A 29er is born

[Jean]

Aaarrgghh! Frustrated today. This project is going roughly to the time I thought it would, but with my old MTB busted and out of action I really wish it was done now. It's been a looong time since I was on my MTB (early June I think) and I am missing it. The road riding has been curtailed by personal and family lurgies and getting out on cold, dark, Canberra winter roads loses its appeal after a while.

At least my drivetrain is on its way from Germany. Then it's hubs, spokes (plus wheel build), tyres and brakes to go.

Sorry, just had to vent.

[Jean]

Woohoo, I have a drive train and transmission! I am an ardent critic of the aesthetics of Shimano road groups, particularly of the cranks, but they do know how to make a good looking MTB crank. The engineering and machining of these is impressive. From the online photos I'd expected the crank arms to be fully anodised in that cruddy silver-grey Shimano likes, but the face is polished in the same way that they have been doing for the SLX cranks for a few years. They should age pretty well.

[Jean]

My brakes arrived yesterday and my hubs today. Getting very close to having everything now.

[Jean]

I placed the order for the final bits for my 29er early last week, but, for some reason they have not adequately explained in the email response to my query, CRC have yet to ship the items. So all I can do is sit at my work desk and look out the window.



That hill between the trees is, in fact, the world class MTB venue just a few minutes away from my workplace - Mt Stromlo. Yes that really is the view from my window - from my desk actually. So waiting for slow shipping from CRC has its frustrations.

In the meantime, FYI, here is the final equipment list for the bike, cut & pasted from my Evernote working list.

Fundamentals
Frame: On-One Inbred Swap-out 29er
Fork: Suntour Epicon 29er, 15mm

Finishing kit
Stem: Syncros FL stem, white
Seat post (27.2mm): Ebay stop-gap
Bar: Syncros FL flat, white, 690mm
Saddle: Syncros FL XC, white & black
Seatpost clamp: Gusset, white 30.0mm
Grips: Ritchey True Grip VI, b&w
Headset: FSA Orbit MX, white
Bar ends: Exotic
Water bottle cages, white

Wheels
Hubs: Novatec 15mm set (D811SB-15 & D812SB)
Rims: WTB i19 Frequency 29"
Spokes: DT Competition DB
Tyres: Michelin Wild Race'R (F&R)
Tubeless sealant, tape & valves

Drive train
Full Shimano XT M785 drivetrain/groupset (silver): 2x10 - 175mm 28-40 crankset, top swing FD & 11-36 cassette

Brakes
Brakes: Shimano XT M785 brakes, silver
Brake discs: Shimano SM-RT76 (XT alloy spider)

Small parts
Spare Shimano olives & barbs x 2
Headset spacers: white 1-1/8"
Cable protectors
Brake boss plug screws M6
Silicon seatpost ring, white, Fizik
10-speed chain connector/s
Shimano tongue & shield kit
Saddle bag

Tools & other
Star nut setting tool
Shock pump
15mm hub adapters for wheel building
PVC pipe for setting race (25mm PVC pipe, joiner & cap)
Pipe cutter
Frame protector: Lanolin
Roof rack adapter: Hurricane Fork Up 15 adapter
Shimano bleed kit

[Dan]

unrelated note - Evernote is excellent

[Jean]

You ripper, the last box of goodies arrived yesterday (Saturday delivery, bless DHL). Spent some time lacing last night:



Off to tension, true and otherwise finish them now.

[Jean]

Into the truing stand:



And a little while later:



I've not finished the front wheel yet. I also spent a bit of time trying to get my tubeless set up going with this one, but couldn't get it to inflate. I've stuck a tube in there for the moment and will come back to the tubeless stuff in a few weeks when my patience meter is running a bit higher.

In between working on the wheels I also got some of the general build done. Everything is on, but nothing is adjusted, trimmed (except the fork steerer) or otherwise ready to go yet.



Must stop using the phone camera and get the SLR out!

