Carrera Kraken *Update Page 5

Chunkers1980

What I was thinking was, do you have cl hubs, I do on the rear and it was rocking like you say your were and that was because the 6 bolt cr adapter was loose.

Greer_

Nope they're just plain 6 bolt. I need to order new pads for the front brake but I'm pretty sure it is just the headset rocking.

Greer_

On a happier note, this arrived



The tyre is already fitted, and I'm scouting bike shops at the weekend to see who I trust to face the shell and replace the bb. The fact that the axle is hollow, and the only bolt/nut thing is the bearing preloader made me think something was missing such as crank bolts as nothing goes in the axle. But it seems from a bit of googling that that's the way its meant to be.

leaflite

Yep, all the pieces that should be there are in that picture.

RE the knocking, mine does that sometimes. I put it down to the pads moving in the front caliper. There is definately no play in my headset. To prove that it isnt the headset on yours, pick the front of the bike up by the fork crown and see if you can move the fork relative to the frame at all. If you cant, its definately brake or fork bushing related.

jfry94

now ive finally got my college and a job sorted i am getting the same crankset in the next couple of weeks for my kraken.:)

Greer_

leaflite wrote:

Yep, all the pieces that should be there are in that picture.

RE the knocking, mine does that sometimes. I put it down to the pads moving in the front caliper. There is definitely no play in my headset. To prove that it isnt the headset on yours, pick the front of the bike up by the fork crown and see if you can move the fork relative to the frame at all. If you cant, its definitely brake or fork bushing related.

Thanks, the axle isn't what I'm used to.

Hmm, I can rule out the forks, as they're pretty much brand new but the pads moving is interesting. I will investigate further! I was just worried about the cups getting damaged.

Greer_

jfry94 wrote:

now ive finally got my college and a job sorted i am getting the same crankset in the next couple of weeks for my kraken.:)

Join the rosebikes fb page and you get a voucher for £10 off over £50. (I also have a spare one I think) I picked up the crankset for £41, then postage was another £7 so it made sense just to buy something else.

jfry94

have settled for some sr suntour 2012 epicons and the same combo of patriot grips and white headset will throw some pics up in a couple of weeks. looking very nice btw what do you think of the headset.

Greer_

I only sorted out the headset play the other day when I got my girlfriends dad to take a look. I'd put the crown race and compression ring on the wrong way round i.e. used the compression ring as a crown race :oops: :oops: I put it on the way it came so it was evidently packaged wrong + I got no instructions or anything with it. It was very smooth for a while, but I think I may have damaged the bearings because of this, as they feel a bit worse for wear than they were at the beginning. Also, the paint is damaged fairly easily on the top cap, and on the cups when pressing them. But it's still miles better than the headset that was on it before though! And I've never replaced a headset before so that's my lesson learnt! I'll run these bearings into the ground before I replace them.

I installed the bottom bracket (without facing) and cranks a few weeks ago, and no problems so far. Also the nobby nic is brilliant where I ride, anything from mud to gravel, to grass. And it's only the ORC compound!

I'm trying to decide between a folding racing ralph (ORC) for the rear or a wire ralph (same compound). I can get two wire tyres for the price of one folding, anyone have any preferences? I'd rather have the weight loss, yet I'm not sure how quickly they'll wear down, and I'd obviously rather get more for my money. Anyone have any idea of a weight difference between the two? Thanks

Greer_

I'm pretty sure I need to think more about a new frame (whippet) and wheels (stans crest) when I get the cash, which will sadly be a while as I'm off to uni at the end of the summer! Rather than worrying about 100g, if even, for a tyre! Seems a bit pointless when it's still sitting at 12.9kg, expected the new chainset to knock a bit off!

jfry94

il move on to the carbon 456 when ive finished my kraken/got the money.

The Rookie

Just stumbled on this, we should have a modded Kraken club, see link in my sig, next plan is single ring which will drop it below 11kg I think.....

Greer_

I've been watching it! I'm saving up for a Radon 7 now, as I'm starting to spend a bit too much on it. I'd love some new wheels - Superstar Crest - and a swap to a whippet frame but for the price that that would cost I could get Sid forks and a far better groupset etc on a brand new bike!

I've learnt an incredible amount from this bike though as anything thats gone wrong I've fixed myself so it makes it worth the amount I've spent on it! At the moment, I'm only spending money when things break, or where parts could be transferred to a new bike - the student budget doesn't help either!

