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Not work per se, but just ordered some nice Pinned 155mm cranks for the EEB, they'll be going on next week.
Got a product recall email for the carbon cranks (Cube Acid), perfect time to get rid before they explode on me!
Did that fix the clicking noise you were trying to track down?
It did! I think the cranks were on the way already, the recall was because the pedal insert was debonding from the arm.
Very happy the bike is much quieter.
Last week.
New fork on the gravel bike, fettled the headset with a new lower bearing 'cos the original one was still notchy after a clean and grease.
New rear brake disc, now have a narrow-track at the back and wide-track at the front, brake mullet?
Mudguards off. Summer 700c wheels and new back tyre. 650b with tractor tyres put away.
New chain. General clean, new anti-seize all round. Renew helicopter tape and polish. Ride
Started building a hardtail out of the spares in my garage. Had this Pinnacle frame, a bargain when the local Evans shut down, hanging in the garage, kept hitting my head on it, so thought I'd build it with the spare 27.5 Crossmaxes no-one wanted to buy. Got some spare Fox 36s too. Had to purchase a rear mech, brake hose (loads of spare brake levers and calipers to use), and cassette (AliExpress bargain) and a dropper lever. But everything else from spares. Just got to cable the rear mech and bleed the brakes and it'll be a bright screaming yellow goer.
Fitted a new saddle, one of those Ryet EVA jobbies off Aliexpress two rides so far and I'm very impressed, comfortable, light enough at c.200g and well finished.
Fitted a new SLX derailleur to the Ragley hardtail... followed all the instructions and got it fitted but it wouldn't sit on the large cog. Twiddled ALL of the allen bolts until some sort of witchcraft got it working right... god knows if it's going to eventually lunch itself or I have just managed to get it right out of know where but a quick up and down the road made sure it was ok...
Built up my track bike. Had the frame blasted and powder coated on a candy blue finish to match the club kit. Added the aero fork, wheels and cranks (after having the threads chased by the LBS). Now pottering up and down the road adjusting fit.
It’s a Dolan Pursuit Champion. Only 75 ever made. All the same size too. Like a Pre Cursa on aero steroids. Will race it this weekend. 
Fitted a new SLX derailleur to the Ragley hardtail... followed all the instructions and got it fitted but it wouldn't sit on the large cog. Twiddled ALL of the allen bolts until some sort of witchcraft got it working right... god knows if it's going to eventually lunch itself or I have just managed to get it right out of know where but a quick up and down the road made sure it was ok...
The Devil's derailleur! Honestly they're a nightmare.
Fitted a new SLX derailleur to the Ragley hardtail... followed all the instructions and got it fitted but it wouldn't sit on the large cog. Twiddled ALL of the allen bolts until some sort of witchcraft got it working right... god knows if it's going to eventually lunch itself or I have just managed to get it right out of know where but a quick up and down the road made sure it was ok...
The Devil's derailleur! Honestly they're a nightmare.
I wish I'd known! The other two bikes are SRAM transmission and the next hardtail will be too!
Yep I’m not buying another 12 speed shimano derailleur.
My job this evening was to fit a new tyre with cushcore to Reeksy1’s front wheel ready for racing on Saturday and Sunday.
I Gtechniq ceramic coated my new frame last night then fitted front and rear mechs this morning. My first Dura-Ace build and I am mildly excited by this.
Finally fitted the new rear tyre on Monday ready for our European trip. Checked pressure this morning and its still the same. All set to go
Yep I’m not buying another 12 speed shimano derailleur.
Blame the mechanic 😉
7 bikes and apart from the Levo with AXS, the rest are Shimano with no issues. Much prefer mechanical Shimano to mechanical SRAM
I felt the same way until I got 12s and have had several failures.
What have I done to my bike today...I rode it and cleaned it.
Oh...and fitted a new seatpin and seat collar (so now they match the stem...which makes me happy).
Not quite done, but new bearings arrived, BB tomorrow so the Slayer gets a refresh.
