Mods on the Felt V-100

Narrower handlebars, and gone are the interrupter brake levers.

I enjoy messing around with my bikes' during winter. My older bikes have been pretty much sorted out, however, I felt there was room for improvement on my newer Felt V100.

For starters, I wanted to upgrade the Tektro Mira disc brakes to TRP Spyres, which feature a dual pad actuation. I found a reasonably priced set on eBay and purchased them. When time came for installation I decided to get rid of the interrupter brake levers on the handlebars. I never really used them and they seemed to clutter up the cockpit. At the same time, I replaced the original, very wide bars, (46cm), with a narrower set, (42cm). The narrower bar felt more comfortable to me. The advantages of  wider bars are primarily for off road use, I haven't found them that beneficial for my more sedate gravel road travels.

Tektro TRP Spyre road discs with 160mm rotors front and back.

Installation of the Spyres was pretty simple. I did have to replace the cable housing for both brakes since I had removed the interrupters. Routing the internal rear brake cable proved to be a little work, but not terribly onerous. In use, I do like the Spyres. I do notice a little more effectiveness and their feel is a tad smoother.

The biggest change was the wheelset. I liked having the wider Conti Speed Rides, (advertised 42mm wide but actually 39mm wide, but felt that with a 700c tire, the 39mm width was really getting too close to the bike's chainstays. The solution was to switch to 650B. The reduced diameter of these wheels allows you to fit a wider tire.

I found a really inexpensive set of 650B disc wheels on Amazon. In fact the set I got was a returned set so I saved quite a bit. This was an experiment anyway, so I'm not concerned if the wheels don't last forever.

Actually, when I received them, I was pleasantly surprised by their quality. While by no means a pro level wheel, the quality of the hubs seem very close to what came on the Felt. I did add some grease and adjust the bearings and tightened the spokes and trued the wheels, so they should hold up for a while.

For tires, I selected some Panaracer Gravel Kings, sized 650X 1.75. These seem like very nice tires, they cost as much as the wheels did! After mounting, I was a little disappointed that they only measured a true 40mm wide, about 1.6 inches, quite a bit less than I was hoping, but still a little wider than the Conti's. Plus, of course, there's now a fair bit of space between the tire and the chainstay. Next time though, I'll try the 1.9" tire, if it measures a true 44mm wide or so, I think it will fit.

650B wheels with 1.75" Panaracer Gravel King tires.

Ample clearance for the 650X42 tire.  (Actual width 40mm).

Riding these new wheels I noticed something I had also discovered on a previous 650B conversion, (see my Surly Pacer 650b conversion.) The smaller wheels seem to change your gearing. This makes sense since the wheel's circumference has been reduced slightly. I find I can use higher gears for climbing. The fat tires and reduced 65 lb. pressure also gave a different feel that took me a couple of miles to get used to.

The older Ritchey seatpost provided a setback which improved my position on the bike.

One last change was a subtle one, but it has made a significant change in my riding comfort. I replaced the  original, zero setback seatpost with an old Ritchey which had a few centimeters of setback. I immediately felt an improvement in my comfort while peddling. Funny how something like that can make a big impact on you.

After a test ride, not sure about that handlebar bag yet!

So now my Felt is ready to take on Ponderosa Way, Yankee Jims Road and Finning Mill later this spring!