B52 stealth bomber CX build
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B52 stealth bomber CX build
Postby m@ » Mon Sep 01, 2014 4:44 pm
Last week, after a few setbacks, new parts and ultimately outsourcing the hard work to the awesome folk at my LBS, I picked up the first incarnation of this weapon
Click for full size image
The wheels worked like a dream with @silentbutdeadly's help to convert the front down to a 9mm QR; 3T stem and bars were donors from my CELL roadie, along with 105 brifters and BB-7 cable disc calipers and rotors from the Kona. A few surprises along the way - 31.9mm seat tube gave me the excuse to buy a matching 3T carbon post; I discovered that ten-speed MTB derailleurs use a different cable pull ratio to ten-speed road shifters, so it is running a nine-speed cheapie until I get around to modifying my XT shadow plus RD. Also had to buy a new front derailleur as the cable routing is top-swing and the seat tube diameter wider than either donor bike... Gearing is a tad esoteric at this stage - standard road chainrings with the 12-38 cassette from my 29er to give useful ratios.
The Schwalbe Evo RaRas are running tubeless, though not marketed as tubeless ready... Took longer to seal up than the MTB variant, but pretty much stopped losing air after the first ride. Roll well with plenty of grip on the trails, so should be great for actual CX.
Got it dirty the next day on a roll along the Yarra Singletrack and Hans's Loop - looking forward to some real CX!
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Re: B52 stealth CX build
Postby mitchy_ » Mon Sep 01, 2014 5:00 pm
for what it's worth, sram road and mtb 10 speed play nicely.
my only gripe, your valves aren't perfectly lined up between the 'W' and the 'A' of Schwalbe damn OCD.
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Re: B52 stealth CX build
Postby m@ » Mon Sep 01, 2014 5:21 pm
Hmm, another excuse to upgrade to those R700 hydro brifters... only problem is it'd cost almost as much as the entire build to date.
Haha, I will point out the valve misalignment to the guy who built it on the next shop ride
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Re: B52 stealth bomber CX build
Postby mitchy_ » Mon Sep 01, 2014 5:41 pm
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Re: B52 stealth CX build
Postby silentbutdeadly » Tue Sep 02, 2014 10:01 am
Glad to have helped...even just a little.m@ wrote:It is heaps of fun to ride - I am seriously reconsidering whether I need a 29er XC MTB now...
Hmm, another excuse to upgrade to those R700 hydro brifters... only problem is it'd cost almost as much as the entire build to date.
You still need a 29er XC MTB...mine is still faster than the cross bike on the same courses!!
As for the shifters...if you can cope with SRAM then Apex or Rival brifters play well with X9 Type2 MTB rear derailleurs (and will still work with the new FD).
However, my cross bike runs a stock road RD (Rival) and the commuter has non clutched XT 1x10 (without a chainguide) and neither has problems with chain drop and slap despite bashing around our riverfront XC tracks...so I'd just go a stock 105 instead.
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Re: B52 stealth bomber CX build
Postby Calvin27 » Tue Sep 02, 2014 11:38 am
Cushy dirt bike
Very cushy dirt bike
Bike crushed by car (RIP)
No brakes bike
Ebike
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Re: B52 stealth bomber CX build
Postby m@ » Tue Sep 02, 2014 2:48 pm
Saint 9-speed (clutched, but not as good as shadow-plus) was the recommendation of the mechanic who built it up for me... the mod to shorten the effective lever length of a Dyna-Sys RD looks relatively achievable though, so I might give it a go as I will have a spare anyhow. A clutched RD is no doubt unnecessary, but I'm a touch particular about the frame, especially being CF... reminds me that I need to get an old road tube onto the stay before tonight's ride...
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Re: B52 stealth bomber CX build
Postby silentbutdeadly » Wed Sep 03, 2014 11:23 am
Even with a clutched RD you'll get chain slap. How much depends on your ride style. The 'clutch' only controls the chain coming from the crank - the bottom half. The top half is free to slap if you aren't putting the power down...and any look at an unprotected chain stay will show you that this is where most slap comes from anyway...m@ wrote: A clutched RD is no doubt unnecessary, but I'm a touch particular about the frame, especially being CF... reminds me that I need to get an old road tube onto the stay before tonight's ride...
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Re: B52 stealth bomber CX build
Postby m@ » Thu Sep 04, 2014 1:57 pm
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Re: B52 stealth bomber CX build
Postby mitchy_ » Thu Sep 04, 2014 2:18 pm
even if you're not pulling on the top chain with the crank, the clutch will keep the entire chain tight as the hub's freewheeling motion will allow it to tension the chain backward as well.silentbutdeadly wrote:Even with a clutched RD you'll get chain slap. How much depends on your ride style. The 'clutch' only controls the chain coming from the crank - the bottom half. The top half is free to slap if you aren't putting the power down...and any look at an unprotected chain stay will show you that this is where most slap comes from anyway...m@ wrote: A clutched RD is no doubt unnecessary, but I'm a touch particular about the frame, especially being CF... reminds me that I need to get an old road tube onto the stay before tonight's ride...
the clutched mech on my MTB never used to get chain slap on the top anyway...
feel free to sell me the X9 however, M@.
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Re: B52 stealth bomber CX build
Postby silentbutdeadly » Fri Sep 05, 2014 2:13 pm
It almost certainly slaps/slapped but it may well be one of those frames that has decent chain/chainstay clearance. Neither of my MTB frames is one of them but the cross bike & ghettograveller have a large gap due to the bigger rings and smaller BB drop (?) and the chain rarely contacts the top of the stay.mitchy_ wrote:the clutched mech on my MTB never used to get chain slap on the top anyway...
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Re: B52 stealth CX build
Postby jazgtir » Sun Sep 28, 2014 11:55 pm
Just throw some flat bars on it and...SNAP we could have matching bikes and you get basically a 29er:)m@ wrote:It is heaps of fun to ride - I am seriously reconsidering whether I need a 29er XC MTB now...
I'm now running an X9 in the rear. Other pics with slicks are in the gallery.
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Re: B52 stealth bomber CX build
Postby m@ » Mon Sep 29, 2014 6:29 am
Almost tempted to go flat just to run some nice Shimano hydros rather than those BB7 roads... but then I couldn't race cx
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