Ask the experts

[XXX-er]

invisiframe or not?

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I did my Yeti and it looked really good after 3 yrs, I got good $ for it so i did my fat bike I am in middle of doing my Bullit

I use the 4" wide 3M stuff which is 25$ for 3 meters, I wrap top of top tube/ bottom of down tube, bring the egdes around & round the corners It doesnt wrap the whole bike but it protects the bike where all the major hits happen and its not noticable unless you really look

the trickey head tube/ top tube/ downtube junction

[HAB]

I had to get the ring on my spur as close to the stay as possible (without rubbing, obviously) to get the drivetrain running nice. Sounds like that might be tricky with that crank / ring combo.

Wheels Manufacturing makes 1mm thick BB spindle spacers for fine tuning stuff like that. I keep a few around for these sorts of scenarios. It's nice to have them on the spindle, rather than the BB cup so they're quicker and easier to fiddle with. Sounds like the ring flipped back to its standard orientation, a 2.5mm cup spacer, and one of those might do the trick and result in a better chainline than flipping the ring.

[toast2266]

Wheels Manufacturing makes 1mm thick BB spindle spacers for fine tuning stuff like that. I keep a few around for these sorts of scenarios. It's nice to have them on the spindle, rather than the BB cup so they're quicker and easier to fiddle with. Sounds like the ring flipped back to its standard orientation, a 2.5mm cup spacer, and one of those might do the trick and result in a better chainline than flipping the ring.

Yeah, I just don't know what the interface on those cranks is. If the crank needs to bottom out on the splines, it doesn't sound like adding any more spacers would work.

[HAB]

Yeah, I just don't know what the interface on those cranks is. If the crank needs to bottom out on the splines, it doesn't sound like adding any more spacers would work.

There's no way they'd make a crank that relies on the BB shell and BB being exactly the right width to bottom on splines. If it works like that there has to be a preload ring.

[toast2266]

There's no way they'd make a crank that relies on the BB shell and BB being exactly the right width to bottom on splines. If it works like that there has to be a preload ring.

Yeah, preload ring or wavy washer. I guess I don't know how much travel most companies have on their preload rings. It doesn't seem like very much on some of the cranks I've played with. Although I suppose that also depends on how wide the bb actually ends up being.

[Rossymcg]

I did my Yeti and it looked really good after 3 yrs, I got good $ for it so i did my fat bike I am in middle of doing my Bullit

I use the 4" wide 3M stuff which is 25$ for 3 meters, I wrap top of top tube/ bottom of down tube, bring the egdes around & round the corners It doesnt wrap the whole bike but it protects the bike where all the major hits happen and its not noticable unless you really look

the trickey head tube/ top tube/ downtube junction

resale is my main reason. I'm not one for it needing to look pretty but a lot of other folks are. They'll wash and polish and all that kinda boring shit.
how many times did you kick the dog when doing it?
does it stretch as to keep the creases when going over undulating areas or do you have to put relief cuts in it?

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[XtrPickels]

invisiframe or not?

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I've done Ridewrap Custom x2 and DyedBro x2.

Ridewrap custom has much more coverage, especially in areas that get banged up like dropouts, etc. Seems less protective, tends to tear on impact, but the frame seems fine underneath.

DyedBro was much easier to apply and seems real thick / bomber. However, large swaths of bike are still exposed.
XXX-ers post illustrates my point. There's no protection from cable rub and you can see some chips in the unprotected head tube.

[Tailwind]

Thoughts on the link would be appreciated. I’m curious about it. I was slightly tempted by a firebird but that’s way more bike than I actually need and I’ll end up hauling this bike on 40-50 mile alpine rides and the Switchblade fits the bill better on that front. So far I’m not having issues with bottoming out. I used all of my travel when I messed up a B-Line drop and landed wrong but that was situation where it made sense.

Playing with the rear suspension is on the table for sure. I’ve been thinking about an MRP Hazard or equivalent shock I can throw on occasionally so the cascade link could be an interesting pairing.

Bigger (est) spacer was feeling really harsh.
Spent some time trying to balance higher pressure with a smaller spacer, probably could have lived with a decrease in small bump sensitivity to gain a bit of protection at the end stroke. At least I wasn't feeling too much harshness with the bottoms anymore, but still bottoming out ~50% of the time that I got the wheels significantly off the ground.

