Gears: 11-36T on back, 46-30T on front. So min speed is 30/36 = 0.83 and max is 46/11 = 4.18. Compared to Kross which was 11-32 on back vs 48-28 on front, so min 28/32 = 0.875 and max 48/11 = 4.36. So the ranges are very comparable! This confirms Ciro's suspicion that 3 speeds on cranckset is just useless.
I was sized just at the lower limit of XL, but decided to go for it. The seatpost goes all the way into the tube, which is a good thing, might help with noises?
on city ride: I'm much more inclined forward thatn on the Kross bicycle (2017) since this is XL might be a good thing. Let's see on longer countrysie ride.
on rain: the pedal performance is terrible, very slippery!
the breaks are good, a bit better than the Kross, but not as grippy as ones I've seen.
It is good that it came with lights. But OMG the DUXO back light is impossible to open!!! Front battery also seemd short, to be checked
Presta valves suck. I can't inflate it without holding it down with my feet!
I'm unable to place a U-lock carrier on this bike in a way that doesn't block one of the two bottles inside frame, or hits leg on if on side. Tried both Kryptonite and Abus ones I have lying around. Shame. Also the Topeak MTS Trunkbag does not fit well on the pannier rack, it is not wide enough to strap: 11cm outer width, 9cm inner width, same geometry as that of the Liv bike.
Seatpost: TODO diameter. Measured in store 30.4mm after original stolen, although 2020 says 30.9. 30.4mm seemed to fit OK, and measuring with ruler gives 30.5/30.6, I don't think a 30.9 can possibly fit.
Trekking bike bought second hand in 2017. Seller confirmed it is this one www.kross.pl/en/2012/trans-alp (archive) but male version (now shown clearly on website, but both exist).
2023-08: redoing drivetrain: Shimano HG51 8 Speed cassette 11-32t, Shimano HG40 8-speed chain, Shimano FC-M311 48T/38T/28T 175mm cranckset, first two from Amazon, last from www.santafixie.co.uk/shimano-altus-fc-m311-175-mm-crankset-black.html does not include elivery but still was the cheapest I could find, 4 pounds. Likely not worth the signup effort, but we gotta fight Amazon when they are beaten on prices for moral reasons...
2023-03: Rebuying HG40 8 speed chain 116L, Never paid attention to link counts before, dude said I might have to remove two. There are three options 114L, 116L and 118L
2022-08 I can't take the cassette out anymore again... first tried to remove correct side, didn't manage. Tried the other side, wrong one, and it ticked about 10 times. Then saw video, and initial side was correct. That piece is extremely asymmetric... it is a problem.
2022-08: front mudgard was unbearably noisy, put on the new one I had bought long ago. Asked bike shope person to cut 2.5cm from each metal stick which was way way too long, measured this quickly by placing the new one on top of the new one without attaching. After I got home, noticed it was still too long. At home I noticed one was better than the other, this is because the attach point is not centric on the wheel like on the back, so it requires different cuts. Going to cut again 1cm on one side, 2cm on the other, so total from start would have been 3.5cm and 4.5cm.
Got a puncture on back tire, perfect little point, but on the interior. Could not determine cause. Noticed that the "thumbs up" patch sets that came with the COZYROOMY tire lever were kind of crap, barely held. Made test to see if will deflat or not. Bought a Weldtite cure-c-cure puncture repair kit instead: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003GBBQGM. Looks good.
seatpost making clicking noises again... seems to be from collar area, since already changed several time seatpost. Went to shop and they: 1) cleaned surfaces with rag and some cleaning oil 2) aligned hole in tighenener thing with that of frame 3) tightened well. Let's see. People also recommend greasing the clamp bolt:
2022-08: Topeak Aero Wedge saddle bag stolen in city center, bought many years ago, don't have exact product. Quite incredible that something so cheap, unsellable, and unusable except by a sportsperson would be stolen. Looks like this: archive.ph/wip/atSJK, not like the identically named 2022 produc with two zippers. Rebuying the new two zipper model: www.wiggle.co.uk/topeak-aero-wedge-buckle-medium-saddle-bag Edit: was wrong one, medium is humongous, likely wanted small 18 - 11 - 8.5 instead, two zipper is not a new model, it is a medium vs small issue rather. Exchanged for the small.
