back to news and reviews

Posted by

Regular visitors to this little piece of bikepacking paradise, will probably be well aware of my liking for the Pinnacle Ramin 3+ … those of you not up to speed with our heady relationship, can catch the omnibus by clicking here – don’t worry, we’ll just talk amongst ourselves and wait until you get back.

As you’ll now know – if you didn’t already, I really enjoyed my time with the Ramin +. It proved itself to be a very capable bike and one which could easily shame bikes costing far more. Something else you’ll also know, is that, I really didn’t want to give it back. So strong was my desire to keep riding it that Pinnacle kindly (gave in) agreed to let me keep riding it for a while longer. As if that wasn’t enough, they also agreed to allow me to make some alterations and conduct the occasional ‘upgrade’ … please remember, ‘upgrade’ implies that whatever parts I fit, will in some way be better than those removed, however, we all know that this theory is often flawed. Only time will tell whether my ‘upgrades’ are actually that or simply aimless mechanical wonderings. At this point, you may also be thinking, “why is he changing stuff? He said there was nothing wrong with it”. You’re right, I did say that, but since when has that ever stopped any of us from changing perfectly good bits? In short – never and I see no good reason to buck that trend now.

I thought I’d begin with what I rightly or wrongly believe, would be the most likely things to receive attention. There’s nothing drastic or major happening. I’m not about to take a hacksaw to anything. It’s just a few alterations that in their own small way will hopefully add to the overall package, enhance reliability or increase enjoyment.

Stan … Tubeless compatible rims and tubeless ready tyres. Given the much discussed benefits of ‘going tubeless’ it seemed a shame not to bring these two things together and allow them to fulfil their true potential. I could have bought a kit to convert tubed to tubeless but past experience tells me that it’s often unnecessary and a pair of valves, some tape of the DIY variety and a splash of sealant will often do the job just as well.

With the tyre, tube and rim tape removed, I treated each rim to two wraps of Gorilla tape taking care to press it well down onto the rim. Holes for the valves were made with an appropriate pointy implement and duly fitted. The double wrap of tape meant the tyres were just the right side of too tight but once in place produced an air-tight seal which meant only a few strokes from a track pump was required to seat them. 150ml of sealant later and my fear of freshly cut hedges was gone – simple, inexpensive and very worthwhile.

A Goat …  As standard, the Ramin+ is fitted with a 32t chainring and an 11 – 36 cassette out back. In most situations that combination will provide a wide enough range of gears to see you to the top of most, but maybe not all hills. Since the ready acceptance of the 1 x something drivetrain, riders have been swallowing their pride by the spoonful and asking for ways to lower the gearing. Luckily the industry replied with numerous apologies for removing everyones granny ring, my favourite of which, is the Sunrace 11 – 42 cassette. Relatively speaking, it’s a cheap solution. I could have bought a cassette ‘expander’ for less but whilst they work, they always seem something of a bodge. I’ve used the Sunrace cassettes previously, I know they work and best of all … I had a brand new one sat under my bench.

Now equipped for easy pedalling.

Alongside the cassette, my magic bench also revealed a new 30t thick / thin chainring and KMC chain, so a full drivetrain swap commenced. For no better reason than, because I could, I decided to remove the standard chain device while I was at it. The addition of a thick / thin ring meant its presence was no longer required and my vanity preferred the way the bike looked without. If you decide to do the same, bear in mind that with the device removed, you’ll need to add a third bottom bracket spacer. Generally, your new spacer would fit on the driveside replacing the chain device but in this instance I decided to fit it on the non-driveside as it seemed to produce a better chain-line in the lowest gear.

After a single brews worth of workshop time, everything was fitted and working. I didn’t even need to adjust the limit screws on the mech’, just a couple of turns of the B screw provided enough clearance between jockey wheel and cassette to produce ten different gear ratios at the press of a lever.

Guess which one is the Goat Link.


Although the gears worked fine, my inner magpie finds it hard to resist the lure of something new and shiny. In this case, new and shiny came in the form of a Wolf Tooth Goat Link. The Goat Link takes the place of the mech’s direct mount link and promises better shifting performance and a reduction in chain wear. Basically, it alters the location of the rear mech’ in relation to the cassette. It’s designed for cassettes with 40t or 42t sprockets and Shimano Shadow+ derailleurs. Fitting takes no more than a few minutes and my initial feeling is that it’s worth the cost and effort. Shifting does feel a little ‘sharper’ and if the claims about wear are true, then over a long enough period, it might even pay for itself.

