Advice on Rear hub, Front chain device, and Stem

PashleyRider

Hello, new here but not new to mountainbiking. I used to ride rather alot when I was younger but fizzled out a few years ago. After having a slipped disc for over a year (not mtb related), and then recovering from surgery recently, I decided I should get back into riding again, have some fun and regain some fitness!

My previous type of riding was Freeride/Street/Trials, however now I would probably class myself as All Mountain (which is a bit of everything if i'm not mistaken?). I'm 6ft 2 and about 14 stone, used to be a pretty smooth, technical rider.

I have a bike again (B'twin 6.3-yes I know, it's not amazing but nor was my budget and I wished to have full suspension for my backs sake, I really like it so far), and I am looking for some advice on a few things. I am at Uni so my budget isn't great, so please bare that in mind when recommending things.

Rear hubs: In the past I have had Chris king, Hope and Shimano, they were all ok. I currently have a no name, open bearing thing that weighs an absolute ton. It functions fine currently, as its new, but I do not anticipate it lasting too long and I would like to lose some weight off the back of my bike to get it a bit more balanced. I do not have a large budget for anything pimpy, I just want functional, reliable and hopefully a bit lighter than my current thing (about 500g). I like the look of the new shimano SLX rear hub (the high ep one designed for 29s), are these any good? They seem to tick my boxes, and i'm fine with looking after the cup and cone setup (i've had budget shimano before and had no issues at all). I have been looking secondhand, but even the Hope XCs seem to be making frightening amounts for such an old hub! Ideally I wish to spend no more than £50 on a hub if possible.

SLX hub: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=40550

Twin ring Front setup: I have bought a poly bash, and wish to go twin ring as I find I dont use the big ring often enough and my bb is quite low so a bash just seems the safer option. Which sized rings do you all recomend? My bash goes up to 36T which sounds about right for enough top end? I find my granny ring a little too low geared, so would the jump from 22T to 26T be too large a leap?

Front chain device: I have seen the Blackspire Stinger twin ring device, it seems to get good reviews but some people claim that it catches on the granny ring. Are there any fixes for that? Or any alternative solutions? I did wonder about going home made as they are not exactly complex things and rollers are cheap.

Stem: The stock 100mm stem is a touch long for my liking, and from playing about, I think an 80mm stem would suit me best. As much as i would love another Thomson, they are a bit too expensive for me. What do people think of budget stems such as the Superstar Laser or Funn xc? I'm less inclided to spend more due to not being sure if 80mm is definately right for me, but at least these are cheap enough to find out?

Superstar Laser: http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=67&products_id=459
Funn XC http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=69256

Bike so far:

Rubber queens, Superstar grips and pedals

In the post: Saint Bash, and some parts from home (Rebas, rear shock, and fsa CF post from my old Marin), should make a reasonably capable bike for somebody who's pretty much a begginer again!

mrmonkfinger

Rear hubs:

I'd get the previous generation XT hub which is very nice if you're happy with C&C bearings

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... delID=3987

CRC only want £18 for it, in the 32 spoke version, which is peanuts. The matching front hub is £22. Nothing else will come close at that money IMO.

Twin ring Front setup

24 & 36.

Or maybe slightly more for XC, 38 or 40.

people claim that it catches on the granny ring

depends on how its attached to the frame, whether its ISCG tabs or sandwiched by the BB. What cranks do you have? I think you'll end up with the BB mount version which means its a bit blind luck as to whether it catches or not.

cooldad

Except switching the hub means a wheel build and likely new spokes, so can work out expensive.

The Rookie

Can you rebuild your own wheel? If not it's probably cheaper to just buy a better one.

I have a feeling the RR uses a Formula rear hub, not all that heavy and fairly robust if looked after.

I run 36/26 on my XC hardtail and find it ideal, I've never needed to drop any lower than 26/34 for hill climbing.

Depends very much on your cranskeet whether the stinger will catch, easy enough to have a look and tell really, if the granny/bolts overlap the end of the BB baring housing it will catch, if they don't it won't.

How sure are you that the chainrings will come off that crankset? I'm doubting it.

