My First 29er

peter413

I've been looking for a replacement for my Maxlight for a while now. The Mega just doesn't have the get up and go attitude the Maxlight did so I've bought myself a cheap Cube LTD frame. Going to build it up with rigid forks, 1x10 and whatever random parts I have lying around.

Slowly everything has been arriving over the last week and this morning the frame finally arrived.



Hopefully get it built up later today.

The Rookie

Building your own bike is really satisfying, enjoy!

With that colour it should surely be a Cube Aceeeed?

peter413

I always build my own bikes. I'd change so much on stock builds anyway. Nope it's definitely an LTD, it's written on the frame and it's the right colour for the 2014's.

This is my first time building wheels though. Normally I'd lace them and get the LBS to tension them but giving it a go myself this time.

BoredHousewife

The Rookie wrote:

Building your own bike is really satisfying, enjoy!

With that colour it should surely be a Cube Aceeeed?

Well I got it anyway lol

The Rookie

Sorry, I'd didn't mean it wasn't a LTD, I meant the colour was an Acid yellow/green!

Go for it with the wheels, I've re-rimmed one set and built one set, much easier than you think.

peter413

Ah ok, that went right over my head

Wheels are done now.



They're nothing special. They weigh 1213g and 1045g each (2258g for the pair) so they're pretty heavy, the rear hub is centrelock, the hubs aren't changeable and the rims are pretty narrow by todays standards (19mm for the front and 20mm for the rear). On the plus side the front is tubeless ready and they cost me nothing because the LBS was just throwing them away. The original rear rim was split so that was replaced with another of the same so that wasn't so hard. The front was several different wheels though and the rim wasn't very true before it was built. Neither are completely true but I'm not going to complain when they were fit for the bin before I got them. They'll do until I can afford some Hope's or something.

The Rookie

Ouch, that is a little lardy! Still it gets you up and rolling and that's what matters.

peter413

I'm slowly getting there. My backs been bothering me all day so I've not been able to stand for very long. Always helpful when you're trying to build a bike.

A picture just to prove I have done something.



Not much room for the chain ring, this is only a 32 tooth, doubt even a 34 tooth would squeeze in. Guess that's what had to happen to get the tyre clearance, of which there is loads with a 2.1 but so there should be.



Currently just waiting for the sealant to do it's job in the front tyre then I'll get on with finishing it. The bars should be going fairly shortly to get rid of the red. I did have two Sixc bars but one of them cracked at the stem area so it's away on warranty and the set that was going to be on this is currently on the Mega. I'm hoping they'll replace them but so far all Silverfish has offered is a crash replacement which costs pretty much the same as CRC prices so no point. Hoping Raceface will offer a replacement when Silverfish talk to them. Christmas is a nightmare for communication though.

Herdwick

Is the rigid up front part of the budget cuts :?:
or a thoughtful decision?

peter413

It's a bit of both. Rigid is great fun sometimes, the Kinesis and Kona I've owned were both rigid as well. It's also great training for your upper body which is something I benefit from. I wouldn't have it as my only bike for sure but it's definitely something to consider if you're wanting another bike.

The fact they only cost £60 instead of £400 did also make the decision quite easy right now, that £400 would have more than doubled my whole spend for this build which is money I don't have right now.

Herdwick

Fair enough! I moved from an FS to a hardtail and realy needs more focus on the trail but is more rewarding
Hope you get along OK and done with it,
awaiting progress pics :!:

peter413

Well I've finally finished. No chance of getting a decent pic right now but here's a pretty ropey one to tide you over until I can get some better pics.




Like I said before the red bars will be going soon I hope as will the seat clamp. Just need to decide if I can still ride without a QR seat clamp first. It is meant to be a green and purple theme but you can't really see that in the pics. The chain line isn't ideal for the lowest gear but I daren't move the chain ring any closer to the chain stay. Tyre clearance seems plentiful though so that's always good.

Full specs as of now are:

Frame: 21" Cube LTD 2014 (I'm only 5'11" but the reach is pretty short on these)
Forks: Gusset Jury XC
Bars: Kore OCD 780mm
Stem: Truvativ AKA AM 60mm
Headset: Cane Creek
Grips: ESI

Front Brake: Shimano Deore M596
Front disc: Ashima Airotor 160mm
Rear Brake: Shimano Deore M610
Rear Disc: Ashima Airotor 140mm with Shimano Centrelock Adaptor

Shifter: Shimano XTR 10 Speed
Cables: Shimano XTR/SP41
Rear Mech: Shimano Zee

Seat: SDG I Fly
Seat Post: SDG I Beam
Seat Post Clamp: Hope QR

Cranks: Shimano Deore
Chainring: Superstar Narrow Wide 32t
Chain: KMC X10 93
Cassette: Shimano XT 11-36
Pedals: Shimano XT Trail
Bottom Bracket: Shimano XTR

Front Wheel:
Rim: WTB ST i19
Hub: Possibly Formula
Tube: Tubeless
Tyre: Maxxis Ikon 2.35 3C EXO TR (that's a mouthful)

Back Wheel:
Rim: Alex Rims SX-44
Hub: Basic Shimano
Tube: Continental
Tyre: Maxxis Crossmark 2.1 TR

Weight: 25.3 lbs

Obviously things are going to change. Like I said above I'm hoping my other Sixc bars will be replaced so they can go on this. I'll possibly ditch the SDG saddle and post for my old Nukeproof ones for a bit more comfort but they also weigh quite a bit more. I've no idea how long these wheels will last but I'm hoping a while. I also might play around with the chain line a bit, It is technically fine but I always like to have the chain ring more towards the bike for a better angle in the lowest gears. It shouldn't cause any issues though, it's just a little noisier in the stand but that should wear in quickly. Hopefully some thin shims can be mixed about to improve the chain line a little without risking the chain stay. Anyone got any experience with how close the chain ring can safely be? The plan eventually is probably some nicer wheels (Hope/Arch EX most likely), XTR brakes and Sid's but I might have got myself a better frame by then. Will see how I get on with this one.

gt-arrowhead

Looks great. I remember your Kona and Maxlight builds. Both were cool.

