The Bike That Phill Built: Front Derailleur

Exciting time are ahead as nearly all the major pieces have been purchased! The front derailleur acts in a similar role to the rear derailleur - its function is to transfer to the chain from one chainring to another on the front sprockets.

Apparently the difference between the expensive ones and the cheap ones is nearly non-existant. They all have the same moving parts and only vary by small amounts in weight. My options were already limited as I bought a Shimano rear derailleur it was advised I get a Shimano front derailleur. SRAM construuct their derailleurs with a different gearing ratio so unless I wanted to buy two separate gear shifters I had to stick with Shimano.

I had to ensure that the Derailleur was compatible with my sprockets (like the rear derailleur) and also I had to decide on top swing or down swing action. Bikes with suspension need their derailleur swing action to be pivoting from below the clamp so as not to interfere with other components. These are called down swing.
With all this bumping around in my head I went and purchased a Shimano DEORE front derailleur. It was cheap and yet functional. Yay!

Model Number	FD-M530-6
Series	DEORE
Swing Action	TOP-SWING
Cassette Compatibility	9-speed
Maximum Capacity	22T
Top-middle Minimum Capacity	12T
Top Gear Teeth	44T/48T
Cable Routing	dual-pull type
Chain Line	50mm
Chain Stay Angle	66-69
Multi-Clamp (28.6/31.8/34.9mm)	yes
Band Material	aluminum/painted
Average Weight	167g

The important specs here are the Cassette Compatibility, Maximum Capacity, Top-Middle Minimum capacity and Top gear Tooth - all specs relating to my crankset (except the cassette one) I have had to deal with before. Cable routing allows for the cable from the shifter to approach the derailleur from above or beneath, as far as I'm aware one dierection is better suited from actual competitive mountain bike racing where as the other is better suited for a less intense ride. Multi-clamp dictates what size frames it can be attached to.

Shimano Deore M530-6= $ 54(after my 10% aweome customer deduction)

Total
Frame Set $1099+
Wheel Set $ 495
Handlebars $135
Headset $ 77.50
Cassette $ 89.90
Crankset $198.02
Rear Derailleur $108
Brakes $86.38
Front Derailleur $54

$2342.80

Deja Vu

Just like last year I have put too much pressure on my poor big toe. He has decided its time to pack up and leave...

Too much running, not enough sitting

The Bike That Phill Built: Brakes

There's not much to brakes.

Small and black - if I drank coffee, this is how I would like it

The frame I chose does not allow for disc brakes and they would be a waste of money for what I am using my bike for, so I was looking for cantilever brakes. There were lots on the market and I had a good hunt checking our the Shimano, SRAM, and Kore range to name a few.

It's an awfully small item to stop an awfully big bike

As I was buying stuff from Chain Reaction Cycles I first checked what they had in stock and then read some reviews. In the end I chose the Kore Race Cantilever brake as they offer easy to access and change brake pads, simple design, and they can't be bought in Australia.

The AVID 6 from SRAM apparently squeal a lot and their design looked like it could pick up a lot of gunk.

I would squeal to if I saw this

The Shimano brakes seemed overpriced for what I got
Kore Race Cantilever Brakes at $43.19 each = $86.38

Total
Frame Set $1099+
Wheel Set $ 495
Handlebars $135
Headset $ 77.50
Cassette $ 89.90
Crankset $198.02
Rear Derailleur $108
Brakes $86.38

$2288.80

The Bike That Phill Built: Rear Derailleur

The rear dearailleur is the component that shifts the chain from cog to cog on the rear sprockets. It is a fairly complex piece of equipment as the sprockets sizes vary quite a bit and as such the derailleur also must adjust chain tension to cater for slack created when in the smallest gear.

For small item it sure is complicated!

So not only do I have to choose a derailleur that fits the cassette but also that fits my crankset size as well. This means there were a few things I had to be wary of when choosing this item - the maximum and minimum sprocket sizes on the cassette, the difference between the chainring sizes on the front sprockets, and the total capacity - which is the difference between the maximum and minimum chainring sizes on the crankset added to the difference between the largest and smallest cog in the cassette. The total capacity is a measurement of the range in which the pulley of the rear derailleur can comfortbaly operate.

