Drop Bar Conversion using Internet Parts is OK, but not without its problems. Giant Boulder Gravel

A customer dropped off his bike for a tuneup, and at first glance, it wasn't all that bad, but looking closer, it was a total DIY job. Now, don't get me wrong, he actually did pretty good work, but with a mishmash of internet parts, it's a pretty tricky job to get everything working correctly. At the end of it all, I think he's got himself a pretty comfy all-rounder gravel, commuter, adventure, touring...whatever, really, bike!
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[@bonkasaurus_wrecks]

It's a refreshing change to see a channel highlighting real world bikes instead of the latest high end hyper bikes.

[@georgemartinezjr]

Oh ya my Every day ride is a Huffy it's cheap bike but does ask for much

[@christianb.1028]

God damn, the trick with putting the chain in the second cog before tightening the shift cable sounds great. I'll definetely try that next time!

[@Lostbirdproductions]

For the cost of that suspension seat and stem they could have bought a brand new pretty decent gravel bike. But I also tend to not want to get rid of my older things and try to refresh them. Loving the videos!

[@elishmittywerminghanjensen1264]

Andy, I had the same thought process on the front derailleur. Glad I wasn't the only one that went insane, shoulda given you a heads up. Was stuck on it for DAYS until I remembered how it was initially wrapped around all willy-nilly. Some guy before me probably discovered that cable routing... maybe that's how it always was... who knows. Excited to feel the brakes! A "Not bad" and "wasn't terrible" is an honor to receive :) Will be sure to give you a super thanks in person so KZbin doesn't take a cut.

[@joelweinberger3695]

Repost and let us know how you like the Shock Stop stem. I was looking to purchase the 80 mm 30 degree stem to shorten my reach and to raise my handlebar about 4 cm in addition to smoothing out my ride. You did a nice job bringing this bike back to a new life!

[@elishmittywerminghanjensen1264]

​@@joelweinberger3695 Not a cheap part, I think your wallet would be the deciding factor. Nice little bling for my old bike but adds more complexity, more things that can wear, more things to think about. It's not a crazy difference with/without the stem... but does take some of the sting from bumps and holes in the riding surface. Wonderful for the aging country backroads where I *mostly* use this bike. The bike sees longer distance riding so anything for comfort is wonderful. The seatpost saves my body from more of the shock, wonderful peace-of-mind after having a pilonidal cyst a few years back. Kept me off of this bike for a long long time. As for the 80mm 30 degree one in particular, that is what's pictured in the video. Functionally, they all are the same, the angle/length is just for fit.

[@emilycs8823]

My thought on the front derailleur. I would check the cable housing. Make sure housing ends aren't missing, and that it has SIS compatible housing ends. I would also make sure the housing is in good shape. I have seen shift housing compress and become damaged from a cable pulled way too tight. 7 speed stuff should be super forgiving. I always approach front derailleur issues by disconnecting the cable treating is as a new install by verifying alignment, then setting low limit with the cable disconnected. Given the age, the cage is almost certainly bent a little which can cause issues when your doing every thing right. Solution is to bend it or replace.

[@thorn6809]

I assume Bikefarmer called these housing ends ferrel or smth like that. I once had used plastic housing ends and they cracked after a while, especially at the rear derailleur cause of the tention of the bow the housing makes. I don't know who comes up with such a crap, most propably only to generate some profit. I have an older front derailleur laying around somewhete, which is worn out, but till I replaced it, it worked pretty much good. Shows me old stuff was more reliable, especially the higher grade stuff.

[@nathanattwood7187]

The front derailleur is mtb specific. Road derailleurs have a different cable pull ratio. One of those brake thingos could sort it out as not sure of any top pull road jobbies.

[@alfredklek]

I get the feeling that I'm one of the last people on earth still using cantilever brakes. They work just fine with road levers and as an added benefit they are a huge pain in the butt to adjust which makes you look cool.

[@_MrSnrub]

I got Avid Shorty's on my 90's mtb build right now. Also have some cheap i think Altus canti's on another build. There are tens of us!

[@brianwalker9793]

Cantilever may be a problem though with those mudguards?