29er + a rigid fork and low weight. Perfect combo for speed.

peter413

Some much nicer pictures.







For anyone wondering the skewers are Halo Hex Key's and the bottle cage is a Lezyne. Might swap the metal cage from the Mega to this and the Lezyne to the Mega, it's pretty darn tight holding onto the bottle. Might give the Elite Custom Race another shot on this too since it's lighter than both, it just didn't hold the bottle tight enough on the Mega.

buddy_club

i like it - looks fast.

The Rookie

I agree, low, stretched and fast....

Herdwick

Well done there!!!
Looks akwardly nice to me!
Lighter wheels will speed things even more I'd say 8)

The Rookie

Off topic! Just noticed you have a Brabantia rotary washing line, good choice, ours is now about 12 years old and still looks like new!

peter413

First ride done today. It's a nice bike for sure but ice probably isn't the best conditions for testing a new bike. Most of the trails were completely frozen making it quite slick, especially with the XC tyres. Still it was great fun and on the few bits it wasn't icy this thing flew. I still need to get used to the less grippy tyres and rigid fork again, I got myself in to quite a bit of trouble at some points.

The seatpost and seat have already been changed to the Nukeproof ones as I forgot this SDG post creaks quite badly, it's probably about to crack. That's added a bit of weight but it's worth it to avoid the annoying sounds. Wheels held up perfectly so I'm pleased with that. I'm thinking I might try the longer 100mm stem I have instead of the 60mm at some point. It's not that I don't feel comfortable but the bike feels like it wants a longer stem. It won't hurt to try it anyway.

Here's what I thought of the 29 inch wheels. They didn't make the bike feel like it had any more comfort compared to 26 inch wheels. In fact the rear end on this is far stiffer than the Kinesis was so it's actually less comfortable. Not once did I feel the bike was unstable or couldn't be manoeuvred as I wanted compared to smaller wheels. It's certainly a lot more agile than other bikes I've ridden around tight corners. There were a few points I noticed the roll over was a bit better, especially rock steps. Obviously I wasn't going too fast because of the icy conditions so maybe I'll notice more of a difference when the speed improves. Can't say I found the grip to be any different but I've not used tyre's like these in a while now so that's a bit unfair to make a comparison. So really I found they just work. Just like any other wheel size they have their positives and negatives.

peter413

A picture from yesterday.



A video will be coming shortly.

The Rookie

Not sure I'd jump straight from a 60 to a 100 stem (unless you have one around), 80 would seem a better first try?

Nice photos!

peter413

Yeah I've got a 100mm Truvativ Stylo T30 from the Kinesis I could try. It's the next longest I have after the AKA.

Video is ready. http://www.pinkbike.com/video/391516/ Not the fastest riding but what do you expect.

peter413

A couple of dodgy pictures from yesterdays ride.





Longer stem was definitely a good idea. The bike just feels right with it. For some reason it's made riding with the seat up a whole lot easier. The best thing I discovered yesterday was that this bike rails flat corners like nothing else. I still don't know why people think 29ers are hard to corner with, I was constantly over cornering because the handling is so sharp and the grip available on flat corners was amazing. Tight corners up and down are great as well. Basically the two things I see 29ers criticised for the most is just not true at all with this one. Ok the weight is apparent when accelerating but I'm using heavy wheels so that was always going to be the case.

The weight thing will be getting partially solved though. I just ordered a couple of WTB Frequency i19 rims to replace the ST i19 and SX44. The front rim is around 80g lighter and the rear about 100g from claimed weights but I will also be going tubeless with the rear now so that will save more weight and I also get the advantages of tubeless. I was going to go with Arch EX's but the i19's are between the weight of Crest's and Arch's while being narrower so should be strong enough since I don't think I'd really need all the strength of the Arch's really but I'm a bit heavy for the Crest's. Both rims also cost me less than one Stan's rim would have so that's another up vote for the WTB's. I'm never going to use huge tyres on this bike so the narrower rims don't actually bother me.

Angus Young

Why tubeless only on the back?

buddy_club

Angus Young wrote:

Why tubeless only on the back?

peter413 wrote:

Front Wheel:
Rim: WTB ST i19
Hub: Possibly Formula
Tube: Tubeless
Tyre: Maxxis Ikon 2.35 3C EXO TR (that's a mouthful)

peter413

Yep, already running tubeless on the front so no weight savings to be had there.

Angus Young

buddy_club wrote:

Angus Young wrote:

Why tubeless only on the back?

peter413 wrote:

Front Wheel:
Rim: WTB ST i19
Hub: Possibly Formula
Tube: Tubeless
Tyre: Maxxis Ikon 2.35 3C EXO TR (that's a mouthful)

Sorry, I'm to following.

EDIT: Ah, sorry, yes!

peter413

Nobody knows of some purple tubeless valves do they? Superstar/WTB only do red, blue and black.

stubs

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1pr-Purple-48mm-Speed-Evolution-Alloy-Tubeless-Valve-Stem-Presta-Removable-Core-/261601567461?pt=US_Tires&hash=item3ce8ab22e5

peter413

They'd be perfect if they weren't from the US. CBA with buying from abroad for such a little thing that I don't really need.

Angus Young

It's no big deal, just takes a bit longer to get to you. Thats the only difference.