Ask the experts

[g_man80]

I’d say give the Transmission a try. What are the downsides holding you up?

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

I’d say give the Transmission a try. What are the downsides holding you up?

Having to switch two wheelsets over to XD driver from MS (I actually have one Hydra XD driver still in a box somewhere) and a few reports of "slow" shifting on the transmission stuff....oh and spending over $1000

[Eluder]

Having to switch two wheelsets over to XD driver from MS (I actually have one Hydra XD driver still in a box somewhere) and a few reports of "slow" shifting on the transmission stuff....oh and spending over $1000

Why not just do non T-type axs with the shimano chain and cassette?

I've been running X01 mechanical on the Dreanought with and XT chain, cassette, and ring. It works well.

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Why not just do non T-type axs with the shimano chain and cassette?

I've been running X01 mechanical on the Dreanought with and XT chain, cassette, and ring. It works well.

Sramano or whatever people are calling it? Non T-type allows it to work with the regular non-flat top chain?

[skaredshtles]

New hanger barely made a difference on yesterdays ride. Checked limits and b-screw as well. Randomly when giving her some mustard the chain etc just seems to want to slip on the cassette/switch gears at random. Chain is like 3 days old. Cassette not worn etc etc.

I'm real fucking close to just pulling trigger on GX Transmission and drinking the koolaid. This bike in particular just does not play well with cable/housing anyway.

Sounds like you might want to consider friction shifting: https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoo...tion-shifting/

[dcpnz]

To me all that says the cups aren't straight in the frame. Whether they're not seated properly or the frame's not faced properly or just misaligned wold take some more investigation.

X2

Thx.
Turns outs theres a lot of internet chatter about these cannondale sisl crank spindles being oversize - people freezing them and sanding them to get them in etc. I’m wary of sanding too much and creating a loose fit and creaking but seems that some combo of misaligned cups/bearings and an excessively tight spindle is causing some binding.
In lieu of throwing a ton of money at this one I’m going with the remove/regrease/reinstall approach and hope its a bit better.

When you say "bearings spin very freely, more so than replacement" that's actually a good thing. Some think a bearing is only worn out if it's seized or crunchy, but an extremely free-spinning bearing can be just as bad. Bearings should spin freely but not that much.

Oh for sure - I meant that as worn bearings are not my problem and they are fine.

Update:
- Sanded spindle with some 800grit - goes in now with a firmish bump with palm of hand - hope I didn’t overdo it.
- Fully reassembled and still tight and binding - f#@k!!!
- Looked like wave washer fully compressed so removed a 0.5mm non drive side spacer - woo hoo - spins nice, free and smoothly and no play whatsoever.
- All in all some typical frustrating home mechanic bike fuckery but I believe successful in the end.

[Eluder]

Sramano or whatever people are calling it? Non T-type allows it to work with the regular non-flat top chain?

Yep, some stupid name. It's just a gen 1 AXS derailleur running the Shimano bits. You can do the new shifter.

[g_man80]

That’s a great suggestion. I ran that setup briefly and it worked fine (gx axs derailleur and shifter with XT cassette, chain, chainring. You should be able to find new or take-off kits for $375 - $600 depending on model (gx or x01).

[Andeh]

Having to switch two wheelsets over to XD driver from MS (I actually have one Hydra XD driver still in a box somewhere) and a few reports of "slow" shifting on the transmission stuff....oh and spending over $1000

AXS is nice in terms of precise shifts and not having to deal with cable tension & such, but the ease of setup, better shifting under load, and lack of maintenance on Transmission I think are much more compelling. While you don't have to deal with cable stretch / rust / friction on regular AXS, one issue myself and other buddies running it ran into was that the B-tension screw would gradually back out over hundreds of miles. AXS also does seem to have a bit more chain slap compared to mechanical shifting or T-Type. The best explanation I've read was that while it's got an identical clutch spring to mechanical Eagle, it doesn't have the stiffness of the cable housing pushing the whole thing forward. I did read about a mod where you add an O-ring for friction at the pivot bolt, but haven't tried it myself.

I've got 2 Transmission setups now, one on ebike and 1 on enduro bike. The "slow" shifting is overstated. What that is in effect is the system waiting until the cassette rotates to the correct spot to do the shift, rather than just firing off the shift immediately, ramp cog alignment be damned. The shifting under load is awesome - very noticeable with the ebike. You basically just hit shift whenever you want to change gears, don't have to think about your crank position, and it'll handle the rest. I find myself shifting way more in rolling, punchy climbs, especially on the ebike because there's no penalty to it and only upsides. Setup is ridiculously easy.