[@aamj50]

I have cantis on two of my bikes and centerpulls on my vintage gravel conversion.

[@CL-dh2mf]

Cantilevers are awesome when running fenders! Also, really good cantis like from Paul are so powerful. You should save some money and try them. A pleasure everytime you use em!

[@the_nondrive_side]

I'll take cantilever over V Brakes. I find they rub less and stop way nicer when you do get them proper. My 96 Rocky Mountain Cardiac was gripshift 3x7 and STX RC cantis would clamp the thing like a trials bike. My Norco Indie with Discs can't hang...

[@aod6743]

I’m loving the background music! Plus watching you make adjustments, some info as to why or why not you’re doing things is cool. The ‘nerdy’ excitement is also cool 🤓😎😃👍🏼

[@1cargaragenyc]

LOL, I love it "It's good enough for who it's for" I appreciate all your expertise...keep up the great content!!

[@rangersmith4652]

When I changed from an Altus 3x9 front derailleur to Sora (for tire clearance), I used a bar-end shifter in friction mode. This way, I can control the exact position of the cage on all three chainrings. Some might argue I should not give up indexing, but I' like being able to finesse the shifter to make it quiet.

[@fancytyme]

I understand the appeal of indexing on the cassette but on the chainrings, who cares? Anyone using a front triple isn't racing, so it's not like we need lightning fast, precise shifts up there.

[@michaelhill7045]

MicroNew leaver/shifters! The cable pull distance compatability really messes people up. Glad to see I'm not the only one that's been through this.

[@jat475]

Front derailleur blues - friction shifter makes everything so much easier

[@inaheap7172]

Friction rocks

[@mechadrake]

I shiver all the time seeing people gammer things with the hand/palm. It mesees up the nerves in the hand and gets mechanics permanent pain forever and ever. It of course happens over the years and is too late when it is on...

[@tonyjennison3199]

Redshift are a small British company who make a small selection of really good stuff, that seatpost is pretty expensive and pretty unique.

[@FuchsHorst]

Stem, too. I guess it's also a shock absorber stem

[@naromsky]

Yeah. These two parts together cost like a decent entry all-Shimano MTB.

[@Conor_Ryan]

Pretty sure they are U.S. based. Philadelphia I believe. Cool products for sure

[@tonyjennison3199]

I stand corrected looks like they are@@Conor_Ryan

[@martinkrautter8325]

correct. how absurd. The client could have saved the money and make a decent build from the beginning instead. A 5$ derailleur and a 200$ stem, ridiculous. And to what purpose, if you ride plush tires anyway?!

[@jasongoldenfur1253]

Got same problem with fd and microshift shifter. Standard " mountain" fd seams to have slighty off pull ratio. Got old road tiagra fd and then it was working like a charm.

[@jrother]

OOO, Redshift Suspension post. Customer splurged on that one. $200+ new. But boy, is that a good quality seatpost. Ope, and I missed the Redshift stem, too. Definitely splurged. I'd love a set of both those.

[@PoserBallin]

Mad lad to cheap out on the brakes after dropping so much on the stem and seat post...

[@lekobiashvili945]

Flat-bar (MTB) shifters/derailleurs use greater cable pull for the front derailleur. Those drop-bar shifters pull a shorter-than-required amount of cable for this derailleur to work properly.

[@No_ReGretzky99]

Same thing he said 😅😅😅😅but thanks when u start making videos lmk 😅😅😅

[@seamlessdread]

That cable pulley system part is honestly so fascinating. So clever how it works. Never knew you could use a pulley ratio on a continuous line of cable. Makes sense tho because it only moves a few cm.

[@TheWillRogers]

How to find the right length crank axle: If it's shimano, check the spec sheet. These parts are made to be selected for bikes based on spreadsheets alone,. For instance the FC-A073 sheet calls for a BB-UN300 with LL113. I put way too many projects together not knowing this, once I started doing what Shimano says things have been working out much better.

[@the_nondrive_side]

yep and sometimes you ignore that and put one 14mm shorter so that 1x can run the amazon gear on the outside. yes always google the crank to get BB specs.

