Pasteys new Azonic Avenger W.I.P.

pastey_boy

ive started fitting the new bits. ive got the shifter, mech and cassette working although im waiting for new cables and chain. the doubletap trigger feels brilliant and the xx rear mech is working flawlessly even with an old cable and a partly worn chain. annoyingly the superstar single ring chain device wont fit as the mount fouls my shock mount, luckily i have found a neat device from k-edge which should fit and its even lighter. now i have no front mech i can route my dropper post remote through the redundant stops which will look a lot neater. ive got a set of clarks pre lube dirt shield gear cables on the way which i will use for both the rear mech and my dropper post. finally ive ordered a red 10mm thru axle qr for my rear wheel as the gold one looks out of place. hopefully all the bits will be in place for the weekend so i can try out the doubletap shifting on some proper terrain.

pastey_boy

new chain turned up so ive just fitted it and now the shifting feels even better. not sure if anyone else has ever tried the doubletap trigger on a mtb but it works superbly. didnt think it would feel any better than my 9spd xtr set up but it does. the xx rear mech has a much stiffer spring which snaps the chain into place and it will probably stop the chain flapping around as much on rough terrain. the combination of the slx cassette and kmc chain feels really smooth too. the price for the conversion was not too bad either, i paid £148 for the xx rear mech and slx cassete from merlin, the gold kmc 10spd chain was £20 from absolute cycles and the sram double tap triggers cost me an unbelievable £25 posted off ebay and they were new. the k-edge chain device has cost me £38 so in total i reckon i have done rather well as i have saved over £300 on retail prices.

pastey_boy

having had second thoughts on spending £38 on a k-edge chain guide to keep my chain on my single ring set up i decided to make my own device out of some bits and bobs i had lying around. i took the carbon back plate from an odd chain device i had in my spares bin along with a iscg old bb adaptor and some bits of nylon, bolts and washers and out of all that made what i think to be a nifty little chain keeper. after a bit of sawing , filing and drilling i fitted it to my bike with no trouble. all up weight is 40 grams and it seems to work fine. the lower bolt on the guide stops the chain falling of towards the bb and the upper bolt keeps the chain behind the bashring. it runs silent with no rubbing in any gear.

MountainMonster

That is actually quite cool if you ask me!

lawman

would be better if it had a black bash guard, but good use of old bits and bobs!

pastey_boy

heres my bike with all the new bits fitted except the wheels that i have yet to build. in place is the 1 x10 set up inc xx rear mech, sram double tap gear flat bar gear lever, slx hg80 10spd 11/36 cassette, kmc ti gold nitride chain and my homemade chain device as seen above. also fitted new cables throughout. i went for a set of clarks prelubes with dirt shield and for a tenner the kit you get is impressive, kelvlar braided outer, pre-lube stainless inners ,nosed metal ferrules and a length of nylon tube to cover all exposed cable runs. once fitted the cables are very very smooth. once the wheels are built the bike should be finished.

lawman

it actually looks alright now! I still can't get over how high and steep it looks, just how high is the bb out of interest?

pastey_boy

lawman wrote:

it actually looks alright now! I still can't get over how high and steep it looks, just how high is the bb out of interest?

tis 15 inches from floor to the centre of bb. with the suspension fully compressed both front and rear it would give me just under 2 inches ground clearance between the floor and end of crank arm. as ive mentioned the bb height does not translate into the ride, it climbs like an xc bike and with the saddle down it flies down the rough stuff and i dont have to worry about grounding my pedals. it really feels like an all rounder, id rather have a bike with more a xc bias as i enjoy climbing. with the remaining changes i have planned for the bike it will weigh approx 28lbs which i will be happy with. no real scope to get it lighter without sacrificing strength and functionallity.

lawman

bloody hell, you could fit a sky scraper under that personally never got on with high bb heights, each to their own as always and if you suits you then its all good

pastey_boy

lawman wrote:

bloody hell, you could fit a sky scraper under that personally never got on with high bb heights, each to their own as always and if you suits you then its all good

i have a mates carbon 456 im doing some work on and that has a 14inch bb height and thats with the same fork as me, i think the azonic having a 32t ring makes it look worse than it actually is. also taking into account the azonic has 150mm each end it doesnt look too bad in comparison.

pastey_boy

got the new wheels built this morning and fitted them to the bike, off to llandegla in a minute to see if they will remain round. due to certain parts being heavier than advertised the finished wheels weigh 1750 grams for the pair. still am good weight for a pair of am wheels but i was aiming for 1600ish. the main culprit is the spokes and nipples and the rims weigh 10 grams more than stated. the spokes and nipples seem monstrously strong though so maybe not a bad thing. will take some pics when time allows. the tubeless ready nobby nics inflated 1st time with little effort.
rims stans no-tubes arch ex 32 h white
hubs stans no-tubes ztr 32h 15mm front qr rear
spokes black bladed stainless
nipples 16mm brass with red ed coating
front skewer 15mm maxle
rear swewer dt swiss rws

