Custom Spesh FSR -- 2013 updates

DCR00

Evening all

Taster of whats coming next

The Scale 20 is gone. Ace bike, but not great for throwing down hills.

So have taken 95% of parts from that and will be transfering to a 2009 Spesh FSR XC frame with some RS Sektor forks

Apologies for pic - Blackberry camera



Trial fit tonight to make sure existing brake cables fit, and to see how much gear outer i need - rear brake outer is tight, but i think ill need a smaller stem anyway, so that should solve that little issue

Frame has the original X-Fusion shock, which is going for a Fox Float R

Frame and forks are off to the LBS on Sunday to get headset cups, crown race and star nut fitted, steerer cut down, BB faced, fork travel reduced to 130mm, and rear shock bushes done

Then build up next week for a day at Llandegla next Sat 8)

DCR00

Right, about time i got some pics of the new bike

As above, most of the parts have been taken off the Scale i used to have.

Why did i change it ? the Scale is an awesome bike, but it was rubbish for trail centre riding. I felt like id been beaten up after riding the Monkey Trail, so i decided to take the plunge into FS territory, whilst not wanting to spend a heap of cash. So decided to start small with a 120mm trail bike and the FSR XC had some good reviews and you can pick up 2nd hand frames for a couple of hundred, so seemed like a good option. It feels very similar to the Scale in terms of seated position, but feels more stable over rough ground, plus the extra travel makes for a more comfortable ride.

The Fulcrum wheels have gone since they weren't compatible with 15mm QR like i thought they were and have been replaced with Superstar AM490 wheels with 15mm QR front and 10mm QR rear switch hubs.

Forks are RS Sektors, reduced to 130mm from 150mm. Very impressed with them so far. Way better than the F100's i had on the Scale.

The stock X-Fusion shock has gone for a Fox Float R. Its an old unit, but has been serviced and seems to work just fine. With time i will look to move to an RP2.

Still fiddling with sag and rebound on both front and rear. So far been to Llandegla and Cannock with it. So far im very happy. Still have some learning to do as this is my first FS bike, but im def converted

Spec as follows

Frame - Specialized M4 FSR XC
Forks - RS Sektor RL 15mm QR
Shock - Fox Float R
Headset - Cane Creek S3
Stem - KCNC Bear Arm 70mm 5 degree rise
Bars - FSA K-Force flat (640mm)
Brakes - Formula K18 Oro (Hayes rotors, Ti-Bolts)
Shifters - Shimano XT (Goodridge cables and Outers)
Grips - Grey Superstar Lockons with white locks
Chainset - Shimano SLX (34T, 28T)
Pedals - Gusset PInheads
Bottom Bracket - Hope SS
Front Mech - Shimano Deore
Rear Mech - Shimano XT
Cassette - Shimano SLX
Wheels - Superstar AM490 rims on Superstar Switch Hubs
Tyres - (F) Mountain King 2.4 folding, (R) Schwalbe Rocket Ron EVO
Seatpost - Specialized Alloy
Saddle - Specialized Toupe Team

The seatpost and saddle will be going in time. The saddle is rubbish for trail riding and i want an adjustable seatpost. Will probably be going for a KS i900 and a Charge Spoon.

Also unsure about the Mountain King front tyre. After riding it twice at Cannock, i'm not convinced its that good a tyre for trail centre riding. May move the RR back to the front.

Pics











Comments welcome

MountainMonster

Some quite nice attention to detail with the jockey bolts and chainring bolts and such.

DCR00

that was originally done on the Hopper and has made its way onto this bike.

To be honest, i prob wouldnt do that again, purely cause its not very durable (i.e. looks sh*t after about a week)

This build is all about durability. The Scale was about lightness, this is about taking a kicking

bigpee

Nice bike - the white theme is one I'm trying to pursue myself. Very good to see the formula brakes in use - think that's my next purchase .

DCR00

bigpee wrote:

Nice bike - the white theme is one I'm trying to pursue myself. Very good to see the formula brakes in use - think that's my next purchase .

Do it. Once you try Formula, you never go back.

I would avoid white for pedals and saddle tho, unless you like white/brown

DCR00

Time for a few changes to the bouncer

TBH when I first bought this frame it was only meant to be a stand in for something bigger (travel wise) when i could afford it, but after getting it set up right, I'm really enjoying riding it and have decided to keep it.

