It is not really about the bike or the latest parts; it is about the rider

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines
March 21, 2016

At the bike shop in Angono this afternoon, a pamangkin said if I had upgraditis.  No I did not.  I just wanted to have 3 links added to the chain of my SARS bike (I had a complaint of the chain jumping from 44 to 32 when I shift the cogs to 32 and 36.  The mechanic said that I simply should not shift to that cog when at 44 because of the limitation of the changer.  However, I solved that by raising the FD level by 5 mm above the chain line instead of the usual 2 mm. The only problem was the chain length which could be increased by 3 links)  I spent P30 for the job; I could have bungled the job because I waste a lot of links trying to get the chain axle out right.

The solution that I had before as suggested was to try to get a 2 x 10 set up.  It does not come cheap though.  A Deore 2 x 10 will set me back cheapest by P2,700.  A Deore XT upgrade would be about P6,500 (quoted by Christy)  A SRAM or Truvativ set up would be about P20t plus.  All that I spent was P30 and some imagination.

I also observed in my ride yesterday to Sampaloc Tanay that the MTB rider from Morong, Edwin had a top end equipment, XT, 2 x 11 set up with 42t gear.   He was struggling though vs my SARS 6 year old bike with a 3 x 10   11 - 36 gears.  I did not have to use the 22 front chain ring. Only 32 x 32 combination.  I did not struggle.  So its not about the equipment, it could be the rider on the bike

(That was my fourth ascent in 2 weeks)