in the rest and make it all come together. Yes, it was a bit of a nightmare but if you take your time and patiently work through the trial and error stage, it can be pretty great in the end.

Keep asking questions, we'll help in any way possible, and you'll be bombin' the trails soon enough.

[neo_pop_71]

Wow....You were one of the guys that I thought was a X-bike shop guy.....but with all the bikes you have dealt with you might as well have.

You were right Vinny, sort of, I've spent years turning a wrench and helping out in bike shops but I was never been employed by one. First was when I was racing on my college race team, our team shop was my LBS (the same one I continue to frequent), the previous owner let us use the stands and tools. I got spoiled having all those specialty tools at my fingertips. A few years later my buddy opened his own shop. I was always there working on one of my bikes or building up something for someone. In exchange for wrenching or watching the shop so he could grab lunch or a coffee, I had the run of the place plus "good-guy" pricing on everything. Again, I was spoiled and that lasted until he closed his doors but I've always kept up with my LBS and so on days when the newer owner isn't there (most Sundays), you'll find me there building up another whip. Building them is just as much fun as riding them... I figured that out years ago with BMX... I was fixing everyones' BMX bikes, it was a blast and 30 years later I still love it!!!

[neo_pop_71]

Hey pee30wee,

You're in Salt Lake, right?

How about an upgrade to you build?

Check it out:

http://saltlakecity.craigslist.org/bik/3217808574.html
Race Face crankset, syncros chainring, blackspire ring god - $30 (Liberty Park)
"Race Face crankset in red, syncros chainring and blackspire ring god bash guard. I got these from a friend and never used them, they show signs of wear."
Call or text Mike
801 448 3172

Good luck!

-D-

p.s. If you buy them and decide that there aren't right for your build, I'll take them off your hands... no worries.