GT Chucker XS1 - Updated 11/07/16 - PG 12

russyh

Lose the stickers pal and I think you have a lovely bike there. Well done! it's been nice reading about you growing up in life and the sport. Stick at it!

Ouija

Kinda reminds me of my own little chucker (in the sense that it's 'chuckable' because it's only a 16.5" frame) after i put rigid carbon forks on it..



White bikes look cool ...... but are a pain in the arse to clean.

The Rookie

Ugh, Carerra wheels on a Kinesis, is that even legal?

Ouija

It normally as white Pro-Lite Alleyns but i can't be arsed to change tyres on bikes so just have three different sets of white wheels with pre-fitted tyres on (Schwalbe Kojaks, Continental Speed Kings and WTB Wolverines). The Speed Kings are on the ddm's.

gt-arrowhead

Ouija wrote:

Kinda reminds me of my own little chucker (in the sense that it's 'chuckable' because it's only a 16.5" frame) after i put rigid carbon forks on it..
White bikes look cool ...... but are a pain in the ars* to clean.

White bikes do look cool. As a frame colour its not a problem. I rode all through the last winter in axle deep mud etc never wished my bike wasnt white. Plus mud looks nice on any bikes, especially white 8) But for wheels i can imagine it being a PITA as its not straight forward wiping down every part of the rim. Would take a long time.

You say you switch wheelsets, but ive always wondered, wouldnt that mean having to move the cassette from wheel to wheel? As chopping and changing cassettes with the same chain will eventually lead to slipping gears or some sort of wear rate related issues at some point?

Russyh wrote:

Lose the stickers pal and I think you have a lovely bike there. Well done! it's been nice reading about you growing up in life and the sport. Stick at it!

Thanks

Ouija

GT-Arrowhead wrote:

You say you switch wheelsets, but ive always wondered, wouldnt that mean having to move the cassette from wheel to wheel? As chopping and changing cassettes with the same chain will eventually lead to slipping gears or some sort of wear rate related issues at some point?

Only if you ride for long periods on just the one cassette and don't do any maintenance and just let the chain wear down. I tend to throw new chains on my cheaper bikes every couple of months, even if they haven't been ridden much. At £6 for a 9 speed chain it's actually easier to chuck a new chain on a bike once a month than it is to clean it. I'll replace the cassette every 6 months regardless of wear. Just replaced the cassettes and chains on five wheelsets just the other week, along with all the chainrings (something i only change every two years). If your not fussy about weight, cassettes can be picked up for less than £15.

The only exception to the above rules are my two more swanky summer bikes which always get the more expensive stuff slapped on them and changed less frequently (but then again, they only get ridden a few months a year).

gt-arrowhead

Thats a fair bit of money that youd be spending over a long period of time. My general rule is: "If it isnt broken, dont fix it". My drivetrain is still going pretty strong eventhough i have done many many miles on it since July 2013. A great deal of those miles have been in horrendous muddy conditions and still all is good. I am very impressed. Seriously didnt think it would last this long. And this is all with minimal maintenance. I only remember giving my chain and cassette a proper clean once since i have bought it.

My chain rattles alot, because everything is all loosened up from wear. The cassette isnt showing any signs of wear at all. The jockey wheels and chainring are showing a sort of "shark tooth" wear pattern but still have plenty life.

I am toying with the idea of buying a new chain + cassette and using my new 32t from when i upgraded cranksets. And use all that with a brand new Acera X rear mech that i found in a secret goodie bag in my shed after many years. Then every piece of the drivetrain on this bike can be put straight onto my GT Arrowhead to be used in the mud. The drivetrain on my Arrowhead at the moment is a bit rough.

gt-arrowhead

For the ride i did yesterday (first ride after my really deep clean) i used a small bit of Muc Off dry lube. And i did get some mud on the rear of my frame and on my drivetrain, so i washed it off with a garden hose.

I had a look at my bike earlier and my chain and chainring are looking quite rusty... it wasnt really as bad beforehand as my chain was always oily and had a fair bit of black residue on it. So now that my chain is squeaky clean, how do i stop it from rusting every time i clean my chain? Do i have to buy a special cleaning product, or should i just add lube onto the rust and just ride?

Ouija

GT-Arrowhead wrote:

Thats a fair bit of money that youd be spending over a long period of time. My general rule is: "If it isnt broken, dont fix it"..

