Ask the experts

Classic: I'm gonna save money fixing up this 10 year bike aka spend 50 hours dicking around on archaic design and obscure parts lol. Bike had broken/shitty XT brakes. I'm swapping over Codes. Being 2x the left shifter was ispec mounted to the brake so now I can't mount the shifter anymore. Also, can't run the new dropper remote I got because I forgot you can't run a standard remote and a front/left shifter. And there are separate lockouts for front and rear shock lol. Crazy amount of shit on the bars. Guess I have to use a top down remote and can't unhook the rear shock lockout because that requires a new shock lever which seems tough to find.

/rant

https://imgur.com/a/UaFlbt9

I had NX on my Bullit but i was also replacing the chains with more expensive X01, I would get maybe 1700kms of low speed single track and replace at .75 so I ran 3 chains and then replaced the the whole driven train

NX was pretty cheap to replace cuz its all steel being an Eeb the NX would shift with a pretty big clunk but it hung in and I only broke 1 chain

the new Eeb is using the T type which shifts quieter

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Originally Posted by Whiteroom_Guardian

Classic: I'm gonna save money fixing up this 10 year bike aka spend 50 hours dicking around on archaic design and obscure parts lol. Bike had broken/shitty XT brakes. I'm swapping over Codes. Being 2x the left shifter was ispec mounted to the brake so now I can't mount the shifter anymore. Also, can't run the new dropper remote I got because I forgot you can't run a standard remote and a front/left shifter. And there are separate lockouts for front and rear shock lol. Crazy amount of shit on the bars. Guess I have to use a top down remote and can't unhook the rear shock lockout because that requires a new shock lever which seems tough to find.

/rant

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That thing looks cool.

I'd be pretty tempted to keep the dropper lever in the normal spot and do something weird with the front shifter. I think I'd use the dropper considerably more than the shifter. Like maybe pick up a cheap thumb shifter and mount it on top of the bar.

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Ahh, that is a good idea. When I first pedaled around on it the other day the dropper remote on the right was fucking me up. Kept instintively reaching for it with my left thumb. I will be in the big gear at all times when going downhill obviously. I do really need the dropper in the normal location on the left side.</p>
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I put the top of the line chains on everything, Of course I am spending $65 on XTR. Not $140 on XX1

? I just bought an XX1 for 65.99. Admittedly I still thought that was too much for a chain, but it worked. This mtb, ski, snowboard shite is an expensive habit.

XT/Ultegra chains for me. Buy them local to have a better chance at avoiding counterfeit.
OK experts. Can crank spindle interfaces and/or threaded bottom bracket shell frame inserts wear enough to develop play (crank spindle rocking slightly) over time?
My specific situation... Gravel carbon frame with an T47 threaded bottom bracket insert, Praxis crankset, Variety of BBs, usually Praxis non-ceramic, because they have OK seals and are relatively cheap. I&#39;m used to regularly replacing bottom brackets about 2x/yr, every couple thousand miles or so, usually due to bearings getting shot from wet riding and getting tired of repacking bearings. Sometimes some play develops also... at which time I&#39;ll pull crank, pull BB cups, grease, reinstall, reinstall crank etc. Usually gets rid of play. Last couple cycles I have not been able to completely get rid of the play. Brand new butter smooth BB install last night, pulled and reinstalled 2x to make certain it&#39;s seated correctly, and still some slight crank play. Better than before the new BB, but still there, noticeable, when hand loading cranks from side to side. I&#39;ve been considering treating myself to a new crankset but would be bummed spending the $$$ and still having play.

The X01 chain I had fail didnt actulay break it started coming apart and shifting poorly for at least a couple of rides so I was wankng about with the der adjustment but I didnt notice until I inspected closely to see it was hanging on by one plate

so I was impressed by how X01 hung in there AND so inspect your chain ALSO I have never paid 140$ for an X01 even in Canada they are more like 80$

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Originally Posted by chaka

XT/Ultegra chains for me. Buy them local to have a better chance at avoiding counterfeit.

