1) Cleaning...2) Carbonising

The Northern Monkey

1) The top tube on my XCR has become matte instead of the shiney black...any ideas how i get my shine back?

also i'm planning on striping it and giving it a full clean, and guides? i cant seem to access the parktools cleaning guide

2) i'm wanting to spec up my bike slowly, using a carbon theme.
what carbon products would people recomend? i would want to try and keep to the same brand as much as possible. also, are carbon products actual carbon, or are they metal products wrapped in carbon?

things i eventually want:-
Stem
Riser Bar
Seatpost
Seat
Brakes
Wheelset
Cranks

Anything else i can carbonise?

i know most peopele will think...WHY!! but its a theme, and i loooooveeee carbon stuff!!

B

ride_whenever

Not sure about the polishing, but a car product should work. as for carbon lovliness:

Bars: easton or FSA (full carbon with alloy inserts in clamping areas)
Stem: Stick to alloy
Seatpost: Stick to alloy, CF only really suitable for roadwork
Spacer: yes, many types
Saddle: Loads to choose from, ranging from carbon shells, carbon rails and full carbon (v expensive)
Brakes: Carbon/TI rotors, carbon levers, carbon finishing bits (hope are good for this apart from the rotors)
Wheels: Yes but not very cost effective
Forks: DT have taken over pace, so CF should be available, of the RS ones with carbon steerer/crown
Skewers: can be had, i think controltech do some
Chainrings: poshbikes, but i don't think they shift too well
Cranks: A few offroad ones are full carbon for the arms/spider, some alloy skeletons with carbon
Bolts: Poshbikes do some for non-load-bearing bits
Derraileur cages can be had
jockey wheels can be had
I'm sure i've seen CF upgrades for shifters
Some wheels have CF spokes.

The Northern Monkey

kewl cheers for the reply
how come you wouldn't recommend carbon stem or seatpost?

i've been looking at these so far:-
Raceface carbon next xc riser bars
Raceface next sl seatpost
Raceface next xc cranks
Raceface dues XC stem (if i dont use carbon)
FSA K-Force SD Lite Carbon Saddle
FSA Orbit I Carbon Headset
FSA Spacers Carbon
Hope mono mini pro disc brake

wheels, will come last probably...most expensive, but i dont even know if i'd want carbon wheels....dont seem to have good strenght reviews for the price!

BlackSpur

I would say there is nothing wrong with a carbon post - the are fine for MTB use and can take come of the sting out of the ride. Fizik saddles are good for and available with carbon structure.

I know you have said you love carbon, but some things, like cranks, just aren't worth it IMO. XTR performs at least as well as carbon stuff but much cheaper. Carbon stems are completely pointless they are alloy stems coverey in carbon. I would say that whilst the Avalanche is a good frame it's not really worthy of some of these parts. Surely a carbon frame should be top of your list?
One more thing, don'tgo for the ridiculous stuff like carbon bolts, chainrings etc - they are ridiculously expensive for worse performance than normal materials!

The Northern Monkey

some good points..
i cant afford a carbon frame, and dont really want one if i'm honest :shock: the XCR is a long travel 130mm frame that i use for all mountain/trail riding/xc.

i'm basically just looking to pimp the bike up a bit...the GT bits and pieces on it are a bit...plop

cjw

you can match most stuff with Ritchey WCS...

Take a look at the link below on mine. I like carbon too

The Northern Monkey

your bike is where i got the idea from.....ages ago when i joined the site just couldn't remember who's bike it was!!

i've been looking at the ritchey stuff, how do you rate it?
also how do you find that juicy carbons? i've reaaally gone off avid brakes, but love the hopes on the zaskar hense my choice

thats a really nice frame too i take it 100mm is the most travel you can get away with without ruining the geometry? i couldn't manage without my 130mm...tis perfect!!

cjw

Ritchey stuff has been excellent so far (nothing broken and I've done some rather heavy landings on the seat!), the stem isn't carbon (they do one but it is heavier than the ali version).

Juicy Ultimates work well apart from - bite point adjuster on the front brake has stripped thread - not a big problem but anoying - and I cant find just the worm drive anywhere, and the front loses power a little after a long downhill when it gets hot (might be time for a bleed).

I think if I were to replace I would probably go for new Formula R1s (if the long term reviews turn up OK - bit early yet).

Reckon you would be right about 100 being max. Many run 80mm! So no go for 130mm forks.

The Northern Monkey

thats the problem i've found with most carbon frames...not really made for higher travel (plus theyre bloody expensive!)

supersonic

They are starting to make DH frames from carbon now. Look at the new GT Fury (and the Force carbon).

The Northern Monkey

supersonic wrote:

They are starting to make DH frames from carbon now. Look at the new GT Fury (and the Force carbon).

but full suspension is horrible (thats a bit contraversial isn't it!!) :twisted:
i've been having that argument with my brother for the past 2 months, he'll only ride FS and i'll have to be forced to buy a FS bike (although i was tempted by a meta recently!)

cjw

supersonic wrote:

They are starting to make DH frames from carbon now. Look at the new GT Fury (and the Force carbon).

And Scott Ransom....

Must try a full susser at some point - but I love the HT and agree with benj

The Northern Monkey

HT for life....or untill my bro can get away from me on decents on his stinky 8)

allthegearnoidea

i've been slowly carbonising my carbon ht, looked at all the options stems wise etc and yes cabon stems are often heavier than slloy ones, but! for the 20g extra i went for a carbon stem as it stood out from the rest!
i have fsa K-force bars and seat post, super light! fsa team pro carbon cranks, also very light and Very stiff and an uber bargain of ebay!
an itm stem (i think it is),
am currently seeking a saddle and have my eye's on a few! haha! but went for kcnc jockey wheels as they looked good against the kmc gold chain!

ideally forks wise soome of the older sid team race's with the carbon steerer (sub 3lb) or for extra bling some of the pace carbon susp. forks, but at the mo not overly bothered on that front!

wheels wise i would love carbon ones but like yousaid, not all that practical for agressive trail riding!

ebay can be very good for carbon bargains! (i got a brand new k-force seatpost for sub £10!)

BlackSpur

I would not touch FSA carbon cranks. The alloy sleeve on the non driveside arm which matches up to the splines on the axle comes loose from the carbon crank arm very easily - we have had 3 sets in the shop all with the same problem.

The Northern Monkey

any views on the raceface carbon cranks? theyre the ones i'm more tempted by if i'm honest