[Gordo]

I've not finished the front wheel yet. I also spent a bit of time trying to get my tubeless set up going with this one, but couldn't get it to inflate. [/img]

i dont run tubeless and dont know a huge deal about it. but i tried to set it up a couple times on my wheels. had problems getting the tire to seat. i decided to just use clothes pegs. put clothes pegs on each side of the tire all the way round and it seemed to pinch the tire and made it seat real well, enough for me to pump it up quick with a floor pump. It went up rather easy and the pegs would pop off one at a time kinda like popcorn, which was rather funny. Tire eventually deflated coz it was an older tire and i didnt use sealant perhaps?

[Jean]

Slowly chipping away at it this week around work and home life. My garage has terrible lighting so doing anything at night is no-go.

Half the drive train is set up and the brakes are installed apart from trimming the lines. The rear installation is a rather neat between the stays arrangement.

[zero]

$30 will get you a fluorescent bar light with a plastic case that can be hung near any garage job, or even under a car. it seems pretty robust, (ie mine is like 10 years old and still works).

other than that, it looks like it will be a nice bike when done!

[Jean]

Thanks. Yeah, I must confess I've never thought of getting a work light like that. Don't know why, it makes eminent sense.

[Mugglechops]

It's looking really good. I was pretty frustrated when going tubeless on my 29er. But in the end I finally got it to work with a lot of soapy water and my air compressor.

[Jean]

No pics this morning as it's a rainy, cloudy day and my garage has terrible light for photography. The transmission is is fully functioning and the brake lines have been shortened and swapped over to the correct levers. Finishing off the front wheel now. It should be rolling sometime later today.

[Jean]

C'est finis





So far I've just had a roll around the front yard, and up and down the street. A proper ride (my first MTB ride in 6 months) is on for tomorrow. The first impression is that the 29" wheels really do alter the feel of the riding a great deal, much more than I expected. The second is that 29ers really are enormous - it dwarfs my 58cm framed road bike!

[DavidH]

Jean, that looks totally awesome. Great job.

[Mugglechops]

That's awesome I love it. Are you riding the Scott next weekend?

[Jean]

Thanks very much. I'm chuffed. A bit of cockpit detail:

The remote lockout is supposed to go under the bar, but between the shifter/brake assemblies and the taper to to the clamp area there is nowhere good for it to go, so it has to be upside down (and be a bit vulnerable in a crash I suppose). I want to keep the stem clear for my Ay-Up battery pack, so I've mounted the computer next to the remote lockout so it is protected by it a bit. It's a bit of an ungainly pairing, but you cannot have everything.

The aluminium bar ends are from carboncycles.cc and were about half the price of the Hope ones I had on my last MTB (and were shipped for free). They are better than Hope ones too I think - a more secure feeling way of locking on.



I picked up the Fizik silicon seatpost ring to see if help keeps the muck out.

[Jean]

That's awesome I love it. Are you riding the Scott next weekend?

I wish. After the winter of (non) riding I've had, trying the Scott would be a suicide mission . But about another 4 weeks riding and I'm going to finally bite the bullet for a MTBA licence and start giving the local CORC XC series a stab - bigger 'events' to follow in due course.

[Jean]

Well it is dirty now, and lots of fun to ride, if a little strange perched up there on those 29er wheels.

A few observations:

1. Maybe it's just because I've been off the MTB for a while and my perspective is odd, but this thing seems to have remarkable acceleration when you point it downhill - it really takes off.
2. Thus it's good that the XT brakes are every bit as good as reported.
3. The ground clearance on this thing is gob smacking. There's no doubt it's a tall bike, but I could easily pedal straight through obstacles that would have had me pausing my pedaling on my old 26er.
4. It's a 29er, so yes, it really does roll over lots of things better. Once you get in larger roller bumps (jumps to teenagers ) though, you really do rrrrooollll over them on those big wheels - this will take some getting used to and maybe riding style adjustment.
5. The fork is good, though I think there is still some 'dialling in' to be done. I'm a heavy sod, so I'm running it at a pretty high pressure.
6. The Shimano XT 10-speed is great - wonderfully precise and solid feeling. I always found my 9-speed SLX rather temperamental, so this is a change for the better.
7. I didn't run out of gears with my 2x10 set up.
8. Riding up Stromlo made it clear that I'm really unfit at the moment - I'm paying for that winter of dicontented non-riding now!

