Feels like we've been here before.

I started going through my bike last night and finished it up this morning. It didn't need a whole lot. This is it packed with enough clothing in the saddle bag and a sleep system up front to keep me out there indefinitely. I just call it Blue. I took the drivetrain off the other bike (Shaft or Johnny Cash whichever you prefer) which is in sad condition right now just hanging in pieces from a hook in the garage after some serious pillaging. This is the first time this bike has been built up geared. I love the cable routing compared to the Orbea. Top tube cables present a problem when running a gas tank bag and there's more housing to deal with. I always had shifting issues when running fully loaded. This bike shifts excellently. I ran the front housing a bit longer and looped it around and then under the roll bag and then there's barely any housing back at the rear derailleur. Very little friction in this system. 

I am running a straight up 3x9 drivetrain. I do have some very minor issues with getting all the gears because stupid Shimano decided to keep up with the Jones' and go 10 speed so my new front derailleur is a bit narrower. I decided I'd rather have 32x34 with no rubbing and sacrifice the 42x12 or 13 or whatever it is. I think it'll be fine. I also get all the stupid climbing gears but, oddly enough, I haven't ridden anything but the middle and big ring since changing from the singlespeed. I'm sure that time is just around the corner. 

Nothing you haven't seen before. I use my heart rate monitor religiously and have become very strict about dialing the effort back as soon as I see 155.

I loves me some clean bikes.