I put this on my gal's expensive Felt commuter/gravel bike. She does 8 to 10 hours commuting a week on rail trail and roads with steep hills in all sorts of weather. She is light about 105 (Er . . . 120) pounds so it is more grit and infrequent cleanings that wears her chains. I had to stand on the "quick" connect link to get it to snap in. If you had to disconnect this by hand on a desert island to get food and water plan on starving to death and prune-ifiying . . . Unless I got a odd one then get the chain pliers (or a circlip tool) for installation and replacement. Old Guy Mt. Bike Rebuild . . . This spring my sig. other got a lightly used $2000 mt. bike from a friend for about $1000 and she took off. We had started mt. biking in the mid-80's and continued into the mid-2000's when family circumstances ate all of our time. So being cheap, I didn't want to fork over $2K for yet another bike (and, I wanted to see how much mt. biking I was actually going to do . . .) so I decided to rebuild the circa 1995 Diamondback that was a trade-in for the one I broke. That faithful two wheeler was fitted with slicks and used for commuting. Here's what I did: New tires - I got three flats the first 4 rides - one three miles out, of course, at the stem where patches don't work . . . So I swapped out my 20 y/o Panaracer Darts (still good !) with some new half-fats, a Trail King Sport Mountain Bike Tire, Wire Bead 26 x 2.2 BW for the rear and a Mountain King Sport MTB Wire Bead Bike Tire - 26 x 2.2 for the front. My old Panaracer's say 2.1 but these two are MUCH fatter, AND the Mountain Kings are NOT 2.2" as the d"escription says, they are 2.0" measured with a caliper at the actual tire. Maybe if you include the knobs it is 2.2 The Trail King IS 2.2 at the tire. That's not a problem, just what i but odd given the manufacturer is the same. The Trail King I put on the back and it just fits at the front of the chain stays on this old school model frame. I hear muted rubbing, not as cool as a playing card in the spokes, but things are quieter these days . . . I put the big tire on the back in that I run 220 (not fat like the tires, not even half-fat . . .) and I wanted more cushion for my hardtail big azzness. Love the tires, tough sidewall, great grip, and you can run various PSI's depending upon the conditions. They look like they will last a long time and at about half the price of many that look the same. Cassette: My 12- 32 was not cutting it on the climbs like it had (20 years ago . . .) so I bought a CYSKY 9 Speed Cassette 9Speed 11-40 Cassette Fit for Mountain Bike, Road Bicycle, MTB, BMX, Sram Sunrace Shimano ultegra xt (Light Weight) for the hub of an 8 speed I had on my light, strong commuting wheels, black, cool looking, but not as strong as I thought on the trails. I broke a spoke first outing and went back to the original, tank rims. Those rims only had a 7 speed hub. Hmmmmm ? . . . What to do ? What to do ? . . . Take the 11 cog off and run it as an 8 speed ! I figured that the cogs would be skinnier on the 9 speed so the 8 speed hub should fit, works fine. However the CYSKY cassette DID NOT come with the lock ring ! (I meant to contact them about that . . . ). I used the one on the old cassette. I had looked at an 8 Speed Cassette 11-40T MTB Cassette 8 Speed Fit for Mountain Bike, Road Bicycle, MTB, BMX, SRAM, Shimano but again, I had expected to use the 8 speed hub AND I think the CYSKY had more gears on the big end which I would be using. When would I be using an 11 or 13 with my small chainring ? I replaced the dérailleur adjustment screw with a long one I bought for about 30 cents at the hardware store, I forget the size. Bring yours in or get a couple different diameters. You will likely find that you will only get a quarter inch or so more adjustment in that the tip of the screw will slip off where it seats. I took the dérailleur off to do this. On the 40 cog the pulley wheel does touch the cog but I don't use that much anyway. If you are going to a 42 cog you will likely have to get a dérailleur extender. CAUTION ! Some extenders only work with certain brands of dérailleurs. Chain: KMC KMC023 X9.93 Bicycle Chain (9-Speed, 1/2 x 11/128-Inch, 116L, Silver/Black) I got this one because the KMC X11.93 , Nickel Plated 116 Link 11 Speed Chain I put on my gal's commuting/gravel bike (she puts in 8 to 10 hours commuting a week !) I had to stand on to get the "quick" connect to snap on. (And I fed it through the chainstay wrong "somehow" (It was late . . . and long past "happy" hour . . . ) so I had to do the whole thing over again. Somehow with some old spokes and some needle nose pliers I got the the "quick" connect apart. The KMC popped in very easily and I even bought the bicycle chain pliers for it but didn't need them. Pulley Wheels: My 20+ year old pulley wheels had been worn down to look like those pointy teeth you see on those benthic dwelling fish with the dangley light on their heads (no flesh shards though . . .). So I got these: Tacx Sealed Bearing Pulleys - Shimano/Campagnolo 11 Teeth. I like the sealed variety due to the gritty, soggy nature of mt. biking. One less tooth than what was on there and they work great. Those aluminum ones look cool but based on reviews I'm not sure if they'd hold up. So this set up worked fine for my mt. biking needs, good for the uphills (I don't remember them being so long !!!) and we have a choice of lift service mountains with downhill courses and it worked fine on those. I don't "fly" much, I like to stay on the ground. (Kudos to those astronauts on two wheels ! More for them.) I have to buy my own equipment and keep getting my health/crash insurance taken away with all the political gaming by those who got theirs . . . And I took off my clip-in pedals that I had been using for 25 years. I found out that the milliseconds of extra time it takes to clip out can do some damage, like 15 stitches in the belly of my left forearm thanks to a fallen over tree whose warn down roots resembled one of Triceratops cousins with all those horns on the crest. I saw things moving in there folks ! It was a puncture/laceration open an inch and a half ! And I was an EMT in the past and attended to all sorts of things. Things in the inside should stay int he inside ! I had to ride out. load my bike and get to the ER. Not fun for a 75 degree summer day. And I hadn't even hit the hard parts yet !!! Also recommended for road and commuter riders are rear view mirrors, The Mountain Mirrycle for mt. bike type handle bars (mounted "down and in" per one clever commenter, (See: First Review)) and for the "10 speed" variety of handle bars (tube pointing back) Hafny Bar End Bike Mirror, Stainless Steel Lens, Safe Rearview Mirror (Black 68 Diameter), mounts in a minute ! Very quickly you get used to a quick glance down to see how close that semi or texting teenager is getting. I may post some pics (of the bike, not my arm) if I can find a 12 y/o to show me how . . . Happy biking !
