AlexD's modest array of bikes

Took a bit of wrestling but I finally managed to get the crown race on the fork. I probably should have taken it to my LBS to get it faced - it had thick powder coat over the crown so I had to rub it back to the metal and was still a bit tight.

I wasn’t sure if I should go with shim for stem (1” steerer to 1 1/8” stem) but then use 1” spacers, or just shim the whole bit of tube above the headset and use 1 1/8” stem and spacers. I spotted some 1 1/8” spacers over the steerer and there’s plenty of engagement with the headset, so I’ll probably just use them as I have tons of different sizes of them. I guess I should make sure that the total height of the shims is smaller than the total height of spacers and stem.

2 Attachments

I was pleased to find that the frame takes a 27.2mm seatpost - makes things so much easier. For now I’ve popped an in-line I had on it and we’ll see how I get on.

1 Attachment

Officially the worst job of cutting a steerer I’ve ever done. So wonky.

1 Attachment

Impressive! A screwfix pipe cutter might be worth investing in?

Yes it really would! Keep meaning to pick one up.

Had a morning of doing a bit of work… waiting for feedback… doing a bit of work… waiting for feedback and so-on, so I’ve been transferring parts from the Giant over to the rockhopper in between. I need a longer straddle cable thing for the rear, but otherwise everything so far went over smoothly and with zero fiery death or cataclysmic horror occurring.

1 Attachment

I’m currently waiting on a few bits and bobs for this:
Posh (and shorter) stem
Some more modern cranks to try out (might end up sticking with square taper though)
Some riser bars

I’ve also acquired a donor bike for the disc stuff I need: disc wheels and hydro brakes. For when I eventuality get round to dismantling it all again and getting a disc tab welded on!

Nice! Where you getting the tabs glued on?

Got it rideable. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to take it for a spin this week. Stem is currently pretty high - I’m anticipating dropping it a little and then probably having to trim the steerer again, but I’ll see how it feels.
I’m interested to see how a shorter stem + risers changes things too.

1 Attachment

Short stem and wide bars can be really fun on old mtbs.
I have '97 Kona Lava Dome with 810mm bars and 50mm bmx stem.. was very fun, but difficult to get through doorways!

Yeah I have it in my head that it’s a good option for this bike, which needs to be fun on trails (as my only mountain bike (for now)) but also comfy for pootling and child-carrying duties.

I’ve not bought any bars yet but I think I’ll probably keep them under 700mm for reasons you stated :-)
Victorian mid-terrace house not that conducive to easy navigation of wide-barred bikes!

How long is your current stem?
I also ran a set of On One Mary bars with a 70mm stem on my Kona and that was really fun as well!

Current cockpit is 80mm stem (assume rise is something like 6 degrees) with on one OG V2s. I have an inbound 50mm Thomson and was thinking of some bars with 30-50mm rise.

Sounds like a pretty sweet setup already.

It is, I guess I just want to play around with different set ups to see what suits the bike the best. I might just end up with current bars but shorter stem 🤷‍♂️

Really like these old SPECs,
is there a reason why you have the headset cups upside down? the FSA letters are flipped. i couldn't ride a bike like that :P

The reason is that I wasn’t paying attention when I installed them :-D

I’ll wait and see if it’s the kind of thing that will really wind me up whenever I see it or not! The cups are identical so it’s purely an aesthetic thing - I’m going to try and convince myself it’s cool

I understand.
Maybe get a set of lock-on grips while you experiment with handlebar setups? Definitely wait to put something like ESI grips on till you've settled on a handlebar, they are such a pain to remove/install.

Current grips are cheap single lock-ons that seem okay and are easy to get on and off.

Ease of mucking around with set-ups was one of the reasons I decided to ditch the quills and go threadless - sooo much easier to swap stuff around.

Good thinking!

In other news, I’ve been wondering what to do with this other bike I’ve been given. It’s a Voodoo something-or-other 27.5” hardtail. This is the only photo I have of it, until I can go and pick it up. Looks pretty low spec and a bit trashed, but I’m tempted to do something like building it up as a silly beater single speed trail-botherer. We shall see how much is salvageable, but I have a half decent 27.5 wheel set that could go on it if necessary.

1 Attachment

Stem turned up and is 70mm not 50mm 🤷‍♂️
I’ve popped it on for now while I look for a nice shorter stem.

1 Attachment

I’ve been swapping cranks on the rockhopper like mad. Ideally I wanted to use the Exage cranks with a hope 36t narrow wide. The chain line is pretty good compared to the STX 4-bolt cranks I have, which won’t let me use the large ring of a 11-40 cassette without grinding. I can’t get a shorter BB for that without the cranks hitting the BB cups.

Only problem is that the exage cranks come too close for comfort to the chainstays

1 Attachment

A quick ghetto hacksaw job later and I have cranks that aren’t in danger of gouging my frame. Could do with a little more filing down if I’m honest, but I ran out of time before school run. Also I havnt washed my bike since last muddy ride

1 Attachment

More stuff changing on this bike:
The Double Fighters were fine for school run duties but woefully inadequate on trails. Decided to get something a little more grippy and saw some Peyotes cheap

1 Attachment