Winter upgrades...

meshanew

Google keeps taking me here when I look for cycling answers...so it's about time to join.

So this winter I plan on doing some upgrades and resurrecting an old road bike - cannibalising parts where I can...

Bike 1.

2010 Specialized Roubaix Elite compact. (mainly 105 about 2000 miles 1 season)

Thinking of buying some used 7800 shifters rear dr. Worthwhile or risky?

Replace chain/cassette. Both still good - but really hate gear ratio of compact - I think a 12-23 will eliminate a lot of front shifts.


Bike 2.

Mid 90's Marinoni Columbus slx (105 rough shape)

This bike will be lower use commute/cross/bad weather bike. I would like as wide tires as possible. Frame has lots of tire clearance, the limiting factor for tire size is brake clearance. How large could I go?

The Wheelset is probably salvageable. 105 hubs seem a little rough.. Has campy aero rims - they seem bombproof. From what I can see the cassette should work. (8 to 10)

Shifters/rear dr/cassette/chain from bike 1. Will I have an issue with 8 spd chainrings?


Also would it be worthwhile to swap the brakes between bikes? The Roubaix has cheap specialized dual pvt brakes which aren't great. The Marinoni has 1st generation 105 dual pivots.

Looking forward to the feedback.

ugo.santalucia

May I suggest you use the SLX for the better days and the other piece of plastic for the worse?

You might think steel is a thing of the past, but SLX was the 953 of the 1980-90s and only the good frames were built in SLX, as opposed to the sea of junk built in alloy and carbon fibre. Chances are on the free market your SLX frame is worth lot more than the other

robbo2011

It might be worth more (nostalgia and all that) but is it actually any better than the Roubaix?

ugo.santalucia

robbo2011 wrote:

It might be worth more (nostalgia and all that) but is it actually any better than the Roubaix?

Depends what you mean by better... as a winter bike it probably is better, as a bike for sportives it might not be better

rolf_f

Ugo has a point. Look at your Roubaix as a base model Ford Focus and the Marinoni as a slightly shabby Alfa Spyder. I'd fettle up the Marinoni and stick Crud Roadracer mudguards on the Specialized. They work well without spoiling the lines of the bike.

What pads have you on the Roubaix? They are more likely to be the problem than the calipers themselves.

meshanew

Didn't mean to start a steel vs. Carbon debate...

I bought the Roubaix for the ride quality and geometry. The Marinoni is a little more aggressive. Though with a new stem and relatively fatter tires the comparison will be more interesting.

That said, I want to create a bike with some cross capability and the clearances are not there on the spec frame.

I see advantage in migrating the Marinoni to 10 speed in that I could - if desired - put the specialized Wheelset on it.

As far as pads -yes I know that will help- but all things being equal, which are better?

ugo.santalucia

meshanew wrote:

Didn't mean to start a steel vs. Carbon debate...

I bought the Roubaix for the ride quality and geometry. The Marinoni is a little more aggressive. Though with a new stem and relatively fatter tires the comparison will be more interesting.

That said, I want to create a bike with some cross capability and the clearances are not there on the spec frame.

I see advantage in migrating the Marinoni to 10 speed in that I could - if desired - put the specialized Wheelset on it.

As far as pads -yes I know that will help- but all things being equal, which are better?

If you want a cross bike, you need a cross bike, no road bike will have the clearance for 32-35 mm fat tyres... also, the calipers won't take big tyres either.. sell one frame and get a Planet X cheap cross frame

rolf_f

meshanew wrote:

Didn't mean to start a steel vs. Carbon debate...

As far as pads -yes I know that will help- but all things being equal, which are better?

It's not about steel vs carbon but about a desirable old bike vs a run of the mill modern bike! The old bike deserves to be loved!

As for the brakes - all things being equal there ought to be little difference between them. Unless the Specialized brakes are made of more bendy metal, then they are just pivoted metal levers like the 105s. Brake force is proportional to the force you put through the levers. They ought to be pretty much the same assuming you can adjust both such that the brake balance is equal across the calipers. If you want to swap something over, try just the pads for now. If the Specialized benefits from that then you know all you need are new pads.

unixnerd

Thinking of buying some used 7800 shifters

I did just this on my Cannondale, you'll love them. Buttery smooth, look fantastic perfect changes every time. You can sometimes find them brand new as old stock on ebay. Look in the EU, not just UK.

tonye_n

meshanew wrote:

Bike 1.

2010 Specialized Roubaix Elite compact. (mainly 105 about 2000 miles 1 season)

Thinking of buying some used 7800 shifters rear dr. Worthwhile or risky?

Replace chain/cassette. Both still good - but really hate gear ratio of compact - I think a 12-23 will eliminate a lot of front shifts.

Bike 2.

Mid 90's Marinoni Columbus slx (105 rough shape)

This bike will be lower use commute/cross/bad weather bike. I would like as wide tires as possible. Frame has lots of tire clearance, the limiting factor for tire size is brake clearance. How large could I go?

The Wheelset is probably salvageable. 105 hubs seem a little rough.. Has campy aero rims - they seem bombproof. From what I can see the cassette should work. (8 to 10)

Shifters/rear dr/cassette/chain from bike 1. Will I have an issue with 8 spd chainrings?

Also would it be worthwhile to swap the brakes between bikes? The Roubaix has cheap specialized dual pvt brakes which aren't great. The Marinoni has 1st generation 105 dual pivots.

Looking forward to the feedback.

Bike 1:
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Don't see why DA 7800 shifters and RD should be risky on this setup.
On my Genesis Equilibrium bike I've got DA7800 shifters and FD on an otherwise completely Ultegra 6700 grouppo. Works absolutely fine(even the braking is absolutely despite what Shimano may say).

I use this setup because I prefer the DA7800 shifters to the new shape. And also it looks more in keeping with my steel frame.
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Bike 2:
a)
Shifters/rear dr/cassette/chain from bike 1. Will I have an issue with 8 spd chainrings?
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Likely to have problems using 10spd chain on 8spd chainrings. Quite likely.
I used 9spd chainset on an otherwise 10 spd setup for many years without issue.
But 8spd chain-rings will have wider spacing b/w the teeth than a 10spd chain will be happy with.
Likely to be quite noisy and your chains will not last long at all.
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b)
Also would it be worthwhile to swap the brakes between bikes? The Roubaix has cheap specialized dual pvt brakes which aren't great. The Marinoni has 1st generation 105 dual pivots.
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Both brakesets should be OK with different pads (SwissStops, Koolstops are raved about).
the Spesh dual pivots are nothing special. Quite flexy under hard downhill braking IMHO.
Should be good for commuting though, with different pads.
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cycleclinic

I have used a 10 speed chain on 8 speed rings and it was fine. The only issue was shifting I had to back of pwer a bit more for a clean shift - that's it.

tonye_n

thecycleclinic wrote:

I have used a 10 speed chain on 8 speed rings and it was fine. The only issue was shifting I had to back of pwer a bit more for a clean shift - that's it.

Exactly why you shouldn't use this combination.
Hassle free and consistently smooth shifting is after all a key to enjoying your ride.
Imaging having to 'back off a bit' whenever you have to do an unplanned gear shift under load on a hill.

It will also knacker your 10spd chain.

cycleclinic

I did change it for 10 speed rings but the 8 speed ring is what I had at the time, we are not all so rich that we can have everyting ideal. You should always back of the power a bit when shifting anyway it aids shifting even on matching drivetrains. Also I do not do unplanned shifts, I ride properly but looking ahead and shifting rings before the hill.