Stem, get the laser!

styxd

For a rear hub, try Novatec. Sealed bearings, servicable freehub and pretty damn light.

felix.london

I'd recommend the Superstar Zenith AM stem. I use an 80mm one. £27 and comes in loads of different colours;

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=67&products_id=463

I run an SLX dual ring/bash crankset @ 22/36 - perfect with a 11-32t cassette as then you can get away with a medium cage mech. I also run a Blackspire Stinger (BB Mount) with no issues with this set-up ('06 Rockhopper frame)

PashleyRider

Thank you everybody that has replied!

Xt hub, yes I saw that and it looked like it would be a good alternative, hopefully they get more in stock! I am able to build my own wheels, that is not a problem at all (built around 20 for myself in the past as well as for others on various different setups). I guess with the xt looking to have the same size flanges as my curent hub, I can reuse my own spokes rather than needing shorter ones like with the slx. My current hubs have no markings on them, the front wheel build is 1040g, the rear is 1316g (both without skewers, cassette and rotors). The front wheel seems about the right weight, the rear seems pretty hefty? The Novatecs do seem to get good reviews, where is the best place to order them?

I have a standard bb shell, no ISCG taps unfortunately. I currently have the stock cranks with a square taper bb which only allow me to remove the larger ring, however when I next go back home I can collect my Truvativ Stylos (with external bb) and fit those instead, allowing me to change the inner and middle rings. Granny ring has about 2-3mm space at least with my current setup although there isnt a bb spacer in there so it's going to make the left side crank pretty close to the bb cup with the Stinger in there, no idea on my Truvativs as to whether they will be any better.

I will get a 36T ring ordered ready for my Truavtivs, see how the 22t granny goes for now. It's far more hilly here in Nottingham than it is back home in Suffolk!

I will get that Superstar Laser stem ordered The AM looks nice but i'm not bothered about having a colour theme on my bike

felix.london

Re. Superstar Stem - it wasn't really the colours but the fact you said you would be riding "All Mountain" and the Zenith is there AM stem - heavier, more expensive & presumably tougher than the Laser which is there XC stem

The Rookie

I don't think he'll be riding AM on a 6.3, at least not for very long (if you read the BR review), hence why I said Laser.

PashleyRider

I may be getting the definition of AM wrong... Something between xc and freeride? So blasting around the woods, and maybe playing on the dh tracks but without doing mahoosive jumps and drops, just a few of the small ones

This vid shows it pretty much (not sure how that qualifies as a dh course!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSa4kKXy ... re=related

Nothing hardcore, just a bit beyond xc really? Certainly not hucking off large drops like I used to thats for sure!

mrmonkfinger

PaulOliver wrote:

Truvativ Stylos (with external bb)

Might work... You'll probably have to leave out the non-drive side spacer to get a bit of clearance for the stinger.


Novatec hubs you can get from superstar although the cheapest is £60. http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_ ... cts_id=342


Or one by Chosen for £40, rebadged by on-one: http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/HUOOMAX/on_ ... hub_6_bolt

I have one - no real complaints about mine so far

PashleyRider

I cant honestly remember if my Stylos even had a spacer on them, they are currently on my ancient Marin Rocksprings (it's too small for me, hence not using it anymore and where most of my parts are coming from), I guess I will just have to wait and see!

I had been looking at the Superstar hubs, didn't realise they were Novatecs! I knew they were rebranded ones but didn't know who the original manufacturer was.

Out of the 2 hubs you suggested, which do you think is going to be the best option? Seems the novatechs have cartridge bearings all round, and chosens have needle bearings in the freehub, rest cartridge? I guess thats why there is a £20 difference in price

The Rookie

PaulOliver wrote:

I may be getting the definition of AM wrong... Something between xc and freeride? So blasting around the woods, and maybe playing on the dh tracks but without doing mahoosive jumps and drops, just a few of the small ones

What you describe is XC, AM is a lot 'harder' on a bike than XC, if AM is what you intend, it's not going to happen on that bike - or not for very long anyway as the bike won't take it, hence it's not worth putting an AM stem on an XC bike unless you intend to change the frame soon!

