Mongoose Randonneur owners - how's the ride?

Aaaah, what's bubelrocks, you ask! Nothing to do with Michael Buble
Prnc (try saying "prince" without any vowels) Bubelbubel is an altereg
of mine, of mysterious origin. He attempts to find the meaning of lif
by contemplating rocks, and their byproducts, such as bicycles. A bi
thick really, tends to forget about humans... I don't think you want t
know any more

Thanks so much guys, for teaching me the "google groups" method o
searching. I have found a few more posts on the randonneur, though thi
thread is now the most helpful, and I hope it keeps going a bit

The only thing that's worrying me about the Randonneur is that it seem
to be a car magnet! Perhaps it's the dark colours..

I'm interested, Adam, that you've changed to a 9-speed cassette whil
keeping the crank from the 8-speed setup. I thought cranks were eithe
8-speed or 9-speed (though this is a vague thought, like most of m
bicycle knowledge). Any problems with the chain, shifting etc? :

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bubelrocks

bubelrocks Wrote:

I'm interested, Adam, that you've changed to a 9-speed cassette while
keeping the crank from the 8-speed setup. I thought cranks were either
8-speed or 9-speed (though this is a vague thought, like most of my
bicycle knowledge). Any problems with the chain, shifting etc?


Works fine no problem. There's no issue with running a 9 speed chain on
the 8 speed chainrings but technically 9 speed chainrings are mounted
slightly closer together. I am using a 9 speed STI shifter with 8 speed
spaced chainrings but there must be bugger all difference in the amount
of cable pulled by the shifters as it shifts fine. Here's a few
snippets on chains I've cutnpasted from the Barnett maintenance manual
pdfs I downloaded from the web:

"The nine speed chain has an outside width of approximately 6.6-6.8mm,
..5mm less than any other type of chain. This narrower width allows the
cogs on a nine speed rear cog set to be spaced much closer together, so
that the nine cogs fit in almost the same total space as eight cogs.
Shimano nine speed chainrings spacing has been reduced and the width of
the front derailleur cage has been reduced as well. The narrower chain
is still close enough to the dimensions of other derailleur chains that
it fits eight-speed and lesser configurations.....The nine speed chain
can be used with other than nine-speed chainrings and front
derailleurs. Due to design differences more than dimension differences,
performance might be slightly compromised, but this combination will be
functional."


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adam85