Depends. Six quid for a new chain every other month or so is nothing. I spend more on my lunch. Tend to find the other components last longer if you don't ride everything into the ground. I average just shy of a thousand miles a month so i tend to go through things quickly. Bearings (pedal, bottom bracket) being the real pain in the arse. Seams like there isn't a week that goes by when i'm not fiddling with bloody bearings.

gt-arrowhead

Yeah i guess its not much when you put it that way. But i try to run everything until its barely useable anymore. Ive run 2 bottom brackets to the ground on this. My upgrade to HTII should see me use this BB for a very long time now.

I wish i had enough time to cycle that amount. I can get a decent 3-4 hour ride in every sunday + whatever i can manage during the week. So give or take looking at 75 miles a week, so 300 a month.

gt-arrowhead

Well ive gotten rid of all of those stickers. Just need to get rid of the ones on the insides of the chain and seatstays.

And i bought a brand new pair of Hayes Stroker Ryde disc brakes for £30, and they are god awful. Absolutely shocking. Crap in literally every department. HUGE lever play, very average power, crappy feeling, and the rear one squeals for some reason. Ive had V brakes and Cantis that have felt better, and have had more power than these.

Im hoping a bleed will sort it out. Still have to get round to bleeding them.




Next to the new and improved Arrowhead

pesky_jones

Be cool if the arrowhead was raw as well. Did note that you said you never wanted to strip a frame again though

gt-arrowhead

Yeah it would be quite cool. Seen a raw Chucker in person, looked pretty nice.

Yeah its a really long process. It would be okay in the summer i guess, if youre bored and just want a project to work on out in the sun. But im pretty sure i wont be stripping paint off a frame again. If i ever decided i wanted a polished frame, id give it to a firm that does that acid dipping thing, and then id be happy with doing the sanding and polishing by hand because its quite enjoyable.

Its mainly because with stripping down paint you cant really take any shortcuts, cause it all has to be gone, but with sanding down the metal, you can get away with doing a light sand in the awkward places because you literally are just putting scratches in the surface of the metal, but with paint you need it all to be gone.

The Chuckers paint work is immaculate, as good as the day i bought it, despite a few high speed offs. So ill be keeping the paint as it is, as long as i continue to get lucky with where my bike ends up in crashes, and look after it properly.

gt-arrowhead

Well over a year since i last updated this thread, wow. Going to be a long one...

Last summer i made the jump up to 9 speed after having found some half decent deals, and also sold those dreadful Hayes Stroker brakes and sensibly got myself a pair of Deore brakes. My first ride with the new drivetrain and brakes was an absolute nightmare. The brakes didnt quite feel right for some reason. I think they were functioning properly but i just wasnt used to them. The power was immense and there was an "all or nothing" kind of feel to the lever. Couldnt brake late at all, because i just kept locking up. Then after about half an hour being pissed off with the brakes i got lost. I finally found a road so i could Google Maps my way out of trouble. Going at quite some pace down the hill, my brand new chain snapped resulting in me smashing my nuts onto my frame and hanging on for dear life. And a LONG walk home. Nightmare.

So i thought id just swap the wheels, the entire drivetrain and brakes over to my other GT and put all of the old stuff back on. Then i just left the bike for months because it just felt crap to ride since the whole drivetrain had seen better days.

Anyway, on to its current form. The insanely heavy cheap wheels are back on, along with the brilliant Tektro Auriga brakes. Also made the change from 9 to 8 speed. Big shoutout to cooldad for sending me some 9 speed bits, saving me alot of money!

The parts worked straight off the bat, a little mid ride adjustment of the shifter barrel and it was good to go. Nice reliable shifting.

Old below, new above:


Sharktooted 32t swapped for a spare i had lying about:


Also went back to the old square taper with the alivio crankset. Weighs considerably more, doesnt look as great but works perfectly nonetheless.

Neat Kona seatpost and saddle now instead of the charge spoon and old seatpost.

I thought id try my hand with big tyres too, since ive been riding Maxxis Aspens for 2 years now (in the dry). Found a decent deal on a pair of 2nd hand like new Maxxis Ardents, and i think theyre the best type you can get. LUST + really soft compound. These tyres are well beyond the XC riding i do, eventhough there are some demanding downhill bits every now and then. But for my first ride (hour and a half, my fitness is pants having not cycled in 12 months) the tyres were perfect. Brilliant in the mud even on off camber corners and just generally never breaking grip unexpectedly. The extra size vs the Aspens also is great for the gnarly stuff. Hope to put them through their paces a bit more.

All round, really happy with the bike as it is, even with the heavy wheels.
Pics:

Thewaylander

how's your mum?

rockmonkeysc

Thewaylander wrote:

how's your mum?

Not as flexible as she used to be.