[@justincapek1132]

Pretty freaking cool device that fancy noodle is. Mechanical advantage in its simplest form. Where were these when I couldn't stop in 98??

[@keithschrack]

They're called 'Travel Agents,' but I'm not sure that's the only manufacturer that makes them.

[@eternaloptimist2840]

They've been available since the 1980s. I've used them to fit long pull levers to short pull brakes, but wasn't impressed by the feel in that particular installation.

[@flamner]

best guide to adjusting bicycle derailleurs ever! thanks!

[@bkefrmr]

Glad you think so!

[@mrlesrdliason3]

at first I resisted your channel as not my speed but now I'm really loving this channel. to me your like the bob Ross of bike maintenance. thank you for your tricks and tips. it's a learning experience with watching your videos. love it brother.

[@mydearriley]

is your speed faster or slower? or do you mean watching speed or cycling speed?

[@chrislang7146]

Just woke up after falling asleep during the video. Now I have to go back and watch it again. :)

[@bkefrmr]

🤑🤑🤑🤑

[@chrislang7146]

Your videos are very relaxing just like you intended. You are the Bob Ross of bicycles!

[@kevinfeeney5309]

I have MicroNEW drop bar brifters on several bikes and they're still running nicely. I use Tektro Oryx cantis to avoid using those cable pull adapters. Problem Solvers was the go-to for that pull adapter but they're no longer made. They're called Travel Agents, if someone wants to try to find NOS online. I've set up a friend's bike with them.

[@Kelekona_808]

That brake cable modifier/adjuster looks wild. Lots of potential for user error on those.

[@emilycs8823]

They are kind of spendy too if you get the name brand ones. I would just switch to mini V brakes, or even canti's.

[@lenolenoleno]

@@emilycs8823 Ditto - have done dozens of conversions and the Tektro bog standard Mini-V's are super powerful. Just gives you a little less pad clearance if you ride in a lot of proper mud.

[@fredherzberger4677]

I've done the v brake conversion. Everywhere on the internet, it will tell you that mini v brakes will work with the long travel brake levers. I had to replace the noodles with the ratio adapters. It now works perfectly.

[@kevinfeeney5309]

I do believe you've got that backwards. Mini V-brakes are supposed to work with short pull levers, like on all integrated brake/shift levers. However, YMMV. I tried MicroNEW road brifters with Tektro RX-6 mini V-brakes. No dice. The arms are 90mm. On the particular project I was working on needed them that long to clear the 2.2" tires. However they do make v brakes that have shorter arms...even as short as 84mm. But they were twice as expensive (at the time of that buold) as the Tektro Oryx. So I swapped back to cantis.

[@jacobatherton8339]

The more I watch your videos the more I appreciate friction shifting

[@thorn6809]

I recommened to use these cable pull converters to generate enough cable pull for 11 or 12 speed cassettes. They can also decrease the bow of the housing at the rear derailleur when put there. Friction Shifting seems to work better with more gears on the cassette, because it is harder to not hit a gear and the space between the cogs is less wide. Some say Index Shifting for front derailleurs is useless.

[@deanblackwell2090]

I just changed the cassette from a friction shifter bike from 6 speed to 8 speed shimano freehub. No adjustment it just worked straight away - tiny bit of limiter screw adjustment but I'm still impressed with how versatile the setup is.

[@mcfartle9450]

As someone who has done the same concept build almost 10 years ago, this video's got it all: spongy cantis, wobbly freewheel (never affected my shifting), the incompatible front derailleur pull ratios, and the oh-so-crippling "do I really want to dump more money into this to make it right???" feeling. In my use case, i used the limit screw to dummy out the granny gear and it worked well enough for my commuting purposes until I restored it back to original and donated it to Bikes not Bombs. Honestly, kind of miss it because of it's unique ride feel, but wouldn't do it again.

[@grahamelliott6041]

I salute your patience

[@kyqx]

Great content for us DIY'ers! Lot's of little tips. I recently installed a MicroShift derailieur and I routed the shift cable to the side of the anchor bolt offering the least resistance of friction based on angle. The shifting was not quite perfect so I took it to those who bail me out...the LBS. They noted that the cable is to be routed on the side of the bolt with the greatest angle and seemingly more cable friction. The lesson is that logic does not always apply.