[m@]

Very nice! If you're still having trouble getting the TL setup going, the guys at Cycle Culture in O'Conner had me up and running in about 20 minutes (converted Giant rims with Bontrager strips & valves, already had TL ready tires)—I gather having a compressor makes life easier...

2x10 XT... good choice!

[MarkG]

I'm digging that wheel truing stand!

[Jean]

Very nice! If you're still having trouble getting the TL setup going, the guys at Cycle Culture in O'Conner had me up and running in about 20 minutes (converted Giant rims with Bontrager strips & valves, already had TL ready tires)—I gather having a compressor makes life easier...

2x10 XT... good choice!

Thanks. I haven't come back to the tubeless stuff yet. That's a job for a few week's time. I confess I've fallen for the 'you can do this one with a floor pump' line somewhat. Clearly you can sometimes, but best not to rely on it. Hopefully I can find a way without a LBS (I'm keen on bike DIY these days), but I will go that way if I have too.

I'm digging that wheel truing stand!

Built straight from the plans in the Musson wheelbuilding e-book

[petermac]

Hello Boyz,

29er man here just arrived from UK via Italy.
Ah tubeless, defo the way forward, easy peasy to set up if you use the correct methodology.
ie. tape, latex, correct UST rims and if you are lucky you can fluff non UST tyres.

I have Stans rims, all taped using Stans product, Geax latex and they pump up with a track pump. You just need to soap them, and press all around to make sure the beads seat properly. It is a revelation and I have had no flats as such for the entire time I've been tubeless. You will never use tubes again once you get going with understanding how simple the concept is...!!!

The only hassle is that you must check the quantity, and this means taking off the tyres, at least every 3-4 months as the latex dries. It will form a blob in one position from sitting in the tyre, so be aware of this as if you use loads of liquid it will set the tyres out of balance. The simplest thing is to just peel all the big dry latex blobs off and refill with new.
After the first use of latex, you'll notice it seals the tyre by leaving a "skin" on the inside, almost quasi tube-like. So a simple latex top-up is enough to keep all fine and dandy.

As for non UST tyres, I've got Panasonic Pasela 1.75's on Flow rims on my old MTB/now converted tourer, using Stans rim strips. At 40psi no probs....had to learn this the hard way after blowing a tyre off with 60 psi and covering myself, and the kitchen in latex liquid.....very scarey indeed. The guy who made my wheels and the tyre supplier laughed something cronic as they'd never heard of Pasela's being used tubeless before.

Tubeless is not for big psi air pressures, which is why it's perfect for MTB's. So, experiment like mad and see how ya go. If in doubt, check YouTube for Stan's setup vids. He has it all together and is a good way to pick up tips on exactly the best methods of fitting and filling.

Now, 29ers are monsters. I'm 5'10" and have a Salsa full susser All Mountain and a Ti rigid XC racer. They are like chaulk and cheese. The fully is a tractor and is so tall it can be intimidating on techie stuff. But, it is fantastic over a wide variety of terrain and I'll never match it's capabilities. The rigid Ti is a rocket and a real handfull that screams speed. Perhaps 29er's may not be as flickable as 26ers, but I love the big wheels and will never change.

Gearing with 2x10 is interesting. If you use the standard XT stuff that is set up for 26 inch wheels and ride in really steep stuff, then maybe a change to 22/36 is required. If you are young and healthy, then maybe not? Walking is always an option.

Whatever you have, get out and ride.

[JustJames]

...
The only hassle is that you must check the quantity, and this means taking off the tyres, at least every 3-4 months as the latex dries. It will form a blob in one position from sitting in the tyre...

Not necessarily so!

I had a bike in storage for over a year, and when I got it back, the Stan's sealant was still liquid and doing its thing.

I'm not saying that the sealant can't dry out, just that it may not.

As ever, YMMV.