Vintage 2024 Rivendell 3x1

[bulldog1935]

@Cheesy - took care of my busy morning and then took some Paul chain tensioner photos to show you - at both extremes - 28T and 44T rings.
The chain wrap is compact enough that, even with the giant Rivendell 20" chainstays, I can run a standard 114-link Connex 8sX chain.
(Stainless chain + speed-wax lube, so I don't get my fingers dirty when I flip the hub)

The Paul idler wheels slide side-to-side on wide axles. While this can be annoying that 8-sp chain can get beside the jockey wheel in the Paul frame, the good part is this lets the idlers slide to find an equilibrium with the cog and chainring teeth alignment.

 

[Cheesy]

Very cool. Thanks.

 

[bulldog1935]

I ran into a hitch on our greenway ride yesterday, which I corrected back on the build stand yesterday afternoon.

It first showed up on Sunday's ride, when I couldn't shift to 44T big ring with the bike coasting downhill (overshifted off the crank, but I could still shift back to the middle ring).
Repeated on yesterday's ride, twisty up and down greenway bits - I could only shift onto the large ring under load, and I ended up retreating in my 64-inch gear with a lot of spin.

I built the bike with IRD Alpina FD and IRD Tinker band clamp - the band clamp lets you slide the FD side-to-side by 10 mm.
I also set up the bike initially with Connex 8EX (e-bike) chain. I later found a good deal on my favorite stainless Connex 8sX, which proved to be slightly narrower than the 8EX chain. The stainless chain + speed wax lets me flip the wheel without getting my fingers dirty.
I first set it up with no FD end-limits, and slid the derailler body outward until the cage ramp made the half-step shift easy, then set my end limits.

I figured what happened, between the slightly narrower chain, and speed-wax deposits on the cage, the cage ramp lost the friction to lift the half-step shift.
Also figured out this was the problem. Moved the derailler outward in the Tinker clamp by 2 mm, re-set my FD end limits, and it's flawless on the build stand.
Gives me an excuse to ride the summit tomorrow for a proof ride...
I'll try to get a photo at the summit switchbacks.

 

[Eric Amlie]

Over my head.
What's a "Tinker clamp"?

 

[cyclingday]

Try moving the FD cage closer to the outer chainring.
The cage should just clear the ring with about 1/16” of clearance for the best performance.

 

[bulldog1935]

I tried that from the go - it wouldn't make the half-step - I've done this before, and always used a penny for clearance.
The bottom of the cage would be scraping my chainstay long before it got to the penny standoff. The cage ramp would only make the wide shift, and not the narrow. Careful about unsolicited advice.

This derailleur needed the cage ramp in the right place to make the half-step shift.
When it's right, it's almost effortless - shifts like a thought or a breath.

Anyway, it worked - 17 mi this morning, 385' elevation, and Never missed a shift.

View from the summit

The switchbacks to the summit.

 

[bulldog1935]

@Eric Amlie - if you use a FD made for a braze-on, you need a band clamp to use that derailleur without a braze on.
Braze-on lets you slide the FD up and down to adjust for ring diameter/ tooth-count.
IRD took that one step further with Tinker (sic) band clamp, and lets you move FD side-to-side by 10 mm.

And BTW, IRD calls it a Fiddler band clamp.

If you think about the elongated parallelogram moving the cage, the cage travels in an arc, shallower at the bottom, and steeper at the top.
The Fiddler clamp (aka Tinker - my bad) lets you move the arc side to side, which is how I dialed it in to my half-step rings (44T/40T/28T), vs. a traditional sequential triple (46T/36T/26T), where each step is wide.

 

[cyclingday]

Careful about unsolicited advice.

Just thought it could’ve been the culprit?
As Steve Martin would say,
“ Well, EXCUUUUUUUUUSE ME!”

 

[bulldog1935]

@cyclingday - that's always been an axiom, derailleur cage and largest ring teeth should just clear the thickness of a penny.

on both these (great triple) Shimano 600 FD, note acceptable clearance between the back-end of the cage and chainstay.
Not possible with brave new world IRD Alpina. It's also rated for 48T max (I'm using 44T).

What I love about those Shimano 600 FD (and Ultegra on my daughter's Fuji) is they design chain-lift into the cage with internal ramps.
The Microshift FD design that IRD bought has a different ramp design in their cage that does the same thing.
Setting it up just takes some getting used to.

And I promise never to quote you out of context.

 

[bulldog1935]

Grant posted serial number decoding for his two Taiwan frame-makers

How to decode your Rivendell's serial number

This applies to our Made-in-Taiwan Rivendells. We have two frame makers in Taiwan, and they both use different systems. Your serial number will either look like this: or like this: The letter at the front tells us which place made it. Both places, by the way, are extremely competent and have...

www.rivbike.com

Mine is Tonjin and dates to Aug '23.
I like that, Aug is birth month, and my Carlton-Worksop '75 International frame was made in Aug '74.

I was explaining my Cygo tail-lamp mount yesterday on RBW Owners Bunch google group, and will also show it here.
Took apart the Cygo seatpost mount, and attached the lamp clip-on frame directly to the bag loops.
Opened the M4 pilot hole to M5, and made an M5 stack that tightens against a sleeve I made by drilling out brake-cable ferrules.
It's secure, and pivots freely to get into the bag loops.