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It's a bummer when the lbs doesn't stock what you want. It's all about turns and earns, hence the online dominance. I support my lbs as much as possible but they even tell me to go online and grab it.

A shop like Jenson and others were brilliant to get an online storefeont to support their lbs. Worldwide cyclery just said their Ketl clothing line is bigger than Worldwide cyclery. Another guy launching online with brick and mortar too.

Running a business is tough, especially when your audience is based on discretionary spends. Your market needs depth.

School me on gravel tubeless pressures. I've run MTB tubeless for years. Run 22psi on 2.3s and never have problems.

New gravel bike on 42s, I tried 25psi and immediately burped them on first rocky downhill 100 yards. Of course, I can experiment and up the pressures, but was I that far off at 25? I'm normally very light on tires and picking a good line, maybe just bad luck, and 25 should be close?

https://silca.cc/pages/pro-tire-pressure-calculator
I punch in:
195lbs (bike and rider)
Category 2 Gravel, fast single track
700c tires, 42mm wide, High performance with tubeless
= 36 Rear, 34.5 Front
Try your specs in the link, and round down a bit.

Thanks Dee, I forgot about that calculator

Recs for "good enough" wheels (or rims) for a previous gen Norco Sight? I ride this thing everywhere. Mostly pedal-y CB singletrack, but some bike park, and usually one credit card bikepacking trip per season. Managed to coax the stock E13s along until smoking the front yesterday, and it's probably time anyway. The rear has looked rough for a bit. I'm light and not a hammer, but do occasionally pick a dumb guy line or two. Open to stock takeoffs that work great, carbon (never tried) or aluminum, wheelset or rim. Value above all else. Never built a wheel but have done just about every other bike maintenance job and not afraid to try. Stock hubs are DT 370s and I've had no complaints. Not an engagement freak.

Reserve 30 wheels are 49% off on steep and cheap right now. That's a solid wheelset at a solid price.

Reserve 30 v2 DT Swiss 29in Boost Wheelset - Bike https://share.google/E2dSCplIq9Jiz8RZA

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Anyone have experience with derailleur hanger extenders?
I’m looking to cheaply ease up the gearing on my older Felt: It has Ten speed Ultegra with an Eleven-Twenty Three rear cassette and Fifty-Thirty Six crank up front. I’m assuming i have a short throw RD. Looking to get an Eleven-Thirty Two or Thirty Four shimano cassette and a knock off extender. Shimano cassettes look cheap enough, unless someone knows a good, same-weight knockoff? Thoughts?

Out of whack brake post mounts on rear triangle?

My new to me 10 year old Trek Fuel EX (actually kind of a rad bike. Took it on a 17 mile 3500ft slog yesterday and the bike does amazingly well on what most would consider "black" technical backcountry DH....climbs like a dream obviously. 27.5 pounds) seems to have a fucked up something. No amount of tinkering can get the rear caliper to center properly over the rear rotor. It wants to rub on the non drive side of the rotor.

New pads, new rotor, bled 2x Sram Codes....It's like the actual mount is not perpendicular to the rotor face. Last 1/8 turn on the caliper post bolts moved the caliper inward/toward the driveside.

Actually took a file and very lightly cleaned off the top of each post to make sure they seemed flat. Really don't know what else it could be. I imagine once the pads wear out a bit there will be just enough room in the system to not rub constantly. It's not just a little rub, its so much that the wheel barely does a full rotation of free spin.

Seems less common these days but a lot of frames have that issue and sometimes forks too. A good shop should have the facing tool. Had it done here in Salt Lake on two of our Canfields, the posts were straight but just a bit too tall.

Before you face the post mounts (which may very well be the issue), try some new / different bolts. Sometimes the washers can get smashed into the caliper in a way where they only want to sit a particular way. So then every time you tighten the bolt, it'll skew the caliper so that it meshes with whatever orientation the washer happens to be in.

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10yrs old is probably not thru axle, correct?

Couldn't be something with the hub or skewer?

I have tried new bolts and yes it is thru axle. Will try using a metal ruler/square to see if I can tell from that if the posts need facing. It was a free bike. I'm not gonna spend a bunch of money and have it be held hostage by the shop for weeks over this.