That said, i am a bit of a bike tart, so a few changes are afoot

The frame has been stripped and sent off for powder coating at a place in Warrington. Going for "French Blue", which is the closest i could find to the Ultra Blue colour i was planning on when i was till debating whether to do the re-spray myself. Frame will be ready on Tuesday.

Whilst stripping the frame I destroyed the headset cups, so a new headset is on its way, along with new pivot bearings, frame wrap and jockey wheels. Am currently spraying the BB cups as they used to be red which doesn't go with my new Blue/Black colour scheme 8)

Speaking to Slik graphics about some new decals. Love the new inverse effect on the 2012 Spesh frames, so am speaking to them about decals in a darker blue. Only going for three decals - one for the downtube, one for the seatstay and one for the chainstay

Once this is all back together, the suspension is the next focus. Love the RP23 and the Sektor, but they can be better, so PUSH tuning for the RP23 and an RCT3 damper for the Sektor (only £120 from Loco Tuning...)

Lastly, I got a new job last week (with a good pay rise), so to celebrate I'm thinking some SLX brakes (i do love my formulas, but i must have read a dozen reviews saying the new Shimano brakes are the business, even up against Formula, so I'm being swayed), a possible move to 1x10, some Superstar Nano pedals and a Renthal SR4.

Watch this space for pics next week

peter_booker2003

The SLX brakes are immense. I have a set and they are very good.

DCR00

Ok, update time

picked the frame up yesterday from the powder coater. The colour isnt what i expected, but TBH i really like it and im glad it came out as it did.

Only small complaint is the amount of overspray (see pics), but i guess you get what you pay for (£50 for three pieces). Luckily Nitromors is taking it off, but there's a sh*tload of work to do on the frame before its ready for rebuilding. TBF this is the first time I've had a frame resprayed. Next time ill be more specific about what gets taped off and what doesnt.

The new seatclamp (Hope in black) and the Heli Tape arrived today. Next stage is working out which colour works best for decals. I was sold on either white or black, but I'm now thinking that yellow might be pretty cool (suggestions welcome)





As you can see here, there is quite a bit of overspray round the face of the BB and in the threads. Annoyingly the last thing the guy said to me was "ill tape up the threads for you"...



More overspray. This is more serious in that the threads have been completely painted. Luckily the Nitormors is taking it off.



More overspray, this time on the head tube. Should be easy enough to remove compared to the BB and pivot threads.



However, you can see that the overall finish is pretty good, hence why im putting up with the overspray...

sanchez89

a chase and face of your BB will sort that part out quick time.

as will a quick tap down through the pivot threads.

a bit of paint remover will sort the headtube out aswell like you said. you might have to get some fine emery on all the pivot points to make sure they get enought clearance to fit together properly.

but you know this already :-)

looks good colour though.

chrisga

Nice colour, looks slightly lighter than my specialized:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12621934

DCR00

after having a go at the BB last night, the overspray is coming off with Nitomors, which is a relief

Nothing from Slick Graphics yet, so i think im gonna go with some bright yellow graphics. Need to measure up tonight and get them ordered.

So this weekend i will mostly be stripping threads

IT66T

I'm loving the colour and i agree with you on the bright yellow for the graphics although a bright green would look just as good lol .

DCR00

quick update

BB and some of the pivot points done



Test fit of the BB cups went well, so all good

Nitromors is working well. A lot of content online suggests that it wont touch powder, but its done fine so far

Still quite a lot of work to do. Did a test fitting of pivot bolts and it would seem that the thickness of the powder means that every contact point needs doing, not just the threads. You might notice from the pic that the lower shock mounting has been stripped as well. The powder is only 1mm or so, but given the tolerances, that's too much.

Maybe another 4-5 hours and ill be there

On an easier note, I've cleaned up my XT rear mech and replaced the jockey wheels. Gone is the Red colour scheme. Back to Black. Despite some signs of use, you can see that its scrubs up pretty well, even after nearly 3 years of use.



No decision on decal colours yet. Current thinking is bright orange....

DCR00

Reet

I need some opinions. I went for the Signal Yellow decals in the end. Fitted them last night, but im not sure if i like them. I think the Yellow works well against the Blue, but im not convinced about the outline effect of the main Specialized decal on the downtube. Thinking maybe that same Yellow, but block colour as opposed to outline ?

Thoughts on colour and style before I helitape it ?

HarryK

Nice, yellow and blue looks good!

