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Introduction

Everyone has an opinion about bike gear. I only know about what I use and I generally only write about what I have. I'm somewhat of a retro-grouch for I prefer steel frames and rim brakes.

The Big Rebuild

March 2014
I purchased my Dawes Ultra Galaxy in January of 2012. By March of 2014 I had clocked approximately 11,000 miles on the drive train and needed to replace most all of it.


PARTS
Type Description Price
Crank Shimano Deore M590 9 Speed Triple Chainset;
Color: Silver, BoltCircle: 104mm, Length: 175mm, Teeth: 48/36/26t
£55.99
Bottom Bracket external Hollowtech II Bottom Bracket is included! n/a
Cassette Shimano SLX HG80 9 Speed MTB Cassette;
Teeth: 11-34t
£23.99
Chain Shimano XT HG93 9 Speed Chain;
Color: Silver, Option: 114 Links
£12.49
Brake Blocks Clarks 72mm Replacement Cartridge (£4.49 x 2) £8.98
Brake Cables TEKTRO RBP Brake Straddle Cable and Triangle (£4.59 x 2) £9.00
Brake Cables Clarks Elite PreLube Universal Inner Brake Wire (£1.79 x 2) £3.58
Gear Cables Clarks Elite Universal Pre-Lube Inner Gear Wire (£1.79 x 2) £3.58
Handlebar Tape Cinelli Gel Cork Bar Tape; Color: Natural £9.99

After installing all these lovely components, I have to say... she rode better than new. I moved from a 48/38/28 170mm to a 48/36/26 175mm. Plus I added a few teeth to the rear cassette by moving from an 11-32 to a 11-34. These subtle changes made a HUGE difference when climbing hills with loaded panniers. I'm loving it!

The other major change I made was to move to an external bottom bracket. I upgraded the crank to the Shimano Deore Hollow-Tech II which requires this new style of tech. It's a bit fiddly to sort out the spacers... but you can read more about that here.

Overall it was a huge improvement to ride of the bike.



If you look closely at the photo, you should notice that there's quite a few tools laying amongst the bike parts. In fact, I spent almost as much money on tools, lubes, and oils as I did on parts! Crazy.

TOOLS
Type Description Price
Bottom Bracket Tool Cyclo Hollowtech II Bottom Bracket Tool £12.99
Bottom Bracket Tool Park Tool Bottom Bracket Tool BBT22 £15.99
Cassette Tool X-Tools Chain Whip £4.49
Lockring Tool Shimano Cassette & Centre Lock - Lockring Tool £15.99
Grease/oil Shimano Workshop Grease; 50ml £5.99
Grease/oil Shimano Anti Seize Paste; 50ml £5.39

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