A Genesis Vagabond build thread - mostly continent crossing & commuting

My new sram mtb crank arrived today but I cant get it to sit centrally on the frame?

The distance between the crank arm and chainstay is ~17mm on the non-drive side and ~20mm on the drive side. I've added a 2.5mm spacer to each side of the BB shell (as per instructions - its a mtb crank/spindle on a 68mm BB shell). Everything spins freely when tightened up.

Any ideas? if I put 2x spacers on the non-drive side the gap difference is reversed (i.e. 20mm gap on the non-drive side, 17 on the drive side)

its like I need a 1.5mm spacer!

Pic

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some fast progress over the last few days :D

flight ticket bought, wheels laced and bike built!

will roll on these gravel king 43c for the summer then will put on something more "mountainous" for when I head to Canada (21st august)

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Nice. How did you sort the crank issue?

i didnt...

Hmm. GXP seems like a real pain to me, I can't understand how to get everything tight but low-friction at the same time using spacers. Someone on here must know though.

HTII really seems like a better system in every way.

I need a 1.5mm spacer!

How did you sort the crank issue?

You guys worry too much. None of those mms matter when you're pedaling. Probably something something something chainstay design something something.

I'm not worried about a few mm on either side personally. My problem is that there is play in the system (cranks move along axis of the axle) with no spacers and with spacers I can't get it torqued up to the required 40 Nm without too much friction. Maybe I just need to service my BB

are you using mtb or road cranks?

the video cleared everything (almost!) up for me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1UHtUt_V2Q

Road cranks, road BB shell, so it should work without any spacers... But it doesn't! My friend has exactly the same problem with his own cranks, also GXP, 68mm, road cranks...

Maybe I'm not putting enough torque into it

They need a lot of force. Mine have play until they're about as tight as I can possibly get them with a hand held allen key. Still spin freely and smooth though

HTFU

I've already broken a torque meter and nearly rounded the weak-ass aluminium self-extracting bolt off from torquing it up with my tough guy man muscles 💪

Think I'll remove the spacer, service BB and install the cranks with a big fat breaker bar

Odd. I've been using gxp road cranks for years and I've never found them to require much force at all.

4 bikes in my household with sram and many more past ones

4 bikes in my household with sram and many more past ones :)

This bike is just great. A good bond already formed :)

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Looks purrrty. Makes me want one. Damn you.

Looks well!

Crank woes continue :(

Bought a 2x spider and it don't fit. Grrr. The cutout for the crank is a bit narrower than on the original spider. So many fucking different standards!

In other news, will ride the route of the Dorset gravel dash tomorrow and Friday for more equipment and body testing. Any recommended camp spots (wild or otherwise) on the route?

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So many fucking different standards!

Amen. Good luck with the gravel dash ride!

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/273395/?offset=4625#comment14305546

Photo from the Dorset gravel dash. Starting to look like a proper great divide bike!

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And a friend of mine is making me a custom frame and top tube bag :)

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GXP seems like a real pain to me, I can't understand how to get everything tight but low-friction at the same time using spacers. Someone on here must know though.

Late to the party, but spacers only work to move the the NDS arm outboard and the DS arm inboard. And then they only work if your BB shell is narrower than spec. You cannot move the DS outboard because of the way GXP is designed. GXP is the only system where even with a narrow assed shell you will have zero lateral play because the axle is captive on the NDS.

No idea how you managed to install it with lateral slop.

See the Omnom thread or those countless 'which GXP BB is betterer' threads.

99% ready! Custom frame bags have come out just perfectly. So happy with them. Only significant change for the great divide will be proper mountain bike tyres

First up is a shake down tour from Bristol --> Fishguard. Rosslare --> Dublin. Holyhead --> Bristol

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