The Lone Ranger … It’s probably fair to say that the WTB TrailBlazer was the tyre responsible for introducing the idea of B+ to the masses. It might not be the grippiest tyre out there but its fast rolling nature makes it a great rear tyre choice  … so why did I change it? 

Ranger – a little grippier, a little slower and a little rounder.

I imagine, most people would site grip as the main reason to sacrifice the speed of a TrailBlazer for something less sprightly but in this case, it wasn’t. My concerns centred on the relationship between tyre and rim and to be precise, the ‘squaring off’ effect the wide WTB Scraper rim has on the tyre’s profile. Don’t misunderstand me, the TrailBlazer behaves fine on the Scraper rim but the tyre’s sidewalls are left a little exposed to cuts and bruises. Had I wanted maximum traction, I’d have simply fitted a 3″ Bridger to match the front but I wanted my cake and I wanted to eat it. The 2.8″ Ranger is quite a different beast to either the TrailBlazer or Bridger. Compared to the TB, the tread is much more open and doesn’t feature the almost continual centre-line of its faster rolling sibling, yet it’s far less aggressive than big brother Bridger.

I’ll admit to taking a bit of a gamble here. Although I had my suspicions, I really didn’t know whether the Ranger would behave any differently to the TB with regard to profile; luckily that gamble paid off. The fitted profile of the Ranger is noticeably rounder than that of its predecessor which tucks the sidewalls a few millimetres inboard of the tread – it’s not a lot but I’m hoping it might be enough to keep them out of harms way.

So, there we are – additional grip, puncture proofed tyres and a range of gears that bit wider than before but at what cost? From a potential compromise stand-point, I’d say no cost whatsoever. From a monetary angle about £130 if you don’t have a bench with cassettes under it but you do supply your own labour … hopefully, it all matches the definition of ‘upgrade’.

9 Comments

  1. firestarter says:

    Have you got a pic of the ranger fitted to compare clearances to the trailblazer ta

  2. Give me a day or two and I'll get a pic sorted out.

  3. Unknown says:

    Sooooooo….Ramin 3 or Jones plus and why? 😉

  4. firestarter says:

    Well I bought a ramin 3 upgraded the drive chain as above even bought some 29er wheels. But those are unused and the ramin has done 20 miles. Reason is I've got a Jones a fat front normal non plus Jones tho but I love it. But to your question I'd say ramin on value even more so if you buy mine lol but my Jones is lovely albeit very expensive and totally different, Jones plus may be different, still expensive just no as different to the ramin if that makes sense 🙂

  5. Not as difficult a question as I thought it might be Matt. If I view it from a stand-point of spending my own money, I'd take the Ramin all day. The Jones plus is certainly a very nice bike but rigid bikes are simple things and while they do all behave and ride differently (and these two are different), there isn't nearly enough difference for me to justify the substantial difference in price.

  6. Unknown says:

    Cheers.

    So, as you are finding this too easy…

    Stooge or Ramin? 😉

  7. Ooh, now there's sentimental attachment to take into account ;o) Given my love of steel and quirkyness and the fact that with some careful shopping, you could piece together a Stooge for around the same price as the Ramin, I'd go with the Stooge. However, I've yet to fit 29" wheels to the Ramin, so will suspend judgement for a little bit longer.

  8. Unknown says:

    Good answer! It's like quirky mtn bike top trumps!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may also be interested in

Book Club … Bikepacking Scotland by Markus Stitz.

Despite generally returning home with a debilitating injury, I’ve always enjoyed my trips to Scotland. It’s a vast place with many ‘honey pots’ but even more little known and largely hidden corners. Once you add the very sensible approach to access and wild-camping, plus the large number of bothies scattered across the land, then it’s […]

Read Full Article

Book Club … Bikepacking Wales by Emma Kingston.

Someone suggested that I was the wrong person to review this book. At first, I was a little unsure as to the reasons behind that statement, after all, I’ve been riding the hills and valleys of Wales for twenty years. I’ve mapped out numerous routes across the largely green and pleasant land and have gained […]

Read Full Article

Inclusive – at what cost?

Last week, someone told me that, in certain circles Bear Bones is viewed as being ‘less than inclusive’. Had they said ‘full of weirdos’ or ‘a bit odd’, then I’d have readily agreed but lacking inclusiveness? No. Have these people not seen how the forum welcomes everyone with open arms or how for the last […]

Read Full Article

Shopping cart0
There are no products in the cart!
Continue shopping