2022-04: could not remove pedals with small 10cm wrench, preparing for trip. Took it to mechanic, they removed without any problem with a Park Tool PW-4, and greased. Glad to see it was not stuck. After that, I was able to remove myself with my 10cm non specialized wrench. Considering getting the Park Tool PW-5 instead of PW-4 which is half the price and just a bit less long. OK Bought it.
2022-03: changed chain after it reached the limit. Very slight slippage on gear 6 as usual, but did not seem enough to require changing the cassette, but rebuying it as soon as I find a good price for next chain for sure, rebuying Shimano HG51 8 Speed 11-32t. OMG it is so expensive now, stocks our out everywhere!
Besides that, have been hearing some noises from the seat post that are worrying me... it never ends... rebuying a Brand-X Layback Seatpost 27.2 diameter 350mm length post to debug.
2021-11: seatpost making noises again... going to try a Brand-X Layback Seatpost 27.2 diameter, which does not have the useless suspension, and has a double bolt system, and sells on wiggle which is a good sign.
2021-11: 3 days after a ride, tire was empty, thought it was vandalism. Inspected, could not see any issues, did a 75km ride, and left a gain, and again it lost air quickly. Opened up tire, and found a thorn of some plant pierced inside, almost invisible from the outside. It also feels like the thorn stuck in place and reduced the rate of air loss, after removing the tube it lost air quite quickly. Could not fully remove thorn, can still feel it with my finger, but too well stuck in tire, but I don't think it is enough to pierce again, I just put a patch set on top of it, and new tube Schwalbe 700C 28'' AV 17, got two of those.
2021-10: changed chain for new one. Found out that the one I bought did not have a quicklink... Also, it did not come in the original package, but in a sealed plastic bag, presumably to reduce shipping costs. www.amazon.com/dp/B004XVQ2O0 have to be more careful next time. Lost the Shimano 500ml bottle, was strapped on back carrier of bike, but not safe enough, and I went through rough terrain. Had seen it fall off once before another time, but very rare. When I noticed, had no idea where it had fallen off and didn't go back for it. Buying:
Fit perfectly. Luckily Amazon made me buy two Versamounts, because I needed to use one for each bottle, as the holes on the frame were too close to the bottom and made it impossible to fit both otherwise.
2021-08: back side of teeth of seat post wore off, and the seat is rotating vertically. Identification: markings: ELC (maybe middle letter worn off). 27.2 diameter / 350, 350 is the length from Googling. Has a simple shock absorber system and a single pin to attach the seat. OK, something very similar or the same: www.amazon.com/dp/B08N9ZTD22. BESNIN Suspension seatpost. Full markings are: HARD MDU INSIDE under seat clamp, these match exactly. Tube markings are a bit different.
2021-08-12: after putting new chain on, if I step hard on pedal on 6th gear, by far the most used, it skips. Seems to be the same symptom as 2020-12 when cassette was worn off, as the shifting itself seems fine. bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/8378/difference-between-shimano-hg51-8-speed-cassette-and-shimano-hg50-8-speed-casset says hg51 is compatible, so getting that newer model. 11-34t was much more expensive/less common than 11-32, so getting 11-32. Managed to install it without any problems.
rear shift cable snapped inside shifter during rid, same as 2020-10, same symptom that could never index higher tension gears well bought new cable
chain reached 0.75+
tried to put front mudgard on, but several problems on this one. The screws needed are wider than those that come. Could keep old ones. But then on top of that, the metal bars are too long and would need cutting about 2 cm, so keeping the old front mudgard for now, which is working perfectly.
2021-06-05: finally removed the old bottom bracket and installed installed the one I had bought a few months back. What triggered this was the clicking noise back again. It appears that the noise got louder with the heat. The clicking noise went away after changing the new bottom bracket. The old bracket seemed fine after inspecting it closely after removal. There was a bit of dirt/earth inside, and some small chippings came out of one side, not sure if from BB or from the frame itself. There are still some other much less loud noises left however, but they are likely a different source, and not a big issue. The clicking noise: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXBdPg1LhQU
2021-05: got the first flat tire ever on the back wheel! A perfectly shaped pointed triangular rock slotted perfectly into the thread and managed to perforate the inner tube. Managed to patch it up perfectly on the road, 2 hours away from home! The inside of the tire is basically intact, so I'm going to keep using it. The next day I put back an old intact inner tube I had replaced preemptively earlier on with this new one that was punctured.
2021-04: put on the Bluemels mudgard on the back. It wasn't hard, and their system seems quite easy to adjust. Chain reached 1.0 stretch, gotta get a new one.
