130mm or 135 mm?

[jpw]

The time has come to make final choices for my new Legend CX frame, and my dealer wants answers to questions.

I'm in two minds about the rear axle. Should I go 130mm, or choose 135mm instead?

Braking - there is the option for disc brakes. I'm not competing and the geo will be more road than cross. Is the Avid mechanical brake the only cable actuated system out there for road levers? My dealer is strongly against discs as he feels the mount alignment has to be spot on and could spell trouble if not manufactured correctly - is this possible with Serotta?

Cable routing - tt or dt?

:D :D :D :D

[aLexis]

The mount alingnment will be spot on. Brian Smith (forum name Brian Smith) will likely be making your disc dropouts, and he doesn't often fall asleep at the mill. What are you going to be using the bike for? IOW, why do you want discs?

The time has come to make final choices for my new Legend CX frame, and my dealer wants answers to questions.

I'm in two minds about the rear axle. Should I go 130mm, or choose 135mm instead?

Braking - there is the option for disc brakes. I'm not competing and the geo will be more road than cross. Is the Avid mechanical brake the only cable actuated system out there for road levers? My dealer is strongly against discs as he feels the mount alignment has to be spot on and could spell trouble if not manufactured correctly - is this possible with Serotta?

Cable routing - tt or dt?

:D :D :D :D

[Ahneida Ride]

Mr. Brian Smith is a perfectionist.

He takes great pride in his work

It's a Serotta, how could you expect less? ;)

[jpw]

Generalist riding, asphalt and lose surface stuff, but as I don't want caliper brakes this time I chose the CX Legend model. I would like to be as sure footed as possible in wet weather and have the notion that disc brakes would give me this.

Ideally I would have had both disc and canti studs but Serotta has said this is not possible, so it has to be an either or choice, disc or canti (and I assume v brakes are not an option with road levers?).

[woolly]

One suggestion - make sure you have your rack & fender plan sorted out before you make this decision (if you intend to use either). The design or position of the disc mount may limit your options for rack &/or fender mounting.

Today's solutions is tomorrow's problem - plan ahead.

:beer:

[jpw]

Mr. Brian Smith is a perfectionist.

He takes great pride in his work

It's a Serotta, how could you expect less? ;)


Well, I have faith in Serotta, but my dealer is strongly not recommending discs because he worries that the alignment may not be true. I'll ask Serotta directly about this before making a final decision.

[ergott]

All cross bike should be 135mm spaced. I vote for a new standard.

You can get lots of nice mtb hubs build up (XTR, CK, PW to name a few) built up or if you are a factory wheel guy there are more and more 29er choices out there.

[woolly]

One suggestion - make sure you have your rack & fender plan sorted out before you make this decision (if you intend to use either). The design or position of the disc mount may limit your options for rack &/or fender mounting.

Today's solutions is tomorrow's problem - plan ahead.

:beer:

FWIW, this has got to be the coolest wet-weather bike I've ever seen:

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=29719
http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=30513
http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=29389

As you'll see from the rear view of the bike, the fender stay on the non-drive side has to be sweet-talked into clearing the disc brake. Fender stays/struts do bend relatively easily, at least more easily than rack struts anyway. Plus the cost of botching one up is pretty low, as most fender hardware is fairly cheap and easy to obtain. The owner (Willy, not sure if that's his real name), chose to use other bags instead of traditional front/rear racks, and I think the end result is super-functional and very elegant. The whole front lighting custom mount just makes me drool too. I just love this bike.

But I digress. My whole point here is just to make sure you have fully thought through the decisions that are not easy to change after the fact. And this bike will last you a good looooooong time. I certainly wish I would have done this when I placed the order for a Ti bad-weather bike. It's nice to have a mirror copy of my beloved Anvil Chisel go-fast bike, but well after the fact I wish I would have deviated from that recipe just a tad and had Mark design in long-reach brakes & fender/rack mounts for both front & rear. No desire then or now to go full-on disc brakes, though. At least not in the rear.

To your original questions - if you're going disc in the rear, then I'd go for 135mm spacing. More options in this size. If not, I'd stick with 130 to maintain compatibility will other current road wheels. And if it's really a wet/rough ride road bike, and not a CX bike, I'd stick with traditional down-tube cable routing. And again, I'd choose rim brakes for the rear, and leave my options open for disc or rim brakes on the front depending on what fork it's built up with at any given point in time.