It's almost as if the whole caliper can't go outwards/to the left enough. The slotted holes on the caliper want to come to rest as far to the left as possible when the rotor is centered in the pads. The pistons are moving evenly etc. Maybe something is weird with the spacing somehow? It is a centerlock rotor FWIW and I am using the wheels that came with the bike.

I worked on a bike with a badly rubbing brake caliper, i found some thin shims in a drawer so i shimmed it

Welp with a steel square I figured out the post faces are probably at 85-87* to to a true rotor lol. I asked the previous owner and he was like, "Yeah every single brake I put on that bike rubbed like crazy" lol.

I'm thinking I'm gonna dremmel this sucka.

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Originally Posted by Whiteroom_Guardian

Welp with a steel square I figured out the post faces are probably at 85-87* to to a true rotor lol. I asked the previous owner and he was like, &quot;Yeah every single brake I put on that bike rubbed like crazy&quot; lol.
I&#39;m thinking I&#39;m gonna dremmel this sucka.

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Lucky you! If I bought a bike like that it would be the perfect excuse to buy myself the $600 VAR Disc Facing Tool.

Without a facing tool I'd just go slow with a hand file.

We got one o them var facers last year and it's kinda nice sometimes but doesn't actually always fit into the rear triangle depending on the frame.

I have three bikes (which feels excessive) question is on why I&#39;m struggling with one.
Epic 8 - working toward a nice build. Fancy wheels. Light tires. Impressive bike. Sucks it is a specialized but it rides well. Likely 24-25lbs.
Pivot Switchblade - We are one wheels. Modest parts with some weight saving measures. Minions but EXO casings which has been fine for me.
The bike in question is a Revel Tirade I picked up last fall. Crank Brothers Alloy Wheels. XT build kit. Continentant Kryptotal Tires. Likely a pound or two heavier than the Switchblade. I have a frame bag on the bike and have used it for bikepacking in the desert and single track locally - 500 ish miles on the bike so far. I really like the bike it feels really solid and geo is dialed. Fun to have a Hardtail.

I did my first big alpine day on the Tirade this weekend and it felt like a boat anchor - slow compared to either of my other bikes to the point it was demoralizing. 38 miles of dirt in the San Juans in Colorado on singletrack. About 6500 feet of climbing. Quite a bit of rocky loose terrain one climb on loose shale for 4 miles. Descending actually felt great. I skipped a pack and ran a frame bag for food / water filer / light layers / repair kit / 1 liter of water / etcs. This likely weighed 7-10 lbs if you tossed it on all on a scale. I am used to carrying some weight in a pack but having it on the bike made the bike weigh somewhere north of 40lbs. This felt tricky on techy climbing.

The question is - why does the bike feel so much slower than what I&#39;m used to? I averaged around 7mph and worked hard to achieve. It feels slower than the switchblade does by a good margin and a heck of a lot slower than the epic.

A. It is purely the total weight. You carried layers and food for a long day. That plus a heavy bike adds up.
B. Rotatating weight and rolling resistance. Switchblade wheels and tires are 700 grams lighter. Epic wheels and tires are 1400 grams lighter.
C. Hardtails are slow on rocky loose climbs. You battle for traction and get bounced around.
D. It is all in your head. The full suspension bikes would have been the same speed.

Trying to sort out if I should try to take 4-5lbs off the Tirade or just conclude a Hardtail has a modest use case for me.

I'd say A and B. I used to bikepack a lot, and the extra weight was always a big factor, I used the same bike for everyday riding and bikepacking back then.

B, at 2-3lbs of extra rotational weight, that is a ton...especially on a climbing route. I think you'd feel the biggest difference in changing those out and adding low rolling resistance tires.

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Originally Posted by Whiteroom_Guardian

I have tried new bolts and yes it is thru axle. Will try using a metal ruler/square to see if I can tell from that if the posts need facing. It was a free bike. I&#39;m not gonna spend a bunch of money and have it be held hostage by the shop for weeks over this. It&#39;s almost as if the whole caliper can&#39;t go outwards/to the left enough. The slotted holes on the caliper want to come to rest as far to the left as possible when the rotor is centered in the pads. The pistons are moving evenly etc. Maybe something is weird with the spacing somehow? It is a centerlock rotor FWIW and I am using the wheels that came with the bike.