2021-03: buying mudgard replacement, going for: SKS Bluemels Shiny 45 mm 28" Mudguard Set Silver www.deporvillage.net/sks-bluemels-shiny-45-mm-28-mudguard-set-silver 28 pounds with delivery, which looks like the most similar to the old one. Partially choosing that seller because they are the only ones capable of using the precise product name as shown on the SKS website so I'm sure what I'm getting. It does not have flaps though. But flaps fall off and get lost, so fuck it. SKS range: www.sks-germany.com/en/products/bluemels-series/
buying another Schwalbe Men's Marathon Plus Tour Hs404 Performance Line Rigid Tires Size: 700 x 40C for the front wheel which is completely worn off like the back one was: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001IHUC0W?th=1&psc=1 33 pounds.
2021-02-11: tried to put the new wheel in. Made a few discoveries:
I can't take the cassette out anymore again, even though I put it on myself, and the day I put it on, I took it off once to check if I could, so rebuying Shimano Claris CS-HG50-8 11-34t www.ebay.co.uk/p/2252255352, and if I ever have to take the old one off, I'll take it to the store again
the tire on the old wheel was on the reverse direction, had been ridden for a very long time like that, and the threads are extremely worn
after making insane efforts earlier to put the tire on the wheel, and knowing about directionality, when I actually took it down I noticed I had at some point of my suffering swapped sides and put it on the wrong way in......
I weighted the wheel for fun, assembled with unfilled tire and without the cassette was about 2.5kg
2021-01: moved the saddle forward a bit to 1.8cm was still feeling scapulas before, now seems perfect. Not much effort on hamstrings, but I don't know how to fix both, and not having pain is more important
2020-12: moved the saddle forward back to 2cm, was feeling too much pressure on lower back, and on previous ride, the most tired part of body was behind scapulas, so presumably due to overreach. Felt immediately better.
2020-12-22: felt like rear hub had a bit of friction, can't fix vibration, going to try the buying a new whole wheel:
www.bikeparts.co.uk/products/m-part-shimano-deore-mavic-a319-silver-dt-swiss-p-g-36-hole-rear-wheel Found by Googling same rim as original "Mavic A319". Site markings: WLC503 M PART SHIMANO DEORE / MAVIC A319 SILVER / DT SWISS P/G 36 HOLE 700C HYBRID REAR WHEEL. Cannot find a single website that gives exact rear hub model, but hopefully Deore will match, looks the same. 70 pounds. Does not come with rim tape.
Schwalbe Men's Marathon Plus Tour Hs404 Performance Line Rigid Tires Size: 700 x 40C. Just going to get the entire thing to have leave a backup wheel.
2020-12-21: put in the new cassette, chainring and chain. Shifting is amazing once again. When pedalling strong on the test run it felt like something on the back hub was vibrating... gotta debug that. Maybe not enough force on closing the cassette?
2020-12: moved saddle back to 2.5cm mark to try and get more hamstring action, but back started hurting. Moved to 2.2cm half way through ride, and it seemed perfect.
2020-12: moved seat post down after www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNGMRtJ5LIc mentioned that saddle too high causes greater asymmetries which I had felt. With dhb Dorica MTB Shoe (2020-12) with cleats straight on 2-mark. First down 15mm from max, but felt really too low. Then down only 7.5mm, and felt great, possibly better than before.
2020-12: moved 2020-04 Giro Rumble VR Off Road Shoe cleats all the way back, and turned the left one a bit outward to better fit let. Got more tired on hamstrings than on quads now, gotta improve that later on maybe for better balance.
2020-12: put more WD-40 on front shifter. Let it dry, then "WD-40 Bike, All Conditions Lube Bicycle". After next four hour ride, shift to 3rd was still working perfectly. Found the culprit.
Put back the rear mudguard. Wheel not hitting it for now. Lost the extra appended protector thingy, was sure I saw it during installation, so maybe it just fell off during next ride? Can't find it at home. Does not make much different for me, might help others behind me though.