Here I am just adjusting releiving some (chain) tension

Other things I had to look out for were long or short cage - short cages work faster and more smoothly but usually do not fit large cassettes, and the shifting action (top or low) - this has to do with easier down shifting and really only affects technical moutain bikers.

My rear derailleur was an item I bought super cheap from Chain Reaction Cycles so I splashed out a bit and got the item I really wanted - the Shimano Deore XT Shadow M772.

While installation instructions were included I'm pretty confident if I just rest it right here on the wheel everything will just hold itself together.

Model Number	RD-M772-SGS
Series	DEORE XT
Shifting Action	Top Normal SHADOW
Mount Type	Drop-out
Maximum Sprocket	34T
Minimum Sprocket	11T
Front Difference	22T maximum
Total Capacity	45T
Guide Pulley	sealed ceramic bushing
Tension Pulley	sealed bearing

Its a long cage to fit my 9-speed cassette with the top normal shifting action. My cassette's smallest sprocket is 11 teeth and largest is 32, my crankset chainring difference (Front Difference) is 44-22=22, and my Total Capacity = (44-22)+(32-11) = 43.

Its getting longer and longer to set this up!

Shimano Deore XT Shadow M772 Rear Derailleur = $108.00 (157.09RRP - 30% off)
My only regret is buying to soon - Chain Reaction are now selling them for $78!

Total
Frame Set $1099+
Wheel Set $ 495
Handlebars $135
Headset $ 77.50
Cassette $ 89.90
Crankset $198.02
Rear Derailleur $108

$2202.42

The Bike That Phill Built: Crankset

This was a big decision because the front crankset combines both pedal arm length and cogs for gears. Luckily my choice of fame the Surly Crosscheck allows any chainrings I want (chain ring clearance). Much thanks must go to Claire from Mal Adjusted as it was her recommendation. Ideally what I was looking for was a crank arm length that fit my body size - which is 170mm, chainring sizes to best cover the range of terrain and slopes I may be facing, and it had to be compatible with my cassette.

A crank set, I'm still unsure what the items in the bag a for, but they are covered with a weird green funk

This led to a decision of having three chain rings and not two, as well as looking for the maximum amount of teeth on the larger ring, as this would make it easier to attack steep slopes at the cost of slightly (easy gear) as opposed to increasing my velocity on flats our downhill slopes (hard gear).

A man and his cog

It was also imperative that there were three cogs and not two. After much searching I chose the Shimano SLX Triple M660 as this offered everything I needed with the 48/36/26 (# of teeth on cogs) chain ring sizes - which is larger than usual. However I ran into a pitfall when I found that Shimano no longer imported these to Australia. In a second effort I searched a UK website, Chain Reactions Cycles, to see if they had what I wanted. Once again I was met with disappointment and I was forced to purchase the crankset with the usual 44/32/22 chainrings.

This is me employing my 'demon eyes' in an attempt to change it to the 44/36/26 version. I was unsuccessful

Model Number	FC-M660
Series	SLX
Crank Construction	HOLLOWTECH II
Cassette Compatibility	9-speed
Chain Compatibility	Super Narrow HG for 9-speed
4-Arm Chainrings	yes
Cahainring Sizes	44-32-22T
Bolt Circle Diameter	104/64mm
Crank Arm Length	170
Crank Arms	forged aluminum / hollow type
Outer Chainring	aluminum
Middle Chainring	steel + composite (32T), aluminum (36T)
Inner Chainring	steel
Chainring Bolts & Nuts	aluminum (bolt), steel (nut)
Chain Guard	option
Chaincase Compatible	no

However, despite being a wee bit chagrined in the product options available (I had also searched another large online website as well as Ebay), I did get a good deal. First of all Chain reactions sells items quite cheaply and I saved $89.04 (21% off RRP) by purchasing the item from them, and they offer free shipping (item arrived in under a week) for purchases over $520 AUD. Sounds like a lot, but when Phill and Phil combine forces its nothing at all - together we bought 9 items and spent just over $700.

Pateince is a virtue

Shimano SLX Triple M660 Cranket = $198.02 (287.06 RRP)

Total
Frame Set $1099+
Wheel Set $ 495
Handlebars $135
Headset $ 77.50
Cassette $ 89.90
Crankset $198.02

$2094.42

Sexy!!!

Spotted just outside the post office in Canberra City

Look at this fine hunk of metal, just waiting for me to talk dirty to it