[@SignorNessuno65]

Really appreciate your honesty!

[@godfellas483]

Looks like DIY bikes can be more problematic than big box stores bicycles. Kudos to the owner for trying though. That looks like a nice bike...cheers mate!

[@elishmittywerminghanjensen1264]

Thanks! Not sure if "Nice" is the word I'd use, but a nostalgic bike for me. Can't wait to hit up Elroy-Sparta again on my old bike.

[@marta150]

I love the Elroy-Sparta. Have to try to get there this summer. DIY isn't more problematic than big box store bikes, it only is when you ask a lot of the bike like the mixing of road and mountain components. I would never ask that of a big box bike. @@elishmittywerminghanjensen1264

[@ClintDowd]

Also I really like this content as I'm a new DIY guy with some flip bikes and low budget projects. Thanks! 👍👍

[@PoserBallin]

Learned how to set up and fully appreciate 3x set ups thanks to you bike farmer. Single speed has its place, but you have opened up a whole new world for me. Thank you.

[@RolandRides]

The Redshift stem is a very decent and expensive part compared to the cheap AliExpress brakes, brake pull adapters and shifters

[@_MrSnrub]

Yeah I was like dude Redshift is actually sick. Their pedals that glow are amazing for just your everyday person, they make you super visible. But they are $$$$

[@edouardprest9703]

I have this exact bike from around 1998. Just tuned it up and put on some smoother tires for city riding with a rear cargo mount. It’s a great affordable bike.

[@Dutchipino]

Subscribed. Love it. As real as steel.

[@larryt.atcycleitalia5786]

I made myself one like this from an ancient Trek 8000. Tektro drop-bar brake levers made to pull cable for V-brakes + Microshift 8 speed barcons (same spacing as 7) work great. My "SuperGravelMonster" has a RockShox Indy fork which still works great even after all these years. My only complaint is the thing's a little long across the top reach-wise...if I run a stem any shorter I risk some dicey steering, so I live with it...but the $couple-hundred I spent on it saved me a lot of money I would have spent on a "real" gravel bike otherwise.

[@raoulzaragoza4112]

?Better to make a flat bar than a road bike setup? I refurb old bikes and try to clean up and use the original parts; unless they’re broken or missing then it’s DIY time! (Love the lounge music!)

[@dewittlunsford2527]

Fun viewing for sure 😂keep it up, thanks!

[@HomieG-fl9wk]

I'm attempting to do this exact same thing with my Giant Roam. This gave me a good idea what's involved. Thanks

[@tonysadler5290]

My wife have a couple of Giant Roam disc 0 bikes. We use them for touring, and they're brilliant at it. We see many on much more expensive and with higher spec, but they aren't that more a capable bike than the Roam. I reallly like them. Regards Tony Sadler South Wales UK 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@MrShanebizzle]

Thanks for the video, loved the background music! 👍👍

[@frankie1615]

that front derailleur would probably only work satisfactorily with a friction shift or one of those twist shifts

[@inaheap7172]

It definitely makes a difference how you clamp the front derailleur cable on these. I learned that the hard way myself. That was before the conversion so it wasn't the conversion's fault.

[@billd6565]

Cool derailleur cable adjustment trick at about 19:40. Never seen one that before. Definitely gotta try it

[@riskyrax]

Nice brake dialing 👌 that definitely feels good ha. Whenever Im working on the front derailleur and I get the chain rub but things are still working, I take some pliers and bend it away to give it some more room I just hate that rub in tall gear when your mashing

[@edselbobpacer]

I love the fenders and tri flow I I use that on my bikes good stuff

[@LOZUPONEJ]

Your videos are relaxing to me

[@bkefrmr]

Amazing! Love it!

