Hello, i got inspired by some people builds and started to build my own gt avalanche 1.0. Bought this one few months ago, i think model year is somewhere from 2008. Front derailleur felt to work a little bit annoying, maybe adjusting would work and changing rusty spring, but should i just swap completely to something modern, like 1×11/12 setup? What would you guys do, and if you would swap to something, what could it be?
Also 1x front is more aesthetic to my eye, would be also good reason to change whole crankset. I think rear derailleur has been changed to Shimano Deore XT, that you could see in the 2nd photo. Is there any good reasons to keep that, or complete swap to Shimano Cues/Deore M5100/SLX M77100/XT M8100 or Sram GX Eagle/something else?
Planning to cycle this bike in the city sometimes when the weather is good, no extreme offroading stuff or long distance sport events, but the good feeling of the bike would be important.
Thanks in advance for answers, also more parts is going to be updated 💪
by tomiliat
5 Comments
Microshift advent 9 sp or advent X 10 sp is great
You’ve got 2 arms, 2 legs, you should have 2 chainrings too 🙂
Plus it looks better and the parts are less expensive. Better shifting around the city.
There are many ways to approach this, but for a good performance / cost ratio for a urban commuter and a little off road I would do this:
– keep the chainset but replace the triple chainrings with a single narrow wide chainring. I believe this is a 104bcd crankset. Go for approx. 40 tooth if you have clearance on the frame, maybe 38t or 36t if not. They are available cheap on Ali express. You could go for aluminium from a brand like Deckas, although I would consider a steel one from prowheel (a bit heavier but much longer lasting). You will also need a new set of chainring bolts for a single ring. For the sake of chainline consider installing the chainring on the inside of the crank spider where your middle ring currently sits.
– keep your current derailleur and shifter. Replace the cassette with a wider range one from shimano / microshift / sunrace. That derailleur will comfortably handle an 11-36 cassette, possibly 11-38 (microshift makes this size). You could try 11-40 although I am not confident it will work well.
– with a new cassette and chainring, you might as well replace the chain as well. I would consider a shimano hg53 or hg93 but perhaps you can find a good alternative from KMC / YBN etc. While you’re at it, clean out and degrease the rear shifter, and replace the cable and housing. Don’t forget to ensure the derailleur hanger is straight.
This setup shouldn’t cost much more than $100 in parts and will give solid performance for many years. Main thing to consider before going ahead is that the derailleur, shifter, BB and chainset are currently in good working order.
Good luck
The boring comment this one. 3x’s are great when they’re working smoothly. There’s a load of stuff to consider when you go to a large range 1x set up. Whereas getting your current setup working would likely just be new chain and a tune-up from the bikeshop.
If you still have the itch, you can always see about changing your front gear to a 1x and keep the same rear cassette. 1×7 is still tonnes of range and would only really limit you if you do steep hills on the regular.
Your on DTHs so your pretty fast rolling. Do you like to pedal hard and go fast? Then I would recommend sticking with a setup that keeps multiple front chain rings. A larger front sproket will always provide better power speed over long rides
Your rear derailure look like a good shimano 9/10 speed so I would personally stick with a 2x or 3x system for range and efficiency and keep what you have out the back there.
If you just want a cool cruiser than a 1×10 would be great. Just consider the rear wheel spacing on your old GT first. And IMO, 1x systems only really work well on slow bikes with slow riders. No shame in that, some people just like to relax:) good for a bike that doesn’t leave town anf you ride in short bursts.