pastey_boy

here she is with her new white wheels in place. bike felt awesome with the lighter wheels, i saved nearly a pound and a half with the wheels and the very light schwalbes. much easier on the climbs and they feel like they will take a fair amount of abuse too. the sram double tap shifter was really good too, i can honestly say its the best shifting system ive ever used on a mtb. the 32/36 combo forced me to pedal the climbs faster than im used to but i managed (just about). my homemade chain device didnt miss a beat and did what is was suposed to. only a couple of small changes left to do. im going to get a pair of white/black answer pro taper am 720 carbon bars as i prefer the shape over the eastons i have fitted, also going to swap my spoon saddle for a much lighter but just as comfy charge knife saddle off my road bike as ive just got another for it. and finally a pair of lock on foam grips either ritchey or crank bros. ive also just ordered some 10mm thru axle converters for my rear hub, i had the same set up on my old wheels and it makes a big difference to the stiffness of my rear triangle which was noticeable on my ride yesterday.

tom_howard

You'll be wanting rid of your XTR kit then as the SRAM kit is supersmashinggreat then? ;-)

pastey_boy

Tom Howard wrote:

You'll be wanting rid of your XTR kit then as the SRAM kit is supersmashinggreat then? ;-)

still thinking about getting rid as i have an as new banshee viento sat here doing nothing along with everything else to make it complete.

pastey_boy

here she is in all her finished glory. going to leave as is for now as im very happy with the bike as a whole. fitted the knife saddle and ive put the odi intense grips back on. im using an old skool caramba brake pulley on the dropper post remote instead of the original noodle, its much much smoother than before and running it through the redundant front mech cable stops with a decent sealed cable means its virtually friction free. only waiting on the converters for the back hub so i can put the 10mm thru qr back in place. i might be getting a new reverb off a mate so i can put the ks post on my banshee ht. hopefully get some fitness back and get a packed summer of riding in this year

pastey_boy

called into mike cooksons bike shop today and in a glass cabinet they had a pair of easton haven carbon risers, i stood gazing at them for a while and i was thinking if the monumental kick in the nuts the misses would give me for blowing £120 on them would be worth it ?????????? they are still in the cabinet for now.

cat_with_no_tail

That stem is farkin hideous! Other than that though it's a nice looking bike.

1,750 for the wheels you say eh? What are the stans hubs like? Considering a set myself if they do the Syntace X12 rear fitting. How much if you don't mind my asking?

At the moment I'm quite tempted by a set of Arch EXs on (and I can't believe I'm about to say this) Pro II (god I feel so dirty now). How do you think they'd compare weight wise?

pastey_boy

the wheels would have been 1600 if i had used cx rays or revolution spokes, the spokes i have used are quite heavy but they do seem very strong. the hubs are lovely bits of kit. the front with 15mm axle weighs bang on 139 and the rear with standard qr weighs 250 hopes are 185 front and 295 in same spec so the stans are approx 100 grams lighter which is a fair bit. got mine second hand in ex cond for a rather silly £45 but new your looking at £230ish for the pair. they come in the x12 option and spares are readily available. my arch ex's came in at 430 grams in white.
this build below would be with stans hubs, white ex rims and dt revolution spokes and 12mm brass nips
f hub 139
r hub 250
rims 860
spokes 280
nips 60
total 1589
ive ordered the 10mm thru adaptors for the rear and im also considering rebuilding them with dt revs and shorter brass nips so i get the above weight. ive actually weighed all the components above so i know the figures are accurate. cost for the above build would be around £400-£450 ish
and the stem is charming in its own ittle way, you just need to spend time with it.

pastey_boy

Cat With No Tail wrote:

That stem is farkin hideous! Other than that though it's a nice looking bike.

1,750 for the wheels you say eh? What are the stans hubs like? Considering a set myself if they do the Syntace X12 rear fitting. How much if you don't mind my asking?

At the moment I'm quite tempted by a set of Arch EXs on (and I can't believe I'm about to say this) Pro II (god I feel so dirty now). How do you think they'd compare weight wise?

im sure these guys could substitute the hopes for the stans for not much more.
http://www.justridingalong.com/hope-pro ... ch-ex.html

pastey_boy

ive just purchased an easton haven stem, the mag coloured one and a set of easton haven carbon bars for the rather silly price of £116 delivered from the lovely folks at merlin. stem was £45 and the bars £71 !!!!! bloody crazy prices when i nearly paid £120 for just the bar the other day. they are seeling lots more easton goodness for silly prices too.

lawman

pastey_boy wrote:

ive just purchased an easton haven stem, the mag coloured one and a set of easton haven carbon bars for the rather silly price of £116 delivered from the lovely folks at merlin. stem was £45 and the bars £71 !!!!! bloody crazy prices when i nearly paid £120 for just the bar the other day. they are seeling lots more easton goodness for silly prices too.

Oh dear... might have to have a look at those!!!!!