But that's just me. :D

Good luck, and have fun with what sounds will be a great bike no matter which of these options you choose.

[Ken Robb]

Rivendell made my Rambouillet and others with 132.5 mm rear spacing to allow both 130 and 135 mm hubs. I have used both size hubs with no problems so if there is a drawback to 132.5 spacing I haven't found it. I don't know if disc brakes would pose a problem though.

[TACSTS]

If you're going w/ discs, you'll need to base your wheels on disc compatible hubs, ie. mountain hubs, right? Therefore 135?

I would probably have gone 132.5 or 135 even w/ cantis, for what it's worth.

[pdbrye]

[QUOTE=woolly]FWIW, this has got to be the coolest wet-weather bike I've ever seen:

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=29719
http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=30513
http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=29389


+1 million. One of the nicest ever!

[musgravecycles]

Maybe I'm a purist, but my .02c says 130 and forget about the disc's, there are plenty of good Canti's out there...

[Peter P.]

Go cantilever. V-brakes are possible with cable adapters.

Cantilevers are lighter, easier to adjust and maintain, less expensive, are as effective as discs, and require no dishing of the front wheel.

130 vs. 135: Go 130 if you're going to use an offset rim like the Velocity O/C. Go 135 if you want to use symmetrical rims. Either way you'll build a rear wheel with less dish, which will be stronger. I run a 135 on my touring bike and I'm glad I did.

[pdbrye]

What about braze ons for Pauls center pull brakes. I've never tried them but have heard they have great stopping power and modulation. Thats what I'm thinking about for my way down the road Goodrich.

Probably doesn't help with the original question of 130 or 135mm...

[jpw]

What about braze ons for Pauls center pull brakes. I've never tried them but have heard they have great stopping power and modulation. Thats what I'm thinking about for my way down the road Goodrich.

Do these brakes require different braze ons to canti studs on the seat stays?

Probably doesn't help with the original question of 130 or 135mm...

Well, thanks for your contribution anyway. It all helps :-)

[Too Tall]

Maybe I'm a purist, but my .02c says 130 and forget about the disc's, there are plenty of good Canti's out there...

I'm a knuckledragger chief. No reason to mess with a perfect solution. Good old canti's will not fail you and standard road spacing means your wheels are all interchangable.

[Tobias]

I'm in two minds about the rear axle. Should I go 130mm, or choose 135mm instead?If I were on the fence as you appear to be, I'd go with 130 spacing with double gearing and 135 spacing with a triple. Personally I'd go with 135 regardless of double or triple.

As to the brakes, I view rim brakes as huge discs that should work well when properly set up. The main disadvantage for me is that they can overheat the rims on long fast descends. If I was going to ride the brakes a lot to keep my speed down on descends I'd go with the discs.

[jpw]

If I were on the fence as you appear to be, I'd go with 130 spacing with double gearing and 135 spacing with a triple. Personally I'd go with 135 regardless of double or triple.

As to the brakes, I view rim brakes as huge discs that should work well when properly set up. The main disadvantage for me is that they can overheat the rims on long fast descends. If I was going to ride the brakes a lot to keep my speed down on descends I'd go with the discs.


Although this is nominally a CX bike I have a descent in mind from Chamonix to Geneva that might heat up the rims a little bit before I get there. I'll take the train back :-)

[MIN]

135mm spaced King ISO hubs here. If you are running disc it is really your only choice. I've yet to cold space my frame; it's still at 130mm and I just pull the stays out to pop the rear wheel in. My trainer clincher wheelset is 130mm and I am thinking of converting to a 135mm axle and re-dishing the wheel for consistency in shifter indexing. It's huge PITA to change between the two wheelsets.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e211/gbae007/IMG_0225.jpg

[Tobias]

I'll take the train back :-)You'll miss the best part. :D

[jpw]

You'll miss the best part. :D

The best part is waiting for me back at the chalet. I need my strength.

[justinf]

If you already have a mtb with disc mounts then it's well worth it to try the Avid road discs before you design your Legend around them. That way, you don't have to depend on a bunch of extraneous opinions. Some love 'em and some don't.

Either way I wouldn't worry about the alignment, trust these kind folks. It's kinda funny when you expose a particular wrench's bias as in this case. You can trust the bros here as far as Serotta's construction quality.