Parts

So I've been trying to shop for parts for my upcoming cross singlespeed frame that I'm building in a couple of weeks. I've been pretty amazed at how long I've been out of it in terms of new components for one, and also at how many of the things that T and I used to brainstorm over coffee are now out there...or at least some version of them.

Tubeless mtb tires and wheels are commonplace, no need to DIY anymore. Flared drop bars? Check. No more looking on ebay for WTB Dirt Drops. There are several versions out there now and with some diversity. The new Salsa Woodchipper? I'm getting a pair of those for the new bike. They don't flare much until very late, so you can stay on the hoods or in the drops with comfort in both. They look to have more real estate in the hooks versus the On-One Midge bars which I'm running now on the Indy Fab. This has been my only complaint of the Midge as my hands don't fit so well in the drops especially when getting bumped around on a rough cross course. There are others too though - WTB released a new version of Charlie's Dirt Drops which looks to be just ok. It has an ergo hook which i don't like and looks like it flares too early.

We used to have trouble finding flat bars with lots of sweep. This is one part that could still use some help since nice and light flat bars with more than 9 degrees of sweep are still impossible to find, but there are several burlier ones out there. Surly has the 1x1 but it's steel, pretty heavy even if it does have a 15 degree sweep. Soma i think has a similar one too. But with the invention of Jones H-bar and the like, there are options at least nowadays.

There are multiple single ring/singlespeed/1x9 cranksets out there. I had no idea. They even come with a guard ring. We used to make outer guardrings ourselves by ripping and grinding all the teeth off a bigger chainring. Then we'd do the same for an inner ring to sandwich the chain in the ring so it wouldn't fall off. They sell those in packages now too, carbon or aluminum versions. We tried the 3rd eye chain guide which didn't do the job for me. A local helped build a better one which looks a lot like what is available now with MRP, Paul's chain keeper, and Rohloff. I got myself a Paul's that i've been riding 1x9 on the Hunter since last fall and it works flawlessly.

Other new trends, i'm hating. Like that I have such difficulty finding an 8 speed front derailleur, shifters, or rear cassette. And that all handlebars are not 31.8 but most stems are. WTF?! "They're" making us buy gruppos instead of parts since parts are not even close to being interchangeable anymore. The Shimano-ization is complete but the irony is that SRAM's doing the same thing that we used to heckle Shimano about. I get it, but it's frustrating. I'm going back to square tapered BB's and cranksets with no spindle attached for my new single. I wish I had stockpiled certain parts while I could. One of the biggest surprises is the cost of new stuff. It just blows me away! Gruppos that cost more than a custom Ti frame...? Something is out of whack with that.

All this makes me want to go only singlespeed even more...one mtb, one cx, that's it. Oh, but maybe a Rivendell All-Rounder and have them part it out. They'll be around forever. I hope.