Merida Big Nine 40 D - Bye Bye

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

EltonFrog

Legendary Member
Where’s the photos?
 
Where’s the photos?
Photos will be along when some sort of reasonable weather arrives round here. Whichever bike I'm riding/working on lives outside the front door under a cover. Workstand gets put up in a corner of the walkway when weather OK.
This is a fairly quick job (I hope...), so will light up the Sony compact and take loads of pics as I go along. Didn't take pics of the mech cleaning, as I was pushing my luck already using the newspaper-covered dining table...
:biggrin:
 
Some pics to illustrate the starting point, taken during a non-rainy bit:
The whole shebang:
499670


The rather bare cockpit
499671


Chain and tensioner not doing much
499672


Chain and tensioner doing something useful.
499673


The first job will be to rebuild the chainset, then wheels off and change tyres and fit cassette in place of the single sprocket. Then wheels on again and refit mechs and shifters.
Always assuming the Tavistock weather lets me do that much in one go!
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
I'm at a bit of a loss to understand the thinking behind single-speeding it in the first place. I understand the simple and light argument for SS bikes, and may build one up myself - but I wouldn't be using a 29er with suspension forks as the basis for anything with pretensions to simplicity and lightness!. I'd use an old-school 27" or 700c sports bike with a decent quality steel frame and remove everything not essential to achieving forward motion.
 
I'm at a bit of a loss to understand the thinking behind single-speeding it in the first place. I understand the simple and light argument for SS bikes, and may build one up myself - but I wouldn't be using a 29er with suspension forks as the basis for anything with pretensions to simplicity and lightness!. I'd use an old-school 27" or 700c sports bike with a decent quality steel frame and remove everything not essential to achieving forward motion.
DCB didn`t singlespeed it, I did.

It was done for a project as a winter commuter, and I like riding SS

2 reasons for you:okay:
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
DCB didn`t singlespeed it, I did.
It was done for a project as a winter commuter, and I like riding SS. 2 reasons for you:okay:

I know @DCBassman didn't singlespeed it. I was trying to work out the attraction of using such a bike as a SS base.
Nothing wrong with SS, I like their minimalism myself, but using a rigid road frame not a knobbly tyred hardtail.
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
I'm afraid I've always seen singlespeed as lacking...

They are lacking on all but flattish terrain, but compared to a derailleur bike with fragile low-hanging bits just asking to get knocked off or bent, they do have something in their favour for rough, carefree use. However, compare them to a SA 3-speed hub gear, also lacking in low-hanging parts, and their only real benefit is lower weight and manufacturing cost. With loads of cheap secondhand stuff around, we are in the fortunate position of not having to make compromises regards durability, weight, and versatility. We can, if we choose, run several bikes all optimised for different types of use at a very low overall cost if we reject buying new and go for secondhand.
 
Top Bottom