PashleyRider

Ah ok, I thought xc riders literally only went over small bumps and thats it. I doubt I will drop off anything more than 6ft to slope, too much of a pussy these days!

Out of interest, have you actually seen one of the 6.3s snapped? I've struggled to find any incidents of it, and my friend who works at Decathlon (nice discount hence getting it) has never had one back due to frame fauilure. The review by MBUK says that its a flexy frame, however I have found it to be no worse than my Kona Stinky I had, and far better than my Marin Rock springs and that it tracks nicely. Component wise I have changed/ am changing most of the weak spots on it, so things like the forks and cranks won't be an issue.

The Rookie

The fact the frame is so flexy isn't a good sign, alumium fatigues quite quickly, not heard of them snapping but not many people would buy a 6.3 and ride it hard as it's not sold/priced in such a way as to attract hard riders.

The Carrera Banshee used to have an issue with snapped chainstays, that is marketed as an AM bike and is generally considered as tough as old boots, the same treatment is almost certain to ruin a 6.3 sooner!

Between XC and AM, you have 'Trail' (centres....) the 6.3 should cope with that unless you plow through stuff regardless.

PashleyRider

I don't think the frame is flexy, I certainly do not notice it. Luckily this has a 5 year warranty, regardless of the parts I fit (as long as they are not too disimilar to what it came with and are compatible, i.e. fitting triple clamps would invalidate). I understand this frame is by no means amazing but due to my low budget and the need for some bump softening out back, I had very little choice. I looked secondhand for quite some time but everything i found was either poorly maintained, too far away or the wrong size. Time will tell what abuse it can take

mrmonkfinger

PaulOliver wrote:

I had been looking at the Superstar hubs, didn't realise they were Novatecs! I knew they were rebranded ones but didn't know who the original manufacturer was.

IIRC most of the superstar hubs are Novatec - the superleggera / superfast hubs are Chosen.

PaulOliver wrote:

Out of the 2 hubs you suggested, which do you think is going to be the best option? Seems the novatechs have cartridge bearings all round, and chosens have needle bearings in the freehub, rest cartridge? I guess thats why there is a £20 difference in price

That's pretty much it. Worth bearing (har har) in mind that freehub bearings are not the most important bearings in the bike, by quite a long way. I had some doubts that the needle bearings would hold up but they've been fine. The major ball drop by on-one is the fact that they don't sell replacement freehubs, and superstar do. But when the hub is £40 in the first place, and superstar want £25 for the freehub...

As to which one is best?

Seriously, on a budget, I'd just get the XT for £18 and pocket the change.

PashleyRider

Thank you for your help. After giving my bike a good thrash this morning on some trails, I realised that actually my current hub isn't that bad and performed well, so I will wait a bit/until it breaks before I change it!

On a side note, I freaking love this bike, its actually really fun now that I have changed a few things:



Lost 1.2kg since swapping a few bits

Upgrades:
Reba Teams w/lockout
Exotic pedals (same as nanotechs)
Superstar lock on grips
Rubber Queen 2.2s
Shockworks rebound adjustable shock (dad found it in my box of crap, so chucked it in the parcel when he sent my forks)
Saint bash
Sram 8spd chain

In the post:
36t ring
Shim so I can run my FSA CF post

On my ride, the bike felt nice and stable in the air, and easy to pull up onto the back wheel when needed. Swapping the forks has made the bike so much more sprightly and slackened the HA slightly. The bike feels so much easier up the hills than it did before since losing some weight off it (that may also be down to me doing more exercise since getting the bike though). The 2.2 Rubber Queens seemed to grip nicely on the loose gravel and sticky dirt, even at 40psi. I only had a rear brake as my front adaptor hadn't arrived before I left (all fitted up now though). The Hayes MX5s, although far better than I thought, are still a touch weak for my weight and lack modulation so i'm looking forward to having 2x180mm SLXs on there to slow me down. I didnt notice any flex issues, although maybe I am still not powerful enough yet to really move it, I certainly tried though. Overall I am chuffed and impressed so far, the frame seems good enough for me for a while yet, and I can't wait to do some decent mileage