Well that was unexpected. Old bearings came out without a whimper, the blind puller worked first time. Fresh ones went it with easy and it's all back together and feeling smooth. That's got to be a first!
Just got the BB to do tomorrow, the old one still felt fairly smooth, but as I'm feeling fancy I'm going to change it anyway.
Checked the suspension bearings on the levo, about half needed doing, managed to do them all in situ, just wheel out and air out of shock. Cheap bearing tool set worked well (done Horst back to backs before so didn’t need blind puller). Just one very cunning spacer, that dropped out and stuck to the back of the chainring between the motor, that took quite a while to find.
Best thing was very irritating cracking sound ( been checking seatpost, headset etc etc etc for ages) has gone away. Interesting as none of the ones I replaced were that bad, all spun easily but they had a bit of a rumble/tightness.
Started mucking around with volume spacers in the rear air shock to try to get it just right. I’ll find out tomorrow how much I’ve buggered up the ride. Lol
Put my mudguards back on and switched back to soft compound tyres 😛
I’ve had a very pleasant day tinkering in The Shed. Various bits and pieces for the camper van then three bikes washed and serviced.
Waxed three chains, had to cut the rear tyre off the rim on the Stooge and remove and fit the spare from the alternative front wheel.
Now to track down any surviving Nobby Nics in 27.5” x 3”. Not that I’m a creature of habit.
day 2 of a 3 day trip to Golfie regular bikes, none 0f this ebike nonsense
6 descents yesterday, 4 from the very top, just 5 descents today - No Social is proper technical !, didn't quite clean that with 2 otb
anyway had to do an emergency gear cable change at the top. of No Social/feed the pony
now watching appropriate TV
now watching appropriate TV
Watched his latest one tonight - Hunting Season. It's not a movie great by any stretch, but half decent brain out Saturday night viewing - his acting was pretty decent too IMO
I did a gravel event yesterday which, because of the recent showery weather and due to what can only be described as 'aggressive drizzle' on the day was really just a long day out riding through a sheen of water filled with sand and grit. In spite of using full mudguards, a lot of the bike (especially the wheels and drivetrain) was absolutely caked in fine brown grit.
I think the waxed chain and mudguards did a lot to prevent the worst but this morning has been spent brushing half of the Peak District off the bike. Definitely needs a new chain, amazingly the brake pads seem to have survived OK.
I took a hacksaw to it or more precisely to the handlebars.
I thought for a long while that I was a fully paid up member of the 800mm club and then I realised I was actually riding along with my hands off the inside of the grips most of the time. Conclusion the bars are too darn wide!
I've taken 30mm off them (half of that on each side 😉) and added a bit more forward rotation. The wobble around the garden test seemed OK.
Having never really gelled with the 50mm Gusset bars I recently got for my Kenevo and having numb hands today, decided to rob the Stooge Moto bars from my Shan. A ride on the road was inconclusive - they felt great on the Shan, but a bit nice yet weird on the Kenevo. A proper ride will ensue this week
A ride on the road was inconclusive - they felt great on the Shan, but a bit nice yet weird on the Kenevo. A proper ride will ensue this week
Be interesting to see how you get on with those. Do they maybe need a longer stem? The shape looks like they would be bringing your hands backwards vs most riser bars.
A ride on the road was inconclusive - they felt great on the Shan, but a bit nice yet weird on the Kenevo. A proper ride will ensue this week
Be interesting to see how you get on with those. Do they maybe need a longer stem? The shape looks like they would be bringing your hands backwards vs most riser bars.
The spiel says they don't reduce reach and I have sort of looked at them before on the Shan and got the thinking behind that. The pic I've posted certainly looks like they do, they might need rolling forward a degree or two more. I've already got a 50mm stem on as the Kenevo is pretty old school geo. I'll give it a ride and see
Saturday was damp, so got round to a couple of jobs on the road bike. The FD had got a bit chattery and was fretting i'd have to change the cable and it's half internal. Fortunately a bit of fettling of limit screws and the lateral position screw and it's running much quieter.