[@loosenoose]

Im a big ol jerk who's also been on a mtb to drop bar gravel kick. I just ordered a pair of those brake adapters you used! That's a great tip. Im thinking of doing a 1x conversion in the near future because i was having some similar issues with my AliExpress shifters (thats probably where he got those from) For what i paid for my shifters, im happy with the purchase. Im probably going to work on slack adjustment and dialing in the screws when i put the beake adapters on, because I can only get like 4 or 5 of my gears, and i think its a 9 speed (i coujd be wrong on that, but i know its not a 4 or 5 speed)

[@davidburgess741]

Good pick up, that gear cable as a brake cable! My thought on the bottom bracket binding is the drive side shell needs facing. One of my bbs suffered from this severely until facing. Actual wear mark on the inside of the retaining cup. Upon autopsy naturally! Wouldn't happen on Phill Wood bb because there is no flange.

[@kenlang6672]

The vid was great, per usual, instructive and quite clear. That's an interesting trick on the der' and I will be trying it. The music was comatose. Spike Jones,"Hawaiian War Chant" would have been perfect.

[@Jake-yt8ss]

Im actually riding the micronew levers for years now on my DIY gravel bike. They work great, but I used a 105 road front derailler, because its not compatible with mtb deraillers. And XT in the back. For the brakes I chose mini V, they have the right pull ratio

[@geoffersmaher]

that redshift stuff is lovely, give it a try

[@sempi8159]

I have an older giamt boulder 510 great bike! Giant is such underrated quality for the money

[@chinomedina8530]

Love the background music!!!

[@carlbezanson9394]

Love the videos! I thought it was normal to get a little chain rub when you cross the chain big-to-small and vice versa especially on a triple

[@thorn6809]

It can be a good indicator for which gearing not to use.

[@DuncanLuong]

I had same problem changing from flat to drop bar. The road shifter has shorter pull compared to the thumb one using the old front derailleur. One way to solve is to change fd to a road type not mountain or hydrid but then you need to consider the chainline. It might work with the old fd if you only have 2 chainrings but will rough with 3. It took me a while to realize that with quite a few research.

[@donaldpender4938]

Great effort

[@bradbell4055]

I love 2xs I have1 and 4 1xs wish it was the other way around great video

[@bradbell4055]

My first bike was a marlin 6 with 2x8 now I have a verve 3 with a 2x9 both a great bikes wanted a 2x10 when I got my Farley 7 2 years ago but had to settle for a 1x12 dealer said it was probley the only farley in the state at that time

[@inaheap7172]

I used add on barrel adjusters at the brake hood to take the slack out of my brakes. I didn't know about your option at the time. I may try them the next time I get into that bike again. But the adjusters work pretty good. I got a giant with almost the same setup/conversion. I was fortunate to not have V brakes on it though.

[@trekkeruss]

The pull ratio of the brake levers are different than the linear pull "V" brakes, so it is not just about making the cable tighter. That is why that cable pulley is necessary, to change the amount of cable being pulled.

[@sonalmalhotra07]

lovely video

[@marshallinnes3727]

Hi all my armchair 2 cents Thanks for video and content. Love the problem solver solution. I think shorty v brakes arms would work also. On fd I wonder if it was a chain ring capacity issue. I think mtb and road tripples have a different chain ring gap. Cheers

[@remerglobal]

Unique component assortment for sure! I’ve had mixed success with WAKE brand components- Some well-made stuff and some garbage. The thing that matters is getting out riding! Enjoy!

[@quarryfield]

Redshift shockstop seat post and stem! Wonderful products, they're worth more than the bike!

[@peterwatson3966]

I have set up road shifters with Mtb front derailers on three different bikes. The pull ratio is different. You had this problem on another video. I've got it working by moving the cable to a different spot on the derailer. Actually under the nut inside instead of under the bolt head. A lot of mucking around!!

[@Inzolity]

this jazz music goes so well with this type of video... very relaxing.

[@martinhartmann3121]

Personally I think cantis are a more elegant solution for road levers than travel agents and v brakes. Or mini v brakes but then there's no space for fenders.

[@christianb.1028]

Cantis are fine, but such a bitch to set up right, especially if you don't want them squealing like a dog...

[@mydearriley]

I'd certainly recommend you shop get a low-power electric impact wrench for the long threads on BBs!

[@olegeezer]

good video!

[@blockhead3654]

Star next to your name..... Nice work I like this one.

