Test riding a true racing recumbent
- Thread starter Osiris
- Start date
I use 11-32 and with the B stop screw pulled out, it shifts fine.....even 53x32. Of course, the specification is 28T max. The M5 hanger or at least on mine is pretty generous in terms of length, so, mine works fine.
For the Garmin mount, I epoxied one of the mounts onto the "downtube" just below where the cable holes are for the rear brake and derailleur. Out of my face and more aero.
Livin dangerously.
For the Garmin mount, I epoxied one of the mounts onto the "downtube" just below where the cable holes are for the rear brake and derailleur. Out of my face and more aero.
Livin dangerously.
Osiris
Zen MBB Master
Good to know. I need that 32T gear for all the steep climbs around here.
That's exactly where I want to put mine, especially now that I've got a big, clunky Edge 1030 to keep out of the wind.
I still have serious concerns about the reliability of the e-tap system after reading all those bad reports. Unfortunately my new handlebar design makes it impractical to use mechanical shifters, so those blip buttons are the only solution I can think of.
My only "serious" problem with the e-tap was during a 600k in Fla in heavy rain. It stopped shifting in the "hilly" Orange Groves east of Avon Park. I was stuck in the 53x25. When I got to the hotel, I took the batteries off and cleaned/dried the connections. Put the batteries back on and it shifted fine since. Why? Who knows. I get more than the stated 1000 km before needing a charge. I have around 3500 miles so far on it and that reminds me, also on the GP5000 700x25 rear tires. I would normally change it out before now, but am tempting fate cuz it looks pretty good. I do intend to bring a spare e-tap button/cable and battery when doing remote rides. I probably should have get my lazy butt off the bike in the Orange Groves and tried to shift with the blip box but I just spun and rode easy.
Osiris
Zen MBB Master
Just out of curiosity, what made you decide to go with the e-tap system? If it were not for my weird custom handlebar configuration, I wouldn't even consider electronic shifting. Ben Tomblin had e-taps on his M5. I gather he wasn't too impressed with it because he sold the M5 not long afterward.
My left hand and arm is weak and sometimes, my hand does not work very well and I was concerned that I could not do long randonneuring events with barends or mechanical shifters. I thought the buttons at my thumb would make shifting easier and to some extent, it does....except when etap dumps my chain or when trying to shift with winter gloves on. One of the beauties of wax? No messy hands. Also on bumpy roads in the wind when I am really cranking hard at over 30 mph, moving my hands to the bar ends could be unnerving with barends. I do like the buttons in that sense (stability). It also isn't very aerodynamic to move your arms and hands to shift. I want to break 20 minutes on a 10. I know it is a silly goal but I need some kind of target....like getting into the 190's on 3P....oops, we already did that once. Oh....my SRAM red mechanical derailleur wifl spring exploded (common defect with SRAM), so, I needed a new $300 derailleur anyways.....so, I moved "up" knowing that many pro mechanics even had front derailleur problems. I have been toying with making gunnar bars and I think etap is the only way to make such bars work on the road. Right now, I am not in a position to do it......maybe someday.
Osiris
Zen MBB Master
I've never had a SRAM rear derailleur fail, but the front ones are known to be problematic. Mine will occasionally throw a chain, even though there's nothing wrong with the unit. I've become an expert at using fallen twigs or leaves to get the chain back on without coating my hands in chain lube. I use spray-on chain wax, but it still gets dirty. I have a set of mountain bike style thumb shifters on my M5. The bar end TT shifters were just the wrong solution for all the reasons you mentioned. The thumb shifters work well and don't require re-positioning my hand when shifting gears, but there's no way to mount them on my new gunner bar design, and the existing handlebar causes too much aerodynamic drag. I just hope that the new handlebar works as well as it does on the M1, because it's the only reason I had to ditch the perfectly good mechanical switchgear for the overpriced and less reliable e-taps.
SRAM won't help or provide the spare parts to the relatively common spring in the RD
When it goes, the chain goes right into the spokes taking the wheel out and then that action snaps off the cage taking the RD hanger with it. This fella had three of them break. My only symptom was lousy shifting. The pivot point is like a brass fitting that looks to be a wear point and it lets go.....I might have had 40,ooo on it but you have Campy stuff and old Shimano stuff from the 70, 80, 90's that is still solid.
