From newest to oldest, here is brief history of one nuts bike that I built up and decided to take to Central Asia.
1. Rear Derailleur: At Gergert Sport in Bishkek, the only bike shop with a good repair shop, the mechanics were able to pop on a new Deore rear derailleur and bend the hanger after an unfortunate ride on top of a taxi for the XTR one that I bought in Almaty. Prior to that the rear derailleur was a Deore rescued from the purple bike coalition parts bin that had a pulley blow out on the way from the Almaty airport to the city center. This one maybe will last the six weeks I need it to last.
2. The cassette is an aging and slightly rusted SRAM 9 speed off of my Motobecane 29er at Williams College, but it still has all its teeth. If I end up leaving the bike in Tajikistan it will be sad to leave this cassette given how many snowy rides and logging roads it has been on.
3. Seat and seat post.The seat has a long and varied history. My dad bought it (or my mom bought it for my dad) 6 years ago when he started commuting to work. Then he got a Brooks saddle, and being a cheapskate I got hold of it and replaced my rock hard saddle that had been stolen from the Co motion periscope tandem my mom and sister ride. Since I came to Williams, the saddle has been sitting in a parts been, waiting for a new build. The seatpost is a nice tough aluminum one the Spoke bike shop in Williamstown hooked me up with for a few bucks. No story of where its been.
4. The seatbag is a Detours wedgie which I got last year for my southern tier bike tour. Holds a tube, snacks, spare allen wrenches, and patch kit. And stands up to hundred kilometer per hour taxi rides.
5. Frame and frame bags. The frame is an older Schwinn full suspension frame. Perfect for the unplanned sidewalks and irrigation ditch drops of Central Asia. I threw a new FSA Orbit DL headset on and the frame behaves like new. Geometry looks weird but rides great and can handle big drops with not very much maintenance.
6. Bars and brake levers and shifters. The bars are some Bontrager hybrid bars, rescued from the PBC. These are the same bars I had on the trek 7300 bike I got in 5th grade at Gregg's Greenlake Cycle in Seattle. Faded from sun and rain, but still perfectly useable and good for technical riding and touring.
Stem is a rescue from Overland, an elite Williamstown summer trip program for rich kids. Supposedly their mechanics complain a lot about their bikes and safety; this was confirmed by the ten point list that was taped to the stem when I got it. Took it off so I don't look like a noob.
Right rear shifter is a Deore. Lightweight, 9 speed, durable. Stolen from my Motobecane 29er at Williams.
The brake levers are Avid speed adjust. They work fine with the front BB7 brake and the rear Kore brake, and can be readily adjusted for different pulls. These puppies rebound very well too.
Grips are Lizard Skin grips, a tribute to the Williams bike shop. My hands are sunburnt which may be testimony to the comfort of these things. I don't even want to wear gloves.
7. Front wheel and fork and brake and tires. Fork is a rescued Rock Shox Judy with disk and canti mounts. Has been losing some oil, but still bounces and can take a foot or two drop.
Front wheel is a Mavic 517 rim (I think) laced to 6 bolt Deore disk hub. No reinforced spoke holes but otherwise a safe and heavy front wheel that will hopefully take some more abuse. The rotor is Avid, and the brake is a BB7 that I took off a Redline 29er frame that I sold last summer. No matter what people say about the benefits of hydraulics, for touring and off-the-beaten-path riding, cable disk brakes make lots of sense, and BB7s are far and away the best with dual adjustment and easily replaceable pads.
Tires are 2.2 inch x 26" Conti Mountain Kings with some tread left. I'm carrying a Kenda Small Block 8 which I am prepared to put on the rear rim if necessary. These tires have served two tough years of teaching Wheelie Fun camp for Cascade Bicycle Club in Seattle, and deserve a lot of applause and a nice long tour.
8. Cranks and rear wheel and chain. The cranks are a bit annoying, as they are not staying tight and require some torque every few days from my dinky multi tool. But the bash guard is very nice and the 32T chainring makes it up most climbs. I wish they had put locktite on the bolt in the factory instead of grease as I failed to bring loctite and can't find it in the hardware store here. But I think I'll notice if the crank itself falls off.
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