But, I'm a slut for new bike parts, so I just bought a Cascade link. Will report back when it's here.

[XXX-er]

resale is my main reason. I'm not one for it needing to look pretty but a lot of other folks are. They'll wash and polish and all that kinda boring shit.
how many times did you kick the dog when doing it?
does it stretch as to keep the creases when going over undulating areas or do you have to put relief cuts in it?

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Used bikes are at a premium right now so I got 3800can$ which is pretty good money for 3 yr old 5.5 for which I paid 5500can$, I don't really even wash the bike very often let alone polish but 3M protects against minor scuffs such as throing a foot over the bike and scuffing the top tube or that kinda thing, also I think the dirty doesnt stick as well to the 3M so the bike just always looks better IMO. the ghetto version does not protect the whole bike but it covers the spots that ar most likey to get hit top of top tube botttom of bottom tube ORyou can pay alot more than 25$ for custom cut kits

I take my time measure , make patterns from paper and it looks pretty good for the 25$ or at least good enough for me but freehanding does take a little skill or art or SFT, a buddy said to me " yeah that other guy did his own wrap and it looks like it "

A spray bottle of alcohol and water solution will help the film stretch around curves work out the bubbles and undulations , there are a lot of curvey bits on a 5.5 but it worked out, the Bullit is a little easier cuz the frame members are more boxy/ bigger

no canines were harmed during the process

[cydwhit]

Yeah, preload ring or wavy washer. I guess I don't know how much travel most companies have on their preload rings. It doesn't seem like very much on some of the cranks I've played with. Although I suppose that also depends on how wide the bb actually ends up being.

Yeah, it's got a preload ring, with not very much travel, and a wavy washer. Went for a ride with the flipped ring last night, and the chainline is definitely more fucked than it was before. Ordered a 30T ring which should allow me to run it in the original configuration, tight to the BB, with enough clearance on the chain stay. Especially on the Spur, I'm spending so much of my time in those top four gears, would really like to optimize my chainline for those.

[thefortrees]

Heading to Sedona early November for some mtb riding with the wife. First time there. Is $200/pp a good deal for a guided journey into the spiritual vortex of Sedona?

[El Chupacabra]

Does that guided journey come with a happy ending?

[thefortrees]

It’s our anniversary, hoping I don’t have to pay for that.

[wendigo]

For anniversary I give you special soul transformation - $37.

[El Chupacabra]

For anniversary I give you special soul transformation - $37.

What do I get for $10?

[GeorgiaSnow]

I thought many Trek bikes have storage in downtube as well. No idea how they get around any patent issues though


Murphy’s law: my first ride in several years without a pack, tools and spares resulted in a 3 mile walk out so I’m currently trying to figure out the best way to strap all sorts of shit to my frame so I can ride packless.

I’ve got a couple of those wolf tooth bags that integrate with the rad rail that I really like. Mostly just leave them on there all the time so I’m ready to ride. The rail let me still fit two water bottle holders in the triangle as well.


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[wendigo]

What do I get for $10?

extra-special soul transformation

[Falcon3]

extra-special soul transformation

I would have thought at least a ZJ

[skaredshtles]

What do I get for $10?

Everything you want.

[Boissal]

Chain line question. I ranted upthread about absolutely trashing an XT 10-51 cassette after about 1000 miles: the 2 biggest alu cogs have teeth that are nearly completely worn down and I suspect the chainline isn't helping despite being spot-on per Shimano recommendations. It's optimized for the middle of the cassette and I can definitely see additional wear on the ramp-up teeth of the biggest sprockets because of the weird angle the chain contacts them. Since I spend most of my time grinding on the big sprockets I figured I would try to tweak the chainline to favor alignment with the big cogs and sacrifice the smaller cogs a bit (I don't put a ton of time and power into those plus they're steel and will wear less).