If I get one more RD failure, I'm going either Campy or Shimano straight off.
https://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=134965
https://sram.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/a...derailleur-Do-you-offer-this-part-separately-
When it goes, the chain goes right into the spokes taking the wheel out and then that action snaps off the cage taking the RD hanger with it. This fella had three of them break. My only symptom was lousy shifting. The pivot point is like a brass fitting that looks to be a wear point and it lets go.....I might have had 40,ooo on it but you have Campy stuff and old Shimano stuff from the 70, 80, 90's that is still solid.
If I get one more RD failure, I'm going either Campy or Shimano straight off.
https://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=134965
https://sram.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/a...derailleur-Do-you-offer-this-part-separately-
Osiris
Zen MBB Master
I've nearly completed the new handlebar design for my M5, which incorporates the SRAM e-tap system. The orientation of the brake levers and the "gunner" style arrangement of the grips worked very well on the M1, but the M5 has both front and rear derailleurs, so I had to come up with a different solution. One thing I didn't like about the straight crossbar on the M1 was that it limits where you can place your hands. To address that shortcoming, I started this time with a "riser" style handlebar and cut off the ends.
The e-tap "blip" buttons can be located anywhere, facing any direction, which makes this system far more versatile than the Shimano Di2 TT style shifter module I used on the M1. In this design the brake levers can be turned to face the other direction, the grips could be flipped upside down, and the crossbar can be rotated in the clamp, so I'll be be doing a lot of experimenting to see which arrangement works best on the M5.
The e-tap "blip" buttons can be located anywhere, facing any direction, which makes this system far more versatile than the Shimano Di2 TT style shifter module I used on the M1. In this design the brake levers can be turned to face the other direction, the grips could be flipped upside down, and the crossbar can be rotated in the clamp, so I'll be be doing a lot of experimenting to see which arrangement works best on the M5.
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LarryOz
Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
Use Molten speed wax. You chain never gets dirty and lasts about 3 times longer. Love it and will never use anything different.
paco1961
Zen MBB Master
Have never been a fan of a Sram FDs, especially the Yaw line. True, if set up perfectly you can access the full range of gear combinations without chain rub. But they have an annoying tendency to throw the chain off the big ring especially. There is literally about 1/16th of a turn on the OL screw that means the difference between Perfect and infuriating. I’ve gone back to my rock solid Ultegra FD. It is the most reliable out there and works better with the quirky CB mount placement ( and it saves you about $75 over the DA version which works the same and saves you about as much weight as you’d save by clipping a finger nail) And yes. . . I do get some chain rub on the extreme gear combos but do I really need to be riding crosschained anyway?
Osiris
Zen MBB Master
What exactly do you mean by "tiller bars"? I thought the distinguishing feature of a tiller is the single shaft connecting the fork steerer tube to the hand grips. If that's so, then the V20 and other Cruzbikes already incorporate tiller bars.
I guess I have no idea what I am talking about to be honest. I don't know the terms. I'll figure out what the heck I mean.
Osiris
Zen MBB Master
I spoke with the owner of the bike shop that installed the e-tap system on Ben Tomblin's M5, and he confirmed that the 32T won't be a problem, despite what SRAM says.
I also found an alternative mounting point for the blip box. I'm going to place it underneath the base of the tiller and route the wiring through the tiller, just as I did with the M1. That should make for a very aero installation with no wires showing. With any luck, I should be able to do the installation and setup myself and have it ready for a test ride this coming weekend.
I was going to mount it in the boom next to the motor battery but had trouble routing the cables around the fork tube (thru the no longer used shifter hole).
Osiris
Zen MBB Master
I got it all assembled last night. After some experimentation, I ended up having to face the brake levers forward. Facing them toward me, as shown in the illustration above, put too much stress on the brake cables. That could be fixed by installing longer brake cables, but I didn't see any reason to go to all that trouble. The forward facing brake levers feel more natural and makes it easier for my thumbs to reach the blip buttons on the cross-bar. I still need to find the ideal location for those before wrapping bar tape over them.
The manufacturer had the foresight to mill three slots into the tiller's tube to route the brake and shifter cables through. I used them to also conceal the e-tap's wiring, which goes from the base of the handlebar all the way down the tiller tube where they come out and plug into the blip box. It looks almost identical now to the arrangement I have on the M1.
I'm amazed everything worked so smoothly on the first try. The most difficult thing was preparing myself psychologically to pull the rear derailleur cable completely out of the frame.
Getting it back in would be a nightmare if I ever had to do it. Let's just hope the e-tap system works as advertised, and that it doesn't suffer the many failures I've experienced with other electronic products.