Greer_

Your bike is a lovely weight though, but as my bike was bought new, yours is far better specced! I was amazed by your brakes, I wouldn't even know where to start. I'm starting to get more into racing now too so a new bike would be lovely!

ali4390

Greer - time for a stupid question.

If I wanted to u[grade the forks on my Kraken, what size would the new ones need to be? I am away from the bike for 2 weeks so cannot measure but need to order new ones this week and they seized solid this weekend (again) and I have a race in a fortnight.

I had my first ride on the bike since fitting Superstar Crests and they make such a difference, it's a much nicer bike to ride now!

The Rookie

Greer_ wrote:

Your bike is a lovely weight though, but as my bike was bought new, yours is far better specced! I was amazed by your brakes, I wouldn't even know where to start. I'm starting to get more into racing now too so a new bike would be lovely!

Brakes are really not that hard it just all bolts together and then you bleed it! Shimano are the best to start with (the older bleed from caliper end are so easy as to be laughable, screwdriver for lever, 7mm spanner and a syringe with a small length of hose, I use a 1litre bottle of Halford's Citroen minerl oil for cheapness) I swapped from Juicy5's to Shimano XT/R combo for a net outlay of less than £16 as my old Juicy's went for silly money on ebay (ahem, like about £15 more than I paid for them 2 years ago!).

My Kraken frame is 1742g bare (literaly bare - not even the mech hanger), you'd have a nicer (and lighter) ride spending the £350 (minimum) you'd need for a whippet frame on other things.....forks/wheels or tyres.....and you can loose about 250g from the frame by striping the paint off!

Greer_

http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k1830/ ... m-7-0.html

Reckon that is worth saving up for? I couldn't build that bike new with that spec for so little money!

I'd want new brakes, wheels, groupset ... for the kraken to make it better, and that would cost almost as much as that bike!

Greer_

ali4390 wrote:

Greer - time for a stupid question.

If I wanted to u[grade the forks on my Kraken, what size would the new ones need to be? I am away from the bike for 2 weeks so cannot measure but need to order new ones this week and they seized solid this weekend (again) and I have a race in a fortnight.

I had my first ride on the bike since fitting Superstar Crests and they make such a difference, it's a much nicer bike to ride now!

It would be a 1 1/8 straight steerer, couldn't help you with length though as I never measured mine, I just cut the new one to fit. It depends on the height of your stem and spacers as well.

Haha I'm glad they're better, I'd love a set! So light! But I think I'll make do and save - can't believe I'm saying that, I've got so good at spending money on it!

The Rookie

That Radon is an amazing spec for the money.......your right you couldn't build it with new parts for the money, but then I source nearly all my stuff 'pre-loved' to keep the cost down.

As it stands right now, my bike has cost me less than £440, I have a few cast off bits still to sell and some spare tyres for different weather etc not included in that cost.

roverthehill

nice bike fellow Norn Iron man!

Greer_

roverthehill wrote:

nice bike fellow Norn Iron man!

Cheers

Greer_

I'll upload some more pics soon but I hope these will do for now. I'm rather proud of them even though it will be nothing for most of yous!





They were both taken at Mary Peter's in Belfast, were we're soon to be getting new trails made and a jump park dead excited! it really seems to be taking off over here now with the new trails being built in the mournes, and the Redbull Foxhunt we just had

It's my birthday soon so I just plan on getting some new kit (which I had to order myself yet still act suprised when I open it!), no more parts for the time being! Also just managed to pick up a free strap on bike rack so I hope to be going further afield, as long as none of the horror stories i've read about come true. :shock:

roverthehill

nice air lad! Have you tried the new trails yet? There's a couple of wee sections that you can try - easy riding but goood fun!!!!

Greer_

Cheers haha Nope I haven't, was tempted though! Are many people using them? I don't want to make life harder for the construction company! All the bad press rostrevor etc is getting!

roverthehill

mmm, never thought of that to be honest.... What's the bad press?

Greer_

roverthehill wrote:

mmm, never thought of that to be honest.... What's the bad press?

Have a look on the Trailbadger page on Facebook, you may have to scroll down a bit. But it's just to do with a lot of people riding the trails before they're finished and creating more work etc, there's also been quite a few people spotted there and davagh riding on motocross bikes and ripping the trails up.

Greer_

Not a great pic, but its the best I have at them moment.

