I’ve ridden my Salsa Cutthroat for the past 9 months and made a few more changes to suit my needs a bit more.

Drivetrain

After a lot of research, I determined that the Rival 22 shifters are compatible with my old 2×10 drivetrain components.  I replaced the stock 2×11 (24/36 chainring, 11-32 cassette) drivetrain with a 2×10 crankset (28/42 chainring, 11-36 cassette).

According to my calculations, the granny gear is ever so slightly harder than a 32 front, 42 rear (a common 1x setup).  The top end is noticeably faster with a 42-tooth chainring compared to a 36.  After several hundred miles I haven’t experienced any dropped chains or shift issues, so I’m quite happy.  If I need an easier granny gear, I can very easily remove a cog from the cassette and replace it with a 42-tooth from Wolftooth.

Power Meter

It is finally time to start training with power, so I picked up a Carbon GXP Stages power meter.  Compared to an XX crank arm, it only weighs an additional 20g!  That impressed me a lot, even though that stat is explicitly stated on their webpage.

Tires

I replaced the stock Schwalbe Thunder Burt 2.1 tires with some spare, slightly used Crossmark tires for a bit more traction and volume.

Trainer Wheel

I haven’t owned a smooth-tire road bike for a long time now, and because I live in a second floor condo I haven’t been able to use my CycleOps Fluid2 trainer.  Knobby tires on a trainer are horribly loud!  Winter weather has come to Colorado, so I decided to get a 700c rear wheel.  Unfortunately road thru-axle, disc rear wheels aren’t as common as QR9 wheels, so this was more expensive that I would’ve liked.  Combined with a 11-26 cassette and a trainer tire, it’s perfect for indoor workouts.  Money well spent now that I can do structured power workouts indoors without upsetting the neighbors too much.

Finishing Kit

The handlebars are now decorated with Fizik Bar Gel pads and cork bar tape.  Time will tell if it reduces hand fatigue from long miles on rough roads.