I put both my setups together a la carte. Ebike got GX RD & casette, X0 chain, pod ultimate, Wolf Tooth DS B chainring. Enduro bike got X0 RD/cassette, XX chain (because that's all the shop had in stock and it was 20% off), pod ultimate, WT DS B chainring. I reused my AXS batteries & chargers. I would have gotten GX derailleurs for both except when I got the first setup, they weren't available a la carte yet. GX cassette on the ebike is a trial run to see how much life I get out of it with a good chain, since weight doesn't matter on that bike.

I broke down and got the second setup from Cambria Bike, which had a 20% off everything coupon last weekend for members, at which point I lost self control. I didn't get groupsets because I've got eeWings on the enduro bike, and the ebike groupsets come with a 36t chainring which doesn't fit my ebike's chainguide.

[g_man80]

I've got 2 Transmission setups now, one on ebike and 1 on enduro bike. The "slow" shifting is overstated. What that is in effect is the system waiting until the cassette rotates to the correct spot to do the shift, rather than just firing off the shift immediately, ramp cog alignment be damned. The shifting under load is awesome - very noticeable with the ebike. You basically just hit shift whenever you want to change gears, don't have to think about your crank position, and it'll handle the rest. I find myself shifting way more in rolling, punchy climbs, especially on the ebike because there's no penalty to it and only upsides. Setup is ridiculously easy

I’ve been curious about this. How does the system/derailleur know where the ramps are? Does the derailleur not move at all until the ramp is in the correct position? It seems like they just programmed a delay in the event you rapidly press downshift more than once. In that case the system could calculate the timing needed for consecutive shifts.

[J. Barron DeJong]

I’ve been curious about this. How does the system/derailleur know where the ramps are? Does the derailleur not move at all until the ramp is in the correct position? It seems like they just programmed a delay in the event you rapidly press downshift more than once. In that case the system could calculate the timing needed for consecutive shifts.

My guess is the system doesn’t know. The chain isn’t able to derail except at the specific ramp points designed into the sprockets:

https://konstantin.shemyak.com/cycli...yperglide.html

[mmmm...pow!]

Installed new rotors and brake pads. During the first ride I realized one rotor wasn't cut right and slipped through QC. I put the old rotor back on. The pads now have 5 or 6 rides on them. Just got another new rotor. Worth running the same pads, or should I put on another new set?

[Andeh]

I’ve been curious about this. How does the system/derailleur know where the ramps are? Does the derailleur not move at all until the ramp is in the correct position? It seems like they just programmed a delay in the event you rapidly press downshift more than once. In that case the system could calculate the timing needed for consecutive shifts.

Not sure exactly, and it probably does not "know" where the ramps are. I just know that it doesn't feel like it's forcing the chain up onto the next cog before the ramp is in place. It could be that they made it so that it can ONLY move if it's on the ramps. I'm guessing that's why they went to the stronger FlatTop chain, to resist lateral forces until it runs into the ramps. In terms of multi shifts, it does feel like it "knows" when the shift completes, so that if you queue up a bunch of shifts, you hear the derailleur move to initiate 1 shift, then it shifts, then it moves again, shifts, etc. As opposed to Shimano or Eagle multishift, where it moves the cage 2-3 cogs, then the chain/cog have to catch up.

[g_man80]

Yeah, that makes sense. Thanks!

[XXX-er]

Installed new rotors and brake pads. During the first ride I realized one rotor wasn't cut right and slipped through QC. I put the old rotor back on. The pads now have 5 or 6 rides on them. Just got another new rotor. Worth running the same pads, or should I put on another new set?

as long as there is lots of pad there I would run the same pads

[Eluder]

Installed new rotors and brake pads. During the first ride I realized one rotor wasn't cut right and slipped through QC. I put the old rotor back on. The pads now have 5 or 6 rides on them. Just got another new rotor. Worth running the same pads, or should I put on another new set?

should be good, maybe do a light sanding.

[g_man80]

WRG, buy Andeh’s gx axs kit listed in the other thread. Cheap option to see if you like the SRAMano setup. If you don’t like, it should be easy to resell.

[singlesline]

Say I have a new SRAM Force 11-36 cassette, a new chain, and a used 11-36 cassette (used just to the point where the chain checker can squeeze in at 0.5% on its first chain). I also have a new smart trainer.

Should the used cassette go back on the bike or onto the smart trainer? Doesn't matter?

I was leaning towards new cassette on the bike and used cassette on the trainer just because it will never see dirt/water and should wear slower there come winter when I start using it.

[smmokan]

Why not just do non T-type axs with the shimano chain and cassette?

I've been running X01 mechanical on the Dreanought with and XT chain, cassette, and ring. It works well.