I don't have any room to tweak the cranks, the shape of my chainstay prevents me from moving the chairing inward and I doubt I could gain even 0.5 mm without risking some rub. I did manage to push the new cassette outward with a 1 mm spacer against the freehub body though (I used the #7 spacer from an old cassette, 1 mm thick). I made it a bit difficult to get cog #4 to contact the splines on the freehub body (cogs #3 don't interface with the freehub body at all, only with cog #4) but once I cranked everything down there seems to be good engagement (worse case that sprocket will slip at some point and damage the freehub body which I can replace). The chainline looks a bit better and the 1mm shift doesn't cause the chain to rub on the chainstay when I'm on the smallest cog.

Am I even thinking about it the right way or am I wasting my time? Anyone else running something similar?
More importantly, am I going to die?

[Tailwind]

Not quite what you’re after… but I’d go to a smaller chainring up front. I typically think that you should have a chainring that allows you to almost never be riding in your lowest year. I try to size my chainrings to let me be on one of the more durable portion of the cassette. Oval rings also help. A lot of people would benefit from a 28 tooth chainring on 29’ers. I run a 30 on my race bike for training as it lets me stay in the middle of the cassette.

A smaller chainring will also likely help with chainstay clearance and allow you to not mess with the cassette.

Chain line question. I ranted upthread about absolutely trashing an XT 10-51 cassette after about 1000 miles: the 2 biggest alu cogs have teeth that are nearly completely worn down and I suspect the chainline isn't helping despite being spot-on per Shimano recommendations. It's optimized for the middle of the cassette and I can definitely see additional wear on the ramp-up teeth of the biggest sprockets because of the weird angle the chain contacts them. Since I spend most of my time grinding on the big sprockets I figured I would try to tweak the chainline to favor alignment with the big cogs and sacrifice the smaller cogs a bit (I don't put a ton of time and power into those plus they're steel and will wear less).

I don't have any room to tweak the cranks, the shape of my chainstay prevents me from moving the chairing inward and I doubt I could gain even 0.5 mm without risking some rub. I did manage to push the new cassette outward with a 1 mm spacer against the freehub body though (I used the #7 spacer from an old cassette, 1 mm thick). I made it a bit difficult to get cog #4 to contact the splines on the freehub but once I cranked everything down there seems to be good engagement (worse case that sprocket will slip at some point and damage the freehub body which I can replace). The chainline looks a bit better and the 1mm shift doesn't cause the chain to rub on the chainstay when I'm on the smallest cog.

Am I even thinking about it the right way or am I wasting my time?
Am I going to die?

[Boissal]

Not quite what you’re after… but I’d go to a smaller chainring up front. I typically think that you should have a chainring that allows you to almost never be riding in your lowest year. I try to size my chainrings to let me be on one of the more durable portion of the cassette. Oval rings also help. A lot of people would benefit from a 28 tooth chainring on 29’ers. I run a 30 on my race bike for training as it lets me stay in the middle of the cassette.

A smaller chainring will also likely help with chainstay clearance and allow you to not mess with the cassette.

Definitely something to think about. The 51t is a true bailout gear and I'm not in it as much as the 45t which is the one that shows most of the wear. A smaller ring would allow me to spend more time on the steel cogs for sure.
I'm running a 32 oval now, with a 30 I get quite a bit of rub on top of the chain stay in small cogs. Not the end of the world but annoying. I've been thinking about going down to 30 for the summer since all I do is ride super steep shite and swapping back to 32 for the fall when the riding is less painful.

[XtrPickels]

Smaller chainring is my recommendation as well.
Or Smaller wheels.

[Dantheman]

I'm running a 32 oval now, with a 30 I get quite a bit of rub on top of the chain stay in small cogs. Not the end of the world but annoying.

I think most new frames don't play nice with small chainrings. 28t is definitely not happening.

Or Smaller wheels.

That's an advantage mullet bikes have that I had not previously considered.

[Boissal]

Smaller chainring is my recommendation as well.
Or Smaller wheels.

I think most new frames don't play nice with small chainrings. 28t is definitely not happening.

Blasphemy on the wheel size! I've only buzzed my taint on the minion a couple of times this year! I'll have to try mullet at some point though, I'm intrigued. Maybe mullet the big squish bike and stick to full 29er for the future short travel steed I am trying to convince myself I don't need.
Re: 28t, definitely a no-go but Ms Boissal's Occam is running a 30t oval and working fine. Might take it off her bike just to test it