My first real Mountainbike got a bit old over the years. I bought a Cube beginner MTB in 2009. It was my one and only bike for many years. I even started to race Mountainbike marathons with it. In 2014 I bought a better Mountainbike and used the Cube just for getting around the city since then. Early 2015 I added a race bike and startet to use it also for getting around the city when I could it keep in sight. I maintained the Cube very poorly. Last year the front derailleur stopped working due to rust. This spring the rear derailleur broke, too. So now I habe a single speed bike. Also the hubs have their best days behind them. The bearing have backlash. Even if I would repair the shifting I had to replace the Bowden cables, too.
At first I thought about abandoning the bike completely. I mean, it has 26 inch wheels and is a Mountainbike. But what I need is a city bike. I would like to use it for buying groceries with my bike trailer. But I also need a bike that doesn’t look very fancy. It shouldn’t be a problem for me to leave the bike at the train station for several hours. So here is the plan: Why not try something I wanted to try on my new MTB since several months? Also the only thing I didn’t already install on a bike is the shifting system. That’s why today I ordered a SRAM NX group set. It is SRAMs lowest end 11 speed shifting system. because of that it is perfect to try shifting without a front derailleur. If that works well I will be SRAM Eagle 12 speed for the fully. I also completed my tool collection. I ordered a tool for the inner bearing and another torque wrench with a higher scale. Now I have all the tools that are needed to assemble (and disassemble) a bike. Additionally to the SRAM NX group set I ordered a wheel set from Fulcrum and new tires. I took the Schwalbe Marathon Almotion tires. I hope they have low rolling friction on asphalt and are also ok on gravel and sometimes forest floor.
Suddenly I’m really excited to work on a bike again. Can’t wait until the parts are here.
Originally published at blog.i-wars.net on November 3, 2016.