[@DefaultUsername156]

Its the Sarcasm x Jazz for me. Love this channel

[@SprayIgniteBoom]

I bought a Trek 850 sport for urban/new trail/route finding etc. Sourced parts from Specialized, Shimano, Jagwire cables, and will kindly ask the local bike mechanic to assemble it first. Then when it’s October”ish” I’ll kindly ask him to walk me through the dos and don’ts for rider maintenance…but leaving the mid-spring “tune-ups” to him. (same goes for my other 4 bikes;-)

[@thecleaner81]

I definately try out the cable tension tip the next occasion.

[@danielholter1861]

I dont always see eye to eye with the presenter but I do like the content, editing, and background music..

[@DreamEater042]

contrary to all the info I've been able to find about it anywhere, in my experience doing these types of conversions there absolutely is a compatibility issue between mountain bike triple front derailleurs and road shift levers. you can fudge it a little by adjusting the clamp angle of the shift cable as you found it set up initially and ultimately left it but that road shifter will never shift that mountain triple properly. I would bet a lot of money that a road triple fd would correct the issue and get it shifting smoothly.

[@RolandRides]

I did almost exactly the same conversion on an 1992 Wheeler MTB Tange frame. MicroNEW 3x7 with existing Shimano Altus from 1992?. It's my Zwift indoor bike. I have canti brakes and in theory they work, never tested the bike outside so far 😅

[@pympin87]

i had an old worn front derailleur like that ... gave me lots of shifting issues ... changed it and got rid of all the issues

[@ericsande5345]

Comment on gearing - I have two MTB commuters and got rid of the front shifting. A 40T narrow wide up front and a cheap Shimano wide range 8sp in back gives me all I need around town. I've never liked triples.

[@martinhartmann3121]

I have the same aliexpress shifters on my hybrid gravel conversion. They are made for road triple though and your front derailleur is probably for mtb. These are fantastic shifters when used with good quality derailleurs, I use them with stx rc rear and 105 front

[@FuchsHorst]

Afaik 7 speed Road has the same pull ratio as mountain, even for FDs.

[@meneldil7604]

@@FuchsHorst you are correct that front mech had a lot of slop

[@carlbezanson9394]

Thanks!

[@bkefrmr]

Thanks hey!

[@maxab7e63s5]

Travel agents cheap can get from aliexpress or eBay if you don't want to wait for shipping. A must if switching to road levers.

[@jasonbusch3624]

I love those Shimano Saint platform pedals.

[@mattgies]

Those aren't the Saint PD-M828, they're the (non-series) PD-GR500. But yeah, they're nice. I have them on a couple of bikes.

[@StayZero556]

My converted hybrid (Trek Verve) is running the 3x8 MicroNew shifters and Shimano Altus derailleurs. They’ve been awesome, no complaints about their performance. Internal cable routing would for sure look better but at half the cost of Claris I’m not complaining. My understanding is the real difference between them and MicroShift is MicroNew are made in China, MicroShift are made in Taiwan.

[@jescowan26]

I had a very similar issue on my front derailleur I just did a delete and stick to the biggest gear

[@Tarmaccyclocross]

No hidden cables sheer heaven 👍

[@fancytyme]

Buying good used stuff is almost always going to be a better alternative to grabbing new garbage off of Amazon. It takes a little research, but a lot of components that are a few generations old are rock solid and dirt cheap on eBay. And anyway I doubt this Giant was originally equipped with Dura-Ace so if you put an old Deore RD on there it's still an upgrade. A dozen other people have already said it, but a MTB FD paired with an indexed road shifter is rough stuff. FDs are cheap as hell and there's a ton of options that would work with a triple. And I'll say it: I don't really have any of these issues with a friction shifter! Also IMO even if the travel agents fix the issue, they're ugly (like v brakes) and cantis would be a better long-term solution.

[@iambent1]

A number of years ago, I converted a Kona PHD to a dropbar. The PHD had road components except for the V-brakes. Shimano used to make trigger shifters for a flat bar that would shift road components, and the PHD had the road triggers. So it was easy to convert to brifters for shifting. Of course, the brakes weren't as easy since brifters are short pull. I used a Problem Solvers Travel Agent to get a long pull from the brifters.The bikee turned out great. Rode it a lot and it climbed really well. Unless you really like tinkering with bikes, you're probably better off selling a hybrid and buying a real road bike.