I had been running the front wheel with a tube the last year after failing to reseat the tyre, and the tyre is bar steward tight so had been avoiding the job. Anyway, I managed to get one side of the tyre off, managed to get the tube out (slightly stuck to the old sealant on the inside of the tyre, and used my Beto Blaster for the first time to successfully seat the tyre, and it's still holding pressure today. I must go out and ride it after topping up the sealant.
Finally fitted the Forekaster v2 3c front and dual rear to the Mondraker Raze, a quick spin round the block and they certainly feel a lot more rapid than the Kryptotal enduro softs that they replaced.
When fitting the wheels back on, I noticed just how worn the lower gears are on the 10-52 GX cassette. It's not slipping at all just yet, but probably not many miles before it does. Just looked it up on Strava as that cassette has been on there since I bought the bike in August 2024 and it's done 2,500 miles. Think I've only changed the chain once when the original snapped after about 100 miles. Looking at the price of replacement cassettes the cheapest GX cassette I could find is £140 at tredz with one of their discount codes, I've ordered one but I did notice the Aliexpress Sunshine 10-52 cassettes for £55. Looking at the reviews and they are very positive so I'm going to order one of those too and see how it goes. If the shifting is rubbish then I can just use it on the hardtail and if not the GX cassette can be saved for my megatower.
If the shifting is rubbish then I can just use it on the hardtail
tbh I assumed when it came to cassettes you paid the extra money for weight savings
When new, probably.
though I’m sure they will extol the virtues of their perfectly designed ramps and tooth gaps…
but different materials will wear differently. Once a cheaper/weaker cassette starts to wear, performance will probably reduce, and also will take your chain and chainring down with it
£55 cassette might still be worth it though
****ted the BB out ready for a new one. 
New gravel bike. Scratched the paint on the fork getting the through axle out by catching it with my multi tool. £15 for a touch up stick.
First scuff is always the worst. Once it has a few more I won't give a shit.
Swapped the shock off the Tallboy to service the float X . And packed the bigger bike up in the travel pack for next weeks flight to the Slovenian Alps ..
Wednesday, but who's checking...
Installed a new cassette and chain to my mates commuter bike. Then whilst I had to tools and bike stand out I sorted the wobbly headset on my gravel bike. Turns out the not-a-star-nut-steerer-bung-thing had raised up a bit so knocked that back in and cleaned and regreased everything.
Gave Frank a clean. Looks much better for it.
Also fitted this natty little loam shelf, pivot protector.
Not my bike but serviced a pair of XFusion Slide and have got into bother replacing the rebound foot nut. It needs to come back out but is turning the rebound leg so won't unscrew. Head scratcher.
The original Deluxe RT on my Levo is long overdue a service and definitely needing enough new parts that I managed to justify a more appropriate Super Deluxe Ultimate (heavily discounted).
It’s probably too light a compression tune but we shall see, only done a few descents on it, so early days of dialling in. Sits really high when I use the lockout lever which helps unslacken the laidback seat tube angle caused by overforking and mulleting.
I had a creak on my pace, which started mid ride on Wednesday. Assumed it was a bb bearing on it's way out. It got louder on yesterdays ride, so removed the cranks to have a look....
2 bolts had fallen out, and the others were close to being lost. I'm running the same slx cranks on all 3 of my bikes, the others have never needed tightening.
That happened to a mate’s SLX crank. Pretty sure they warrantied it.
I’ve been prepping bikes for a few weeks away. And packing tools and parts… trying to travel light.
The same happened with my SLX chainring - no luck with warranty. You’ll notice they’re security Torx bolts so not designed to be tightened. Switched to a one piece alloy Works ring now.
Fitted a new BB... Eventually! 🤨
New SLX mech and chain on the Kenevo this morning.
This afternoon - 50mm rise Title AH1 chrome bars to match the ST1 stem, replacing the 38mm Gussets on the Stanton
