The one bike for most purposes?

[psyclist]

BTW you perhaps ought to keep a chain for use with each different cassette too.

Why are you advising a separate chain for each cassette? As long as the chain is replaced regularly (ie before a worn chain damages the sprockets), then there should be no difference in wear between using a single chain or one per cassette. This assumes each wheel is used roughly 50% of the time.

I'm currently preparing a bike for use with 2 different wheelsets, so it can be used for both rough stuff and road, with suitable tyres to match each task on the respective wheels. Thanks to reading this thread, I now realise that I should have got 2 cassettes and not just 1, doh! 

[Brucey]

anytime you run a chain that is not perfectly matched to the sprockets there is a risk and a penalty to be paid.

The risk is partly that you will get skipping (with a good chain on less good sprockets), but if the matched chain and sprockets have not worn much past 0.5% this is unlikely. [A worn chain will usually 'work' on less worn sprockets but it will also knacker them.]

The penalty is that the chain and/or the sprockets may wear unusually quickly whilst a different chain beds in on the sprockets.

In general chains are cheap and sprockets are more expensive, so in addition  it is certainly a false economy as well as an unrealistic expectation to wear two sets of sprockets with a single chain. If they are fitted with a re-usable quicklink you might as well change the chain so that it is always perfectly matched to the sprockets in use.

cheers

[psyclist]

Thank you for that explanation. 

[Brucey]

in addition there is a rather prosaic reason; if the cassettes are different between wheelsets, the likely optimum chain length may be different too.

cheers

[Blodwyn Pig]

back to the OP, 'one bike for most purposes', that should actually read, ' one bike for most purposes the purchaser intends to put it to'  ie, if you are into touring and time trialling, then this would be difficult, but a lot of folks aren't that diverse, I'm not,  Olive does EVERYTHING I want it to do, in a way I thought it would, ie long day rides, commute, audax   and rough stuff, quite a bit of rough stuff, and carrying loads. 1 bike does all I want to do.  I have a full sus MTB, and have used it twice since buying Olive, my Pearson Audax bike ...once. in 20 months.  So the answer is yes, but it depends on your parameters, I mean lets be realistic. If you only WANT 1 bike, and your chosen machine ticks all of YOUR boxes, then yes, but if you race road, race dh mtb , tour, tt and commute then I  would say  no.

[Karla]

The Open UP would probably be nicer to ride for most things, but you'd have to be brave to leave a 3 grand frame outside the shops if you wanted to use it as a utility bike!

Not an Open Up and not a 3 grand frame;) Can also bee seen in this months Arrivee courtesy of Deano - yay!

What is it?

[sojournermike]

The Open UP would probably be nicer to ride for most things, but you'd have to be brave to leave a 3 grand frame outside the shops if you wanted to use it as a utility bike!

Not an Open Up and not a 3 grand frame;) Can also bee seen in this months Arrivee courtesy of Deano - yay!

What is it?

A Workswell wcb-r-125 from China. It does actually work well!

Geometry is identical to the Open UP, albeit I hadn't seen the original when I ordered this one. It was the geometry that appealed - more road bike with big tyres than mountain bike, plus the ability to run big 650b or mid sized 700c tyres. The paint is an extra if you want it and you can spec colours using the Pantone code.

Deano's 'Don't Keep to the Road' was it's first outing and I added the rear brake inner cable at the start. Pleased to say it rode perfectly.

Mike

[Deano]

What number is JCB yellow on the Pantone chart?

[phantasmagoriana]

Is that an MTB rear mech? Gearing looks nice and low.

[canny colin]

New Holland Combine Yellow Used to be H 8266 . I have a tin of synthetic enamel  ( proper oil based stuff ) , If you fancy that colour deano

[Deano]

New Holland Combine Yellow Used to be H 8266 . I have a tin of synthetic enamel  ( proper oil based stuff ) , If you fancy that colour deano

I used to work somewhere that made petrol tanks for JCBs (and Cats, and Komatsus), and I always regret not stripping my old frame down and chucking it down the paint line. If they'd been doing that lovely Komatsu cherry red while I was there, I'd have totally done it.

[canny colin]

The cherry red was spot on . I've got a fast tow ( manitou) concrete mixer on order . Its a special build by B F  the parent company . I had hoped it would be in  the lovely blue / silver of B F  but its coming in boring red / grey . Mind  Being red it should tow fast . 

[sojournermike]

The paint is Pantone 130C - cheery yellow

Gearing is 50/34 at the front and 11-36 at the back - you can get 11-40 or 42 if you need. The rear mech is a 9 speed Shimano mtb mech operated by 10 speed sti's (A pair of Ultegra 6700 i borrowed from another bike). The tyres are 2.1 inch Schwalbe Thunderburts in 650b sizing. The 50:11 combination doesn't see much use, but it's nice having the low end for the start of Ingleby Incline, before enaging the 24" gear.

It's a weapon on road descents.

Mike

[mrcharly-YHT]

Curve do a decent range of bikes that fit this bill.