@haggis1978 @Duffer Yup! Feels stupidly light and I’ve not even tried to build it light.
Going to ride it a bit more if work’s not too busy today. It’s quite hard to figure out if the juddering under breaking is because of QR forks, unbedded brake pads on new rotors or just a shitty headset.
Wish someone did a 1 1/8 straight steerer, 15mm QR fork. 9mm QR is useless for someone like me who doesn’t plan on changing wheels in a hurry.
What’s the deal with Middleburns? Is there any advantage over running XT cranks, or is it just for the niche/blingness?
Just the niche/blingness factor 😀
Oh and the fact you can run a proper bottom bracket (square taper) that doesn’t require changing every few months, and also the Uno ring mounts direct to the crank for a neater look
Heres my ss with Middleburn cranks and Uno ring obviously
Middleburns, wi or pauls components cranks all use taper bb which last years longer than most externall bb gubbins (even if the frame has been faced) it tends to go with build it once and ride it to death ethos of most single speeders rathet than the anal faffage that comes with replacing bearings, bushings cables and all the associated gear clunge that comes with having a bike for the weak of limbed
Yup, Middleburns + square taper will outlive most other crankset/BB combos.
On my other SS (a Surly Krampus) I’m running a Truvativ Howitzer BB and Hussefelt cranks. They’re designed for DH use, and are a cross between Isis and external bearings. Heavy, but bombproof. The BB is still going strong after 4 years and 3 bikes – time that includes the wet summer of 2012 and the ‘moist’ winter we’ve just had.
…..of course having said that, it’ll die next week now 😆
Not the most bling but a sprinkling of Hope etc as bits wear out. I find the 760mm wide bars great for throwing the bike around singletrack. The frame is an On-One Scandal 29er V2. The frame’s previous owner is the frame’s designer, ex-On-One SS guru Steve Olsen. He also designed their Whippet and Lurcher. I ride with him regularly and he has nearly finished his new design; a belt drive Reynolds 953/ 931 machine. He should have it completed in time for our SS team entry to the annual CF charity ride from Ditchling Beacon to Seaford via the South Downs Way in the end of April.
Sadly I used to wipe out square tapers on my singlespeed. I used Ti ones, like Hope and Raceface. The bearings just couldn’t put up with the tonnage above them. A syncros one lasted. Was steel and weighed a tonne. The Phils one also lasted but weighed 2 tonnes but they kept coming undone, so I went HT2 with a King BB and Jones Deore cranks and never looked back. Just getting the camera out for mine.
My Pipedream Modro. EBB. Phils hubs, which are just lovely. WI freehub, which just works unlike the Hope(less) hubs I had previously. On One carbon rigids. Hope Mono brakes. Its just great.
Not the best piccies as the sun is a bit low, but you get the idea.
I don’t get the HTII BB is rubbish comments TBH. Hope and Race Face BBs with Race Face cranks on various bikes for numerous years. I can’t break them and I’m brutal as hell and weigh a ton.
New lightweight Bushnell eccentric.
New Hope external BB.
New Middleburn RS8 X type cranks with Uno ring/spider.
New rims built onto existing King hubs.
New tyres setup tubeless.
Dekerf Generation, salsa cromotos, Wonkey ring, Philcentric BB, XT, Hone cranks with the “H” colouried in with black pen, DT 240s on Arch EX, King, carbon fibre (!) headset spacers, Answer 20/20 bars, sparkly green paint with a yellow top coat that doesn’t really come across in the photos. Pewter headbadge (plan is to copper plate and polish down the logo back to pewter, but I’ve gone for more black pen for now!) Record No.4 bike stand. Grass, daffs, etc.
Might have been true that some HT11 BB’s lasted 5 minues when they first appeared, but the bad ones seem to have died off, and they now seem to last an acceptabel ammount of time.
Especialy when you considder you couldn’t get a UN52 BB for less than about £18 in 90’s money, now you can get XTR BB’s for less.