[@jeremyemilio9378]

For triples,I just adjust it such that the both extremes are well set. Sometimes because of chain line and gearing sizes,there's gonna be a bit of rub

[@CanonFirefly]

I just recycle them 😂 life's too short to have to deal with that shit.

[@1a2b3c4.]

The adapter you put on it's different in the back then the one in the front. In the front seems it was put on correctly.

[@mr.esfusioncollect8494]

I was doing that to mountain bikes when I was a kid. Back then everyone looked at me like I was crazy.

[@billydeewilliams8909]

Redshift is an excellent brand in general, and for seatposts and stems in particular.

[@BodyKnight]

They are called Travel Agents and they are great. But when you feed the cable in, you should try to make so that when the pulley are turned by the action the brake lever, the cable has plenty of room to make the pulley itself turn and not get stuck. It's even difficult to explain, but basically you should feed in the cables at the correct rotation of the pulley.

[@6479rob]

I enjoyed this video would a new front derailer have been an option?

[@jack002tuber]

DIYer did really well getting the shifter to work with that front derailleur, but failed on brake cable being shift cable.

[@elishmittywerminghanjensen1264]

Thanks! Couldn't tell you what was going through my mind with cable selection, just ignorance on my part I guess. Ignorance has turned to bliss now that BikeFarmer has saved my butt.

[@rodneyhanson9884]

118 to 110 is quite a jump, If the small cog doesn’t scrape the frame the shorter one might be a better fit for chain line, which is what id want to think about first, i tried to fit a triple to one of my bikes and it scraped, I was looking at changing the bb but found another crank and it fits but If anything its to far out now. I don’t see that bb length should affect derailuer set up as long as the derailuer has that range, i had a lit of trouble with a 3x7 on a Raleigh road bike with brifters and as far as I know all the original parts , sometimes the cage gets a bit squashed and a bit of carful bending is needed. As for the brakes a pair of cantilever would maybe be a cheaper fix than the compensator

[@bikenraider99]

There was another company that made the travel agent for V-Brakes. RJ the bike guy turned me onto them in one of his older vids. They were a bit pricey to come by if I recall.

[@FuchsHorst]

"Problem solvers" as Bike Farmer said in the Video. Litepro, the Brand he used for this bike, is focussing in brompton/folding bikes. They make parts and even a tri-folding Brompton Clone.

[@CharlieMetcalf]

Surprised to see he has a 70+ dollar stem and 100+ dollar seat post, then use Micronew and Wake. Possibly he is saving up for better parts later on? The front derailleur issue is why I am now using 1x setup. Almost always a rubbing issue with SIS. Friction would be best for micro adjustments. Also I am surprised you do not know the Wake and Mocronew brands. Especially since you shop Amazon for parts. To not know about the Redshift stem and seatpost? Living under a rock I see.... :-) Like you said It makes for a good video.........

[@peterhansen8216]

That redshift seatpost and stem look interesting.

[@marcusathome]

If the chain starts rubbing on the front derailleur, that's an audible reminder that you are cross-chaining! :) Brakes: I wonder if the original bike had cantilever brakes; if so, the owner could have simply left those on and no compatibility issues with the levers.

[@paullydca]

all hail the thingamajigs(their actual product name from Problem Solvers) to adapt brakes to work right. I love quirky 90s mtb to drop bar builds.

[@johngrant7979]

Are you sure the rear v brake mod was fitted correct ( as compared to the front one) The front was fitted around the outer large rout whilst the rear looked like you missed the groove of the large spool rout ( I could be wrong 😀)

[@hmjacasey]

You're not wrong, rear is installed incorrect.

[@senorspiegel]

The worst I ever got chewed out as a mechanic was after setting up a triple haha, they treated me like a flat fixer for a month after

[@thisismyNicName]

I would’ve slapped a bar mount friction shifter on that front derailleur and the customer would’ve hated it. Which is why I don’t have a successful bike shop lol