I recall having a similar discussion before I did the Devil Mountain Double.  The issue has always been that my new bike is lighter and handles much better than my old bike. But the new bike has a double and the old one a triple.  When I get into these events that require a lot of climbing, it is a dilemma. For the Devil Mountain Double I ended up using the new bike and just ground it out on the later steep climbs. But the Everest Challenge has climbs that are steeper yet and also it has two days of back to back.  I had already decided to use my old bike on the 2nd day, then maybe I would just take it alone for both days.

I had put on new wheels and a new Durace crank on the old bike to get it lighter so now the difference is only 1 lb.  But I feel much more comfortable descending on the new bike.

When I was doing the Metcalf Mauler last night I asked Chuck how many speed his bike is because he has not only a compact crank but a mountain bike gear on the rear.  He said it was 10 speed, but I know  Shimano doesn’t make a 10 speed mountain bike cassette.  He said he special ordered one and had a spare (brand new) I could borrow.

I spent a couple hours this morning to take the Shimano XT derailleur off my mountain bike on switch it with the Durace derailuer on my new road bike, then I swapped the cassette.  It took me a while to get things adjusted because the stops were way off.  I think I have it working okay, without even lengthening the chain.  I just have to be careful to not cross chain with the big chain ring and the largest cassette, which is a 34.  I would like to go the compact route, but this will for the Everest Challenge and it didn’t cost me anything, just some of my time and very greasy hands.

I did a a test ride up Henry Coe tonight.   I had taken it off my mountain bike and did not realize it shifted in reverse, which mean when I shifted on my road bike it moved the opposite direction on the rear cassette from what I expected.  That alone was reason to not go this route.  It also was not smooth shifting.  So when I got home after the ride I switched things back to their original setup.  I am back to either taking both bikes, or just my old bike with the triple crank.

Categories: Everest Challenge
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