Dammit’s adventures in mountain biking

This post got me really thinking over the last week. I've come back to riding MTB after 20years, have started hurling myself much faster down stuff much bigger than anything I could have done in my teens, except now I've got a family and I don't recover from injuries nearly as quickly

In a very sensible move, I've just bought myself a Fox Baseframe D30 chest and back guard

Pffft

I hope you never have to use it!

One of the ladies my girlfriend was riding with has had to have a full hip replacement after breaking the head of her femur off on a berm at the start of the Avoriaz Green-to-blue/red.

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You should strip and polish the fork lowers for an inverted two tone of big Madge

Too much work, too much warranty voidance I'm afraid.

RC295 frame is sold.

Have I missed something? New frame?

Yep, think my enduro bike, but a bit smaller and black.

Always bringing the good shit. Looking forward to more shindigs.

Some tools are bought, some are made.

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Tip from a mechanic I follow on Instagram

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The clamp around the dropper stanchion is giving me real anxiety

I’ve fucked this up- how do I fix?

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credit card to push bubbles out
heat gun to take it off cleanly and fix

Hairdryer and a squeeqee might get some of them out. I'd start again though.

Pull the sheet off, re-apply with bank card squeegee?

From videos that is correct.

Muc off have a good installation video

Is that plumbers tape on the threads?

Yes

What's the advantage of it? It's not like it needs to keep pressurised water out

First time I've tried it, chap who recommends it says the following:

The main benefit is eliminating wash out and sealing against contaminants. While you may use the thickest, heaviest water proof grease you can find on your BB threads, it's the bike wash/degreaser that enters your frame during washing through your seat tube, cable guides or any other frame holes that ends up sitting in your BB shell that breaks down the grease.

Teflon tape completely seals the threads from the inside and out and makes them water tight which is the reason plumbers use it to seal water pipes hence it also being called "plumbers tape".

It will also help dampen any noise and further prevent the BB from seizing and becoming stuck and if done correctly, will prevent you ever needing to service your BB again until the bearings need replacing. PS if you execute this well and your BB still creaks, it's not the BB. 😉

A few important details for installation:
Ideally start with clean BB shell and cup threads. If there is any factory applied preset loctite on the cups, it's usually fine to just tape over.

DIRECTION: Apply/wrap teflon tape in opposite direction to which the cup threads in (so tape tightens and end of tape doesn't lift during install)

AMOUNT: Just shy of 2 layers is optimal. It's best to create a slight low spot (gap) rather than overlap the end and create a bulge in the tape. I usually start at a logo on the cup and finish just short of it (see pic).

TECHNIQUE: Wrap tight and push tape into threads with thumb and fingers by rotating in your hand the direction in which the cup threads in.

GREASE: It's still very important, mainly to keep the tape intact during the install. As always grease both the shell and cups to eliminate all the grease either getting pushed in or extracted out during the install.

Cups should still thread in quite easily by hand.

My view = may as well give it a whirl.

it's the bike wash/degreaser that enters your frame during washing

First mistake is washing your bike

Presumably he teflon wraps every bolt then. And silicone seals the cable guide holes, etc.