2020-12-05: 4 hour ride, very wet and dirty, on start could get into third perfectly, but at end couldn't anymore!!! So it must have been an issue with lubrication on the bottom shift mechanism.
put back the new saddle Selle Royal Scientia, and inspired by www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX3fKolI25Q moved the saddle to 2cm position because I had never felt my hamstrings. It did feel much better! I felt my hamstrigs more, and butt took much longer to get soggy, maybe only around 2 hour mark! Started feeling lower back more though.
fixed the can't get into 3rd gear problem. Did the following:
without cable tension, it changed easily
sprayed HD40 on shifter and hinges near bottom bracket
still didn't shift
reduced tension. This made me manage to change to the 3rd. It must be highlighted how sensitive this was to tension. 5 quarter screws on the shifter barrel were the difference between being able to shift or not
one more thing Ciro noticed, is that he had possibly previously held up the front gear before attaching the cable, therefore possibly overly tensioning it. It might be better to just instead pull the end of the cable with a pair of pliers to remove slack, but wihtout making the gear move up, that is enough. Then finish tuning on the shifter arrel adjuster
then since everything was out and ready, also changed shift cable just in case. The new one had a bit less friction, but not a lot less, so it did not feel like it was what solved the problem
2020-11-22: put back old saddle, one inch from back, did 6 hour ride, it is more comfortable than new one. Butt was soggy at some points, but much less than new saddle.
2020-11-19: noticed that chain slips if I pedal very strongly, and especially if I try to stand up: bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/7928/why-does-my-gear-slip-when-going-uphill-standing Does not happen on the largest chainring. Have to check the smallest one, as it is harder to check there. Took to shop, they said chain worn out with tool measurement, and cassette worn out.
2020-11-08: used park Tool PAW-12 adjustable wrench and park Tool BBT-22 to remove bottom bracket to debug noise. After putting everything together, it seemed gone on a very short test ride. The bottom bracket itself seemed fine. There was a bit of dirt, but didn't seem critical. What felt more off was that the drive side cranck arm came off much more easily than the non-drive side one, suggesting it was not tight enough. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPQyQnNdews "Crank Removal and Installation - Three Piece Crankset (Square Spindle, ISIS, Octalink)" by Park Tool (2015) suggests that this is a common cause of noise, so maybe removing the bottom bracket wasn't needed after all this time. But it's done at least.
moved saddle backwards a bit to 1 cm mark, was feeling like butt was falling off the back a bit at 0 cm. After this, it felt better, but still a bit mushy after 4 hour ride
been hearing a clicking noise when pedalling, left foot at about 7 o'clock. Going to open it up.
2020-10-04 bought a new inner shift cable for the rear derailleur from bike shop, bulk without visible branding. The plastic shifter casing screw was stripped, could not get it off. OMG I had done that just yesterday on the road for the diagnosis! How is it possible? So soft!!!! I just proped the plastic open with a flat screw driver and managed to insert the cable. However, the previous problem still remains: I can't get smooth shift to faster gears on the rear.
2020-08: buying Selle Royal Scientia M2 saddle: www.selleroyal.com/en/scientia-m-2 based on 60 degree riding position and 110mm sitbone distance Ciro Santilli's body. Had felt a little bit of pain on butt muscle but it passed. But also noticed that the UNICLO shorts ripped a bit, and it might be due to the terrible state of the saddle. Felt good on first ride around the block. Harder than previous, and narrower. Feels higher quality and better fitting.
2020-04: attempted to use 2020-04 DECARETA Pedal Spanner to remove left pedal that would not come off with generic short wrench and has been clicking a bit for several months, and now sometimes appears to do false spins! The think must be completely destroyed. Failed, too hard.
2020-04: was trying to remove left pedal with short wrench I had, impossible. Later noticed that the kick up stand was a bit bent! Tried to turn it around, but did not manage to make it improve much. Later during a ride, the new position was too close to the spokes, and started to hit the spokes! When I got home, tried to remove the fucking kickstand, but it had a flat bolt in a deep place between the rear tubes, and I couldn't do it with my simple wrenches. Went to bike shop next day, and they removed it, likely with a deep wrench. The piece was thrown away.
2020-03: finally installed the new derailleur after long suffering, including new cables and casing on front and back derailleurs and on back brake. Took 3 1-2 hour sessions, but it became amazing.
2020-03: screw on left shifter (yes, the bloody screw) broke when trying to open it to take out cable. Buying left and right since the right one was broken from previous fall. www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073XQ8J78 SHIMANO ST-EF65-8 EZI FIRE STI SHIFTERS 24 SPEED (3 x 8), 25 pounds si.shimano.com/pdfs/ev/EV-ST-EF65-9R4-3257B.pdf
2020-02: Bought unbranded bike bell sold in bulk from bike shop, 1.50 pound. Markings: SX. Old bell made louder sound. This type of simple mechanism: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GZ3TFFM
2020-01-13: Parked on city center, shitty low diagonal place, crowded. When came back, bike on floor, had dropped hard since front wheel twisted on axis, untwisted with leg. When got home, noticed that right gear shifter was half coming off. Later found out that the piece broken on one of the screws, hanging only by the other screw. Next day morning, noticed that the bell had come off, and was lost, went back on evening but obviously could not find it.
