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Hey kid, I'm a commuter...help commuter

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,919
borcester rhymes
I'm trying to hash out gears and I need help figuring out if I can get low enough


my previous bike was a roadie with a 36-27 low gear and 25c tires, for a 1.35 ratio. I struggled pulling my trailer on steep climbs- I had to get out of the saddle.
The new bike will run 35c tires and a 34t ring, as that's what I have.
If I go the cheapo route I'll spend no money and run an 11-30 8 speed cassette which gives me one gear lower for a 1.18 ratio. Is that going to make enough of a difference?

The alternative is to spend $90 on new shifters and a derailleur to swap my 11-40 from the trail bike to this pig thing, which will give me plenty of low range. (1.14, 1.01, 0.88). I'm not sure it's worth the investment as this will become a $300 bike with NX 11 speed, XT brakes, and some other dumb shit.

What say you o helpful RM doggs?
 

Serial Midget

Al Bundy
Jun 25, 2002
13,053
1,896
Fort of Rio Grande
I don't commute but I did buy a commuter back pack... WARSAW that I use for grocery shopping and stuff. Because of the weight the pack can hold, my experience favors using a hardtail with an 11/40. The lower gears come in handy with the extra weight. I have a second set of wheels that are fitted with Specialized Fast Track 2.2 that I run at 50PSI, they handle the roadside debris well. I have a bob trailer that adds roughly 60 pounds loaded but I rarely use it, a high capacity backpack is easier and works for most things I need to haul.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,919
borcester rhymes
Thanks man. I think I need to spend the dough and do it right. Maybe I can sell my old XTR shit on ebay to make up the difference.
 

eric strt6

Resident Curmudgeon
Sep 8, 2001
23,187
13,444
directly above the center of the earth
see if you can find someone trying to dump an old triple set up on ebay or pink bike for cheap. I have an old 105 triple shifter set up that I am resisting buying a bb, front derailer, and triple crank to toss on my roadie as I get older and the climbs get harder for me to do.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,919
borcester rhymes
This bike was intended to harvest all the unridabru shit from my parts bin and throw it on a single bike. Part of that was this compact double crank that is practically brand new off my old road bike, plus the wheels that came off the same. I bought a cheap bar and stem, cheap frame, and i have a spare set of brakes to go on it. I just need a drivetrain and tires.

The drivetrain options are GX shifters and NX derailleur plus my used XT cassette 11-40

or

XTR 8 speed shifters with an old LX derailleur plus XTR cassette in 11-30.

Clearly the XTR is cool as heck and the cash outlay is 0, but as I am locked into a 34, I need a few lower gears for powering the kid hauler up the steep stuff. A triple would be mint, but I'm finding people really want to hang onto their dumb old shit. For $90 I can get a very high end set of shifters and derailleurs. For $50 I've been offered XT dual control... A set of 9 speed shifters runs $35 at minimum- a higher end set of shifters in 11 speed is cheaper right now. I don't know how it is, but it does.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,850
9,556
AK
OK Commuter?

I'd vote for easier than 11-30 if you are pulling a trailer...
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,919
borcester rhymes
ended up doing GX/NX combo. I definitely do not need the 50 that the crank is paired with, but whatareyagonna do. The 34/11-40 pair is good and the shifters are OK.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,919
borcester rhymes
OK and now I'm back for panniers. Anybody have a favorite? Things to look for? You know I'm a cheapskate so I'm trolling alibaba
 

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,029
7,549
OK and now I'm back for panniers. Anybody have a favorite? Things to look for? You know I'm a cheapskate so I'm trolling alibaba
I run high viz retro reflective Ortlieb Back Rollers. Quite happy with them and you’d like the color scheme.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,919
borcester rhymes
I run high viz retro reflective Ortlieb Back Rollers. Quite happy with them and you’d like the color scheme.
Those are pretty serious, but also very spartan. Would love some level of compartmentalization so I can store stuff. I also don’t know that I need cross country waterproofness, just occasional drizzle.
 

scrublover

Turbo Monkey
Sep 1, 2004
2,885
6,191
Just get something watertight/waterproof. Worth it the fist time you get stuck out in unexpected downpours or when some asshole drenches you with puddle water.

If using them a lot, cheap ones *will* disintegrate. A good clamp system is nice. Having them slopping around on the back of the bike sucks.

The basic level Ortlieb stuff is good for all these points.
 

DaveW

Space Monkey
Jul 2, 2001
11,160
2,685
The bunker at parliament
Basil do really nice stuff, not massively cheap, but not Ortlieb pricing (I've always considered Ortlieb as the "Rolls Royce" option).
Oxfords a good budget choice though, pretty tough for the money.