What have you done to your bike today?

Pampa said:
A little progress today with La Mula (the mule 🙂).

I re-installed the crankset. I had to remove all spacers on the non-drive side. The clearance is minimal and I think if I were to stand up on a hill with a loaded bike (high torque situation) the cranks will rub the chainstays. The other thing is that I don't think I'll be able to put the Garmin cadence sensor, which is a bummer because especially in this bike I wanted to control that I stay at high cadence to help me with endurance rides.

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I also cut the steering tube (first cut anyway). I'm going to have a long piece of steering tube between the head tube and the stem. I knew this though. Part is because of the for I'm using (less crown to axle distance that the recommended fork for the frame), and part because I want a relatively high handlebar to have a more comfortable position for long rides (a bit more upright position, less weight/stress on hands & arms).

When I tried to install the shifter I realized they put the cable guide for it through the wrong whole on the frame (on the drive side), so I'll have to see if I can thread that guide right. I've hated this part on other frames so not looking forward to this. I also realized that the rear brake hose is supposed to run internal to the frame. Is this common now? This threw another monkey wrench for me. I've shortened brake hoses one time before and was able to do it w/o bleeding the brakes, just holding it up while I cut and re-assembled the brake lever. If I have to thread the hose, I'm guessing I'll have to bleed the brake hose dry.

Today (before cutting steering tube). I can't wait to try the big wheels and tires!

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I'm testing the Nimbles as well, but surprised they came in so small even with a 45mm rim. They seem closer to 2.6ish.
btw, your fork is backwards... 😛
 
qclabrat said:
I'm testing the Nimbles as well, but surprised they came in so small even with a 45mm rim. They seem closer to 2.6ish.
btw, your fork is backwards... 😛
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Yes, I knew from reviews that they run small but I was still surprised. In fact, if you look at the pic you'll notice I'm able to run the tire in the "27.5 position" hole for a shorter chainstay, and still have room to spare. BTW, my rims measure 39mm internally.
 
Ditched the compact triple for a single 42t chain ring and set up some tubeless tyres. The old set had shifted belts after like 800 miles
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Started with the most tedious part of assembling the bike today - routing the cables through the frame, and later shorten the brakes hoses.

I tried to re-route the cable guide for the RD cable so it would enter the frame on the NDS, as it normally does, but I couldn't. It looks like internally there's only one route and the starts at the DS of the frame. I've never seen a setup like this. Has anyone? I thread the cable to see how it would bend/behave when turning the handlebar 180 d. in each direction and it seems to be fine. I think it should be fine, and can't think of any options to change it (there's no "windows" / access points to the interior of the frame anywhere). Any thoughts on this? Below are some pics: (don't mind the brake cables, I just mount them to measure the right length later)

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Also, it looks like I'll have to route the hydraulic hose for the rear brake through the frame too. There's a cable guide for that, and there no bosses(?) (the thingies to hold the cables w/ zip ties) anywhere on the frame. I haven't seen this before either. Is this "normal"? It looks fine to me, and I even prefer it, except for the fact that this way I'll have to bleed the brakes to be able to put the hose through the guides inside the frame.
 

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Pampa said:
I got this one on Pinkbike, from a guy in Georgia that "distributes" these an other frames and carbon parts for some Chinese company. The quality seems OK, a little below what I expected. The finish/details seem to be of less quality relative to good Chinese rims (Nextie, Light Bicycle, Carbonfan). For example, when I went to put in the bearing on the lower part of the headtube, I pushed it lightly by hand and got stuck half way through. When I tried to pull it out, just with my fingers, I ended up with the inner part of the bearing in my hand and the race and bearings still stuck inside. The headset came with the frame and it doesn't look as "nice" as the Cane Creeks I've installed in Niner frames. Anyway, after I pulled that, I used a sand cloth to smooth the surface out, I was re-assembled the bearing and it's OK now.

Another detail, I installed the BB & crankset with the recommended spacers by Race Face and it's too tight. Again, it must be b/c of the tolerances. So now I'll take it out and replace a 1.5mm spacer with a 1 or 0.5mm spacer and that should do it.

One of the main reasons why I bought frame instead of a used Stache is the geometry. Obviously, it's very similar to the Stache's but it has some differences in the direction I was looking for. I tried Staches in 17.5 and 19.5 and didn't feel good on either size (I also tried and 18.5 Alu and still not good).

All in all, for $475 (incl. seat collar, rear axle, headset and RD hanger) it's fine. Still, it's a bit of a gamble and will see once I ride it.
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You of all people should go with square taper cranks.
 
Repairs and deferred maintenance; after my derailleur and hanger were unceremoniously ripped off the bike last ride, I finally got around to assessing the damage. Thankfully the mounting area looked good, and the hanger ripped in two before the derailleur bent. Had a new hanger, chain, cable, and housing in stock (I'm funny that way) so cost was prepaid. Put in the free goat link that came with the last cassette I bought, just for giggles. See if I notice any difference. Seems good in the shop; (don't they all?) waiting for the rain to stop to flail on it.
 
Took advantage of an already wet bike and non-zero temps, hosed it down and began cleaning drive train.

Maxwell house can + purple grease eater + spin cycle = poor man's ultrasonic parts washer.
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Just get it out of there before @Wife sees it.
 
Finally got the trans am 29 going for the Allaire ride. No shake down ride before and brakes need work. But I had no other bikes to ride as they temporarily stored at work till after the New Year.

Didn't weigh the bike but it felt sluggish from the get go, tho maybe the narrower gearing for me contributed (34x20). What I surprisingly didn't like were the Chunky Monkey Enduro tires. They are super sticky, which didn't work well with the Allaire sandy trails. I'll give it a try around rockier and rooty trails to see if they perform better. The bike's quite a sight, lots of colors with no distinct scheme. Probably slapping on a new stem next after a proper cleanup of Allaire gold.
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