2019-08-29: rear derailleur fell off, later found it was bent: photos.app.goo.gl/yRgAc1FvKvcuCmcj7 Many bikes were parked together, I think other bikes put gear wires were a bit off, and I started pedalling very strong, and it immediately fell off. Went to repair shop, replaced it likely with: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N51YIYZ (archive) "Shimano Cambio Post. 6/7v RD-TY300 Tourney TX Att. Dir.". Visible markings: "Shimano Tourney Paid 35 pounds, receipt said 25 for piece 10 for service, but piece actually cost 18 on Amazon, and with Prime / larger buys only 7 pounds. I'm also a bit worried because my back cassette is 8 speed, not 7... On official website RD-TY300-SGS: bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/component/tourney/RD-TY300-SGS.html (archive)
2019-07-26: the front crank was sometimes making loud cracking noises when I pedalled hard. Then, after two weeks, it also started making very loud screeching noises, and then finally I couldn't pedal anymore, and I took it to the shop. They changed the bottom bracket, 45 pounds, 30 for the piece, a Shimano BB UN55 bottom bracket markings: SEALED CARTRIDGE UNIT, SHIMANAO BB-UN55, VIA INDONESIA, 68 QC BC1.37x24, L XL118 R:
Photo of the piece that was taken out, notice some broken metal pieces and one of the ball bearing that were left: photos.app.goo.gl/6sqbM4kgDG5Pm7p58 Replacement/servicing:
Tick on back wheel stopped. Back brake did not get better. Gears not improved. Rust remained, was told too hard to remove, and not on teeth, so should not matter.
Bottom bracket: TODO, have a picture after it broke later on and was removed by shop, but did not catch full markings, visible: JIS DIN EN-14777. JIS stands for Japanese Industry Standard (JIS), related: www.velodrome.shop/square-taper-jis/iso/
Saddle: completely destroyed when he decided to identify it for replacement in 2020. Website said "Selle Royal Freedom Royalgel". Markings (badly worn out): "yalgel", freeDom inscribed on saddle, so that's it.
Frame markings: Trekking (two stylized trees on left, one with two triangles and the other 3 triangles), Frame Size: M. Feels more or less the right size for me. Maybe L would be better, as my butt tends to go off the back of the saddle, which I always cranck to the most backward position possible. Markings under bottom bracket: on metal: LY2B 016042 KROSS EN1746. On a sticker, badly worn off: K828130 2?Z018 0004.
Gear shifters: don't know exact model since could not find markings (fuck you Shimano?) but from photos online, seems to be one of the ST-EF* family EZ FIRE, e.g. ST-EF65-8 or ST-EF500.
Front light: AXA Sprint 10 Switch LED Front Light www.bike24.com/p213267.html Wire connector for back light: "Crimp Quick Disconnect Terminals". Tried 2.5mm but too large, size refers to each left/right wrinkle.
Pedal: flat/platform crap :-) Markings: "FP-910", exactly like the photo: www.ebay.co.uk/i/114124689225 (archive) but can't find the brand, very generic.
Crankset: markings "Shimano", "FC-M311", "Hyperdrive", "Dual SiS index", from Google part of Altus: si.shimano.com/pdfs/ev/EV-FC-M311-2675A.pdf (archive). There are two possible tooth counts, I counted 48T on largest, so it is the 48/38/28 one. There are two arm sizes though, 170mm vs 175mm, not sure which one mine is, very hard to measure, I think it was 170mm. Installation at: si.shimano.com/pdfs/si/SI-0094A-001-ENG.pdf (archive) says to use "8 mm Allen key or a cotterless crank extractor (TL-FC10)". Identification: youtu.be/VMV-SOIhM2c?t=258 "Three Piece Crank of type Square Tapered Spin"
Front derailleur: markings Shimano Altus, 66-69 degrees, blue circle with two balls hyperdrive logo on top. Possibly Shimano Altus Front Derailleur FD-M310: si.shimano.com/pdfs/ev/EV-FD-M310-2676B.pdf
Ciro Santilli 