Some new pics of what I've bought (or been bought!) over the last few weeks! Scrapped the idea of a new bike as you can see, so a new frame will be next on the list eventually!

First up - Stans Crest on Superstar Switch Hubs - there really is a knack to getting the tyres on and after I changed a few I can do it with no levers. Remarkable seeing as I needed three tyres levers to get the tyre on the first time. I quickly got rid of the Superstar rim tape and just used one wrap of electrical tape. It made it a heck of a lot easier! I'm not running them tubeless yet, but its on the list. Lost over 100g by switching inner tubes, and the wheelset weight is 1658g





Next up is a new SRAM X9 rear mech, bought for £20 on eBay bargain!



And then new Shimano Deore M596 brakes. The difference between these and the tektros is incredible!





I also got a really decent workstand on eBay for £40, really well made and does the job perfectly! A new bike light came from Santa:



Need to tidy up the cables but 1200 lumens for £25 is great! Extremely bright - but I haven't used it on the trails yet.
This is it here.

Spec now stands at:

• Frame: 7005 Aluminium Carrera Kraken
• Forks: RockShox Recon Gold TK Solo Air (1805g)

• Front Brake: Shimano Deore M596 (294g)
• Rear Brake: Shimano Deore M596 (309g)
• Rotors: Tektro 160mm (102g x2)
• Rotor Bolts: Superstar Anodised (26g)

• Grips: Superstar Supagripa Patriot (108g)
• Handle Bars: Raceface Evolve XC Riser Bar 660mm (260g)
• Stem: Kore Elite K34 100mm 31.8mm 4deg (134g)
• Headset: Superstar Integrato (Zero Stack) (108g)
• Headset Spacers: Superstar

• Gear Shifters: SRAM X9 Trigger Shifters (240g)
• Chain: KMC X9-73 (298g)
• Cassette: SRAM PG950 11-32 (230g)
• Chainset: Shimano Deore M590 44-32-22 (858g)
• Bottom Bracket: Shimano Deore Hollowtech ii (95g)
• Chainstay Protector: Shimano XTR (30g)
• Pedals: Shimano M520 (374g)
• Front Mech: SRAM X5 (179g)
• Rear Mech: SRAM X9 (217g)
• Gear Cables: SP41

• Rims: Stans Crest (370g x2)
• Hubs: Superstar Switch Evo (195g/299g)
• Spokes: Black Sapim Race DB Spokes (358g)
• Wheelset Weight: Front: 783g - Rear: 875g
• Tyres: Schwalbe Nobby Nic/Racing Ralph (536g x2)
• Tubeless (120g)
• QR Skewers: Shimano Deore M510 (168g)

• Saddle: Charge Spoon (258g)
• Seat post: Kalloy Alloy 31.6mm
• Seat Clamp: Da Bomb Bomb Clamp (22g)
• Bottle Cage: Brand-X Bottle Cage Alloy (72g)

Some new cables are on order, but thats about it! Will get a better picture up of it all together when I get a chance!

Edit: Just weighed it and it comes in at 11.8kg/26lbs

paulneenan76

That is one cracking Kraken and a grate weight too. Mine is going to LBS tomorrow to be turned in to an On One Carbon 456 trail masher. Gave mine a last thrashing at the Forest of Dean last week and for the money I paid 2nd hand, and the cost of a few part replacements, it is a very good bike. Not let me down once and stood up well to a few of my friends more expensive FS and top end carbon rigs. In a way sad to see it go. Photo above if the link works.

Greer_

Link didn't work, wouldnt mind seeing it though! Thanks, yeah I plan on getting a carbon whippet frame and transferring all the parts over but that won't be for a while yet. I'm in the middle of a battle with a seller on eBay over some broke X7 shifters he sent me, so if eBay see it in my favour, i'll get my money back and a nice X9 shifter will be on the cards! The only thing that died over time (and I didn't outgrow) where the bearings in the headset/hub/wheels/ which was a bit disappointing, I got maybe 6 months ish from the originals.

The Rookie

Looking good, I have some post Christmas mods to go on my Kraken...my wheelset is a lot heavier than yours (just under 2Kg) as are my tyres (until I wear them out!) but it should come in at just under 11Kg.

The 2006 headset was moved to the commuter and is still going strong!

Maybe which should start a Carrera's thread with pictures and specs - one post per bike....