DCR00

After reading online that Sodium Hydroxide will strip anodise off, I decided to have a go at stripping the anodise off my chain guide

Tools for the job - sink unblocker (you can use Oven Cleaner as well), mixed with water in a glass bowl, and the offending chain guide bracket (wrong colour for the new paint)



Make sure you have gloves on when you are handling this stuff as its a bit nasty

After 40 mins soaking in the bowl. You do need to brush off the anodise colour and some of the more resistant bits needed a bit of encouragment with some wire wool, but overall a decent finish.



Lastly, chain guide reattached (after being cleaned with degreaser)



Best thing is, this only cost about £3.50 to do, as opposed to the cost of a new chain guide

bennett_346

Nice work man.

1mancity2

Looks good, was gonna say you may struggle with slik, I waited 2 months then got mine done local.

DCR00

DNfive did them in the end

Top notch job i have to say. Would highly recommend.

pastey_boy

which powder coater did you use ?

DCR00

Flare Powdercoating in Warrington

1mancity2

The masking up before powder was pretty poor tbh, how much did they charge you out of interest and what did they do for the price?

DCR00

they charged me £50 all in

my LBS use them, and they said similar in that they have to do loads of work on the frame afterwards to get it ready for rebuild, so sounds like a common issue with that garage

i guess you get what you pay for. If id paid another place £100 it prob would have been taped up properly.

It was a pain doing it all, but quite satisfying now its all done.

appy

Nice thread keep the pics coming. Have you seen any graphics done in matt clear vinyl? very subtle but looks good i think

DCR00

appy wrote:

Nice thread keep the pics coming. Have you seen any graphics done in matt clear vinyl? very subtle but looks good i think

no hvanet seen them, but like the sound of them

pastey_boy

i phoned flare but they wouldnt give much away over the phone so i took my prophet to the wheel repair centre at bamber bridge yesterday. had a frame done a few years back and they did an awesome job, im having the cannondale done in a chrome powder with a nice posh lacquer to finish it off. i was going to have it a graphite greyish colour but when i walked into the reception yesterday i spotted this car alloy finished in the finish ive just mentioned and it looked stunning. costing me approx £45. from what i recall they did a great job of masking . heres a pic of the giant faith i had done about 5 years ago.

DCR00

Yesterday was a bit of a wash out TBH. I wrapped most of the frame (stays, head tube and down tube), but it would seem that vinyl on vinyl doesn't look very good. The decals are slightly raised, so the wrap doesn’t want to grab properly around the edges of the decal, leaving a dodgy finish, especially on the larger decals on the down tube. So I've taken the wrap off the down tube. Was worried that if I left it on too long and decided that I wanted to take it off, that it would take the decals with it...

Still have enough left for main contact points, and the stays look good.

Still waiting for my S link bearings from BETD. This is holding things up as the next stage is putting the frame back together...

New Deore BB arrived yesterday. Will be stripping the anodise off my Hope BB at some point, but at £13 I figure the Deore will make a fine stand-in whilst I take my time with the Hope.

DCR00

pastey_boy wrote:

i phoned flare but they wouldnt give much away over the phone so i took my prophet to the wheel repair centre at bamber bridge yesterday. had a frame done a few years back and they did an awesome job, im having the cannondale done in a chrome powder with a nice posh lacquer to finish it off. i was going to have it a graphite greyish colour but when i walked into the reception yesterday i spotted this car alloy finished in the finish ive just mentioned and it looked stunning. costing me approx £45. from what i recall they did a great job of masking . heres a pic of the giant faith i had done about 5 years ago.

Nice

yeah the Woman that answers the fone wont give anything away, you have to go down there with the frame

1mancity2

DCR00 wrote:

they charged me £50 all in

my LBS use them, and they said similar in that they have to do loads of work on the frame afterwards to get it ready for rebuild, so sounds like a common issue with that garage

i guess you get what you pay for. If id paid another place £100 it prob would have been taped up properly.

It was a pain doing it all, but quite satisfying now its all done.

£50 is cheap so you have done alright, the masking is pretty straight forward, we use rubber bungs for the threads and high temp tape for the headset and bb, it leaves no sticky residue and a really clean finish line, but more expensive.

DCR00

Some good progress tonight. Bearings arrived from BETD, so had another bash at getting the S link bearings in. After applying a ton of grease to them and the seat, they went in 1st time... feel a bit of a tw@t for not doing that the first time :x

So anyway, test fitting of the frame parts (proper fit this weekend once ive got some threadlock)







Quite happy with it now