Hi! I'm hoping to resto-mod an old 70's Motobecane frame I have. The frame in question is not mint enough that I'm worried about keeping it original, but not so beat up or low-quality that it wouldn't be worth doing.
So, I'm eyeing a budget-oriented resto-mod. The bike is intended to be sort of a sport-tourer, endurance bike, etc, capable of relatively sporty road riding but also more casual rides, likely a comfy ride with 35ishmm tires, and preferably with a decent range of gears. Frame has been spaced to 130mm at the rear, so I'm thinking I'll use a 2×10 groupset or thereabouts. Some options include Microshift Sword, which seems fairly inexpensive, has a clutch, and lower gearing than I'm likely to end up needing. Alternatively, Shimano's Tiagra seems pretty tried-and-true. I sort of prefer it's polished finish; gearing is not as hill friendly but the 34t cassette and 34t crank does offer 1:1 which is still probably more than enough. It's likely pricier than the Microshift group, though.
Anyhow, those are just two options. I'd be interested in hearing feedback on them, but also open to other suggestions.
by gregn8r1
2 Comments
Tiagra is all 98% of riders need. Sword is also nice.
Honestly, probably just comes down to what you want to spend. I would happily ride either. I’m a microshift fan and also a Shimano fan. You can’t go wrong.
For 2×10-speed I like the Tiagra 4700 levers. You can pair the 4700 levers with any mechanical derailleurs from Shimano’s road [11/12-speed 105](https://www.reddit.com/user/joepublicschmoe/comments/1hjojd5/confirmed_10speed_tiagra_4700_shifters_compatible/), 11-speed Ultegra/Dura-Ace or GRX groups.
If you want lower than 1:1 gearing you can pair the 4700 levers with the GRX RD-RX400 rear derailleur which has a really long cage and has the capacity to run big cassettes like 11-42T with a double crank ([I did that and it works very well](https://matrix.redditspace.com/_matrix/media/v3/download/reddit.com/aizufgk35q5b1)).
For a bit of restomodern vibe, 4700 levers paired with the silver version of the Shimano 105 RD-R7000-GS rear derailleur looks quite nice and can take a 11-36T cassette while running a double crank. The silver 105 R7000 rear derailleur can be a bit hard to find though.