Edit: crap they have the havoc carbon's mega cheap...

pastey_boy

lawman wrote:

pastey_boy wrote:

ive just purchased an easton haven stem, the mag coloured one and a set of easton haven carbon bars for the rather silly price of £116 delivered from the lovely folks at merlin. stem was £45 and the bars £71 !!!!! bloody crazy prices when i nearly paid £120 for just the bar the other day. they are seeling lots more easton goodness for silly prices too.

Oh dear... might have to have a look at those!!!!!

Edit: crap they have the havoc carbon's mega cheap...

i nearly went for the havoc's but 711mm seems right for me.

lawman

pastey_boy wrote:

lawman wrote:

pastey_boy wrote:

ive just purchased an easton haven stem, the mag coloured one and a set of easton haven carbon bars for the rather silly price of £116 delivered from the lovely folks at merlin. stem was £45 and the bars £71 !!!!! bloody crazy prices when i nearly paid £120 for just the bar the other day. they are seeling lots more easton goodness for silly prices too.

Oh dear... might have to have a look at those!!!!!

Edit: crap they have the havoc carbon's mega cheap...

i nearly went for the havoc's but 711mm seems right for me.

Just fitted some cut down 740mm superstar bars to the maxlight, so I reckon the Kcnc's on the Mojo will feel narrow now, can drop to a 70mm stem too its effectively giving you a free haven stem, which is a bargain in my book!!

pastey_boy

lawman wrote:

pastey_boy wrote:

lawman wrote:

pastey_boy wrote:

ive just purchased an easton haven stem, the mag coloured one and a set of easton haven carbon bars for the rather silly price of £116 delivered from the lovely folks at merlin. stem was £45 and the bars £71 !!!!! bloody crazy prices when i nearly paid £120 for just the bar the other day. they are seeling lots more easton goodness for silly prices too.

Oh dear... might have to have a look at those!!!!!

Edit: crap they have the havoc carbon's mega cheap...

i nearly went for the havoc's but 711mm seems right for me.

Just fitted some cut down 740mm superstar bars to the maxlight, so I reckon the Kcnc's on the Mojo will feel narrow now, can drop to a 70mm stem too its effectively giving you a free haven stem, which is a bargain in my book!!

its a very good deal and i will save around 90 grams on an already light setup. i do like the look of the haven stem and from all reports its a very stiff bit of kit for its weight

pastey_boy

my new easton haven stem and carbon riser turned up earlier so i thought it would be rude not to fit them. actual weights for the bits are 143g for the stem and 175g for the bars. the new set up has dropped my high front end down a bit which should help me on the climbs. the finish on the stem and bars is superb and from a quick go on the bike they feel nice and stiff too.

lawman

The stem really is a work of art, so nice, is beautifully made and weighs next to bugger all, slightly heavier than my kcnc, but its probably so much stiffer too! mine weighed 142g, havoc carbon bars were 241g, very happy with them

pastey_boy

lawman wrote:

The stem really is a work of art, so nice, is beautifully made and weighs next to bugger all, slightly heavier than my kcnc, but its probably so much stiffer too! mine weighed 142g, havoc carbon bars were 241g, very happy with them

i was shocked at how big the stem is, the body of the stem really is quite fat. it looks like it should weigh more. the bars are a stupid weight too considering they are 711mm long, only problem now , should i buy a set of easton haven wheels to go with my new cockpit ?
my 10mm rear adaptors for my rear wheel turn up tomorrow so i can stiffen my back end up

pastey_boy

im having a bit of a quandary, a decent nick 2009 cannondale prophet has just come into my possession, its the white one with green and black graphics. its nearly 3lbs lighter than the azonic frame and the roco shock on the azonic will fit the prophet perfectly, even the shock hardware from dales fox float r shock fits. the dale is also longer which suits me as the azonic is a little short. all i need to swap everything over is a new headset and a 27.2mm dropper post. with all the bits swapped it will give me a 26-27lbs ish bike. i can build the azonic up for the girlfriend as i have all the parts sat here to complete it including a set of white 150mm travel fox floats, a complete sram x9 30spd groupset inc matching avid brakes all finished with red detailing, on-one max wheelset and i would leave the dropper post in place. ive tried the azonic with the fox float shock and it feels nice i just prefer the roco as it feels almost coil like and has good adjustability. all i need is a 27.2mm gravity dropper and a reducer headset then im good to go

lawman

geo on the prophet is good, great colour way too, just don't ruin the green look! keep it green black and white, I know you have colour issues!! :P

pastey_boy

lawman wrote:

geo on the prophet is good, great colour way too, just don't ruin the green look! keep it green black and white, I know you have colour issues!! :P

i actually bought the prophet for the missus but having stared at it for a while plus all the positive reviews and the simplicity of it all i decided it was going to be mine instead. just got a gravity dropper turbo multi for it and im just in the process of ordering a headset. as ive mentioned ive fitted the roco shock off the azonic which has a fair bit of red on it, the chainring bolts are red along with the nipples , everything else is either back or white. to be honest the shock on the frame looks quite good so i might get away with it but as you say ,my propensity to over do colours will probably rear its ugly head