What's your 3-4 sentence take on the Dreadnought? I've been wanting to build one up for a while now, and with upcoming trips to Peru and the North Shore, I thought I might pull the trigger since that bike seems perfect. I will say that one of my favorite bikes ever was my V1 Druid with a Cascade Link and a 160mm Lyrik up front. I'm just not sure that without the Cascade link and another 10% travel, the new V2 Druid would be burly enough for me.

[dannynoonan]

Anybody have experience with saggy Oneup dropper posts? I have a v2 210mm that's about 4-5yrs old and it's kinda droopy lately, sinking about 7-10mm into its travel under weight.

I know I can just buy a new cartridge for it but that's like $100 I don't want to spend.... Is there any trick to bleed these dampers out and buy another season on it? I seem to remember some bs you could do with a reverb, like invert it and extend it or some shit, that would accomplish the same ends. Any similar with this dude?

[Eluder]

What's your 3-4 sentence take on the Dreadnought? I've been wanting to build one up for a while now, and with upcoming trips to Peru and the North Shore, I thought I might pull the trigger since that bike seems perfect. I will say that one of my favorite bikes ever was my V1 Druid with a Cascade Link and a 160mm Lyrik up front. I'm just not sure that without the Cascade link and another 10% travel, the new V2 Druid would be burly enough for me.

I built mine for riding British Columbia, bike park, plus 1-2 local trails. For me, that means mullet, DH tires, Push shock, and big brakes. It's fantastic for that purpose, and I really enjoy riding it. It might be an odd claim, but it's my favorite bike to corner at speed with ever. I know some are bothered by the growing wheelbase, but I find it gives you more and more to push into and has a large fore and aft balance point. That big sweet spot and suspension design also make it a dream on the fast, technical steeps. It's just so confidence-inspiring.

Even though it's what I use it for, I wonder if I would label it a mini DH bike like some reviews do. It is only 154mm of travel, after all. It's amazingly capable, but a 200mm High Pivot still has its place for someone wanting a DH bike. That said, it is a unique super enduro rig that eats braking bumps and roots at speed like nothing else I have ever ridden in its class. The v2 druid intrigues me because of all the pluses of the Dreadnought, but I worry about big backcountry days on an HP bike with the idler and the complexity that it brings. I am unsure if I am ready for that on my daily driver.

Of note, I am on a medium, so the chain stay length isn't as massive as the bigger sizes, and I find it quite maneuverable.

[Roxtar]

Yes, modern 29er geometry can accommodate a size small frame.

2x.
5-1 wife's last two mid travel bikes have been 29"

[Duffman]

Is the Shimano pro bleed kit worth it or are there alternatives. Got new prebled mt201 brakesets for the kiddos 24in bike and the cables are too long and need to be cut and rebled. Any advice on cutting or will a very old (mid 1990s) cable housing cutter work? Also will eventually need to bleed my SLX 4 pots in the future.

[XXX-er]

Is the Shimano pro bleed kit worth it or are there alternatives. Got new prebled mt201 brakesets for the kiddos 24in bike and the cables are too long and need to be cut and rebled. Any advice on cutting or will a very old (mid 1990s) cable housing cutter work? Also will eventually need to bleed my SLX 4 pots in the future.

there is a whole shwack of bleed kits on Amazon, they are all yellow plastic/ one syringe/ 2 syringe/ syringe & cup from asking this question when I was bleed kit shopping it was suggested to buy a kit with metal screw-in fittings as opposed to plastic fittings and I noticed the kits with metal fittings are mo money than the plastic fittings

https://www.tbsbikeparts.com/product...ope-hayes-etc/

i got this ^^ one and it worked fine, I got it cuz its a Canadian site eh, its got all metal fittings I was bleeding my guides with DOT 5.1 so that kit will be designated for DOT only, if I get a bike with Shimano I will have to buy a kit for mineral oil only cuz I might properly flush the kit OR I might fuck up my brakes which i am not going to chance

some kits include the brake fluid which saves some $$

I havent had to cut housing since hayes mags so I am not sure what modern hydro lines are made of but i don't think you want to collapse the hose with a cable housing cutter, I just assumed a sharp box cutter would work ??? ( anyone ? )

IME it was really important to watch a few youtubes on brake bleeding and really understand wtf I was trying to do

[homemadesalsa]

Not worth it's own thread to avoid starting religious battle , but for a 5' 4.5 woman with a s 30in inseam (without bike shoes on) would you go 29 or 27.5 if given a choice in the same bike for a EC light trail/ downcountry bike . Wants to ride rougher rooty and rocky trails but zero air time. Can someone that size handle a modern 29in?

Absolutely! The new 29ers are so different for us small people. I love my small Occam.

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