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Probably dumb Q, have you tried a rotor spacer, or is it on the other side?&nbsp;</p>

I filed the posts a bit and it's good now. A rotor spacer would only make things worse with how the post faces were slanted inwards.

I’m shopping for a used air rear shock, in the likely event I can’t find what I want with the proper tune for my frame what am I looking $ wise at to make it work properly?

I have the RS tune code from Revel but finding that sellers often don’t know what tune they have.


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Basically the same as a full rebuild, $150-200 these days.

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I think we are going on our third deraleur hanger in 6 rides for my 9 year old. When I latch the rear axle it does feel like it flexes that chainstay in. Is there a chance that the frame is misaligned enough that this piece of aluminum just torques out after a few weeks?&nbsp;</p>
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Kid is hard on stuff, but I don&#39;t think this is that.</p>

What bike ? Are you sure the chain isnt too tight ?
A TOO tight/ short chain can bend the hanger inwards in the big/ big rings I don&#39;t know if no where to go is the right treminalogy but it bends the der inwards
also I remember back in the day a Rocky hardtail had some problems with hangers but that was > 20 yrs ago
northshorebillet make some really strong hangers

I have a beater 3x8 I ride around at the cabin, camping etc. I never use the big or small chainrings. Can I convert to 1x8 just by removing the big and small rings? And the shifter and front der of course.

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Originally Posted by BCtransplant

I have a beater 3x8 I ride around at the cabin, camping etc. I never use the big or small chainrings. Can I convert to 1x8 just by removing the big and small rings? And the shifter and front der of course.

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Yes.

Caveats:
1) your chainring bolts will likely be too long once the big ring is removed. You'll probably need new bolts. Or just leave the big ring on there and don't use it.
2) you'll probably want to shorten your chain.
3) If you're riding on any rougher ground, you might have issues with dropping the chain. Replacing the middle ring with a narrow/ wide ring will mostly solve that.

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Originally Posted by grskier

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I think we are going on our third deraleur hanger in 6 rides for my 9 year old. When I latch the rear axle it does feel like it flexes that chainstay in. Is there a chance that the frame is misaligned enough that this piece of aluminum just torques out after a few weeks? </p>
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Kid is hard on stuff, but I don't think this is that.</p>

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If it's a full suspension bike, then agreed with xxx-er; sounds like chain is too short.

Aside from that, could be an assortment of other things. I would expect a misalignment to result in shitty shifting, not broken hangers though. I'd do a careful look to see if the derailleur is contacting anything (frame, cassette, spokes) in any gear, at any stage of suspension compression.

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&quot;&quot; I have a beater 3x8 I ride around at the cabin, camping etc. I never use the big or small chainrings. Can I convert to 1x8 just by removing the big and small rings? &quot;&quot; And the shifter and front der of course.

I still have an 86 marin bar bike with the very first light-action indexed shifting and so I had the same thots ^^ then I realized if i just donot shift it I will have a SS !

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Originally Posted by XXX-er

"" I have a beater 3x8 I ride around at the cabin, camping etc. I never use the big or small chainrings. Can I convert to 1x8 just by removing the big and small rings? "" And the shifter and front der of course.

I still have an 86 marin bar bike with the very first light-action indexed shifting and so I had the same thots ^^ then I realized if i just donot shift it I will have a SS !

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Yeah. That was my other thought, why fuck around with removing chain rings when I can just…not shift. Guess I could remove the shifter if I wanted to get really tech.

OR you could make it into a fixie, put yer hair in a man bun, take all the extra parts off to sell them as Vintage

We are going the new bike for him route. It was a hard tail, he can use a full sus as we will be going to the bike park and he rides real trails with me already. He's done his time on a hardtail......

Plus a neighbor has a good deal on a rocky mountain for him.