New England B.S. Thread

I'd like to too. I can bypass most specialized tools by just having the bottom bracket and the head tube bearings installed at the shop but build it myself otherwise!


Mike, did you see this?

https://alchemybikes.com/products/arktos-150-pre-order?variant=42499141927083

 

Yeah, but that's a burly bike. I'm rocking a Fox 36 with 160 travel up front, that Alchemy is a Fox 38, that's a full blown enduro bike. The Specialized frame I built up actually got reviewed as a great trail bike. I did swap the rear Fox shock with a DVO and it's been a hell of an upgrade!

When I gave in to building a bike, I bought the tools needed to build and maintain a bike. I have the socket for a bottom bracket (they're easy to install). I have a head bearing press, chain tools, cassette tools, etc. I plan to maintain my bikes and keep them out of a shop as much as possible, so tools are a worthwhile investment

 

I go to a shop for: (1) Truing wheels and (2) drive alignment.

I have spoke wrenches, and can do an alignments, but they're each like 10 bucks and a headache. My commuter bike is a 1 by, and a huge part of that decision was that I didn't want to deal with aligning a 2x9 (also just plain simplicity, though it does need a guide, it's slipped a couple times). 1x isn't as bad to align though.

 

Yeah I bought a Park torque wrench for NM's and a hex/torx kit to go with it. Other than the head tube - bottom bracket and Installing the cassette you really don't need any specific tools to build a bike.

I'm still floating around the idea of building a hardtail. I want to do it on a budget but the more I look the more I want to spend! Lol

 

If I didn't have clover and crab grass......I wouldn't have a lawn at all lol

 

There are times I really think the Brady Bunch was on to something...

 

Hopefully not one of our own's truck buried here

 

Don't worry, it's an off-road, just gotta crawl control it's way out of there, then boom, no problem, all good.

In all honesty, I agree, hopefully everyone is alright.

 

You guys and your fancy pants bikes.

 

I got 3 real choice boards out of the best of a big chunk of maple. Gonna use the remaining stock and some walnut to do some two color boards next.

Also doing a bunch of camera testing with these... Finally gonna get around to the YouTube channel I've been thinking about for 10 years.

 

I adjusted the front derailleur on my Cannondale Synapse 105 and both derailleurs on my Cannondale F4.

Park Tool has some very good videos on how to do that stuff.

 

Great for the bees/ pollinators

 

In a perfect world I'd have a huge inground pool and no lawn in the backyard

 

just naked all the time

 

I spend 75-80% of my time at the bike co-op helping people with derailleurs and shifters.

Pretty much all of the nonsense goes away if you use friction shifters (as opposed to indexed) - set the stops and B screw once and forget about it until the cable needs replaced.

 

The F 4 has an index shifter, but the Synapse has a friction shifter. I bang the F 4 around quite a bit on trails, but not the Synapse. In fact, one of the reasons I love the Synapse is that I've never dropped it. My previous bike was a Specialized Sequoia and for some reason I fell of that more than once. Something about the frame geometry, I guess.

Anyway, adjusting the derailleurs isn't hard, you just have to follow the proper sequence.

 

This is a fair point. I may have to look at that. I am thinking about buying a disc brake instead. I drop my front wheel a lot and it's a pain in the be-hind to get it out (wider than the brake calipers, so it takes a bit of grunt). Maybe a narrower tire will help that, too, though.

Either way - good thought on the friction shifters, I haven't had one in years, and haven't even thought about switching over to them somehow.

 

Anything wrong with just a run of the mill specialized like those $500 ones that were on sale earlier this season?

thinking to sell my road bike for a mountain bike as I never feel like cycling like that anymore

 

The F4 has disk brakes. I bought new pads last year and installed them. Not hard at all. As to the caliper brakes, mine have all had a release mechanism to get the wheel out. Works better with a flat tired than it does with a fully inflated one, but okay with partially inflated tires.

 

Depending on what you have, and want for it, I could be in. Just looking to mount it in a trainer...since.... I can't get out on my Mt bikes..