All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

Race day, rental Taco with CA plates. This identity crisis has certainly escalated.

Start in 1 hour. Brap.

 

Modified Bear-hoti yesterday and a stay at Mulberry Gap. Oh yeah, find some wild trout on some tiny mountain stream.

 

Question for all the bike experts out there… How much clearance do I realistically need between the chain ring and the frame? Asking for a friend


there is no rub. And on the stand, I try to flex it by hand and I can’t make it rub. I was pushing on the crank inwards and pulling on the chain stay to see if they’d hit and I couldn’t do it. It’s an aluminum frame, it’s fairy stiff.

 

Bro- that is really close for a single chainring. Is the offset correct on the chainring? I would also check to see if the appropriate spacers were installed on the BB.

 

It got that close because I’m trying to upsize the chainring. It came with a 38t, I went to a 40t without issue, keeping the same offset from the center of the bike. Now, I’m swapping the microshift Advent X 11-48 on the rear to an Eagle 11-50, so I was trying to go up on the front as well. Keep the same low gear but gain the top end speed. That chain ring I pictured is a 42t. The spacers are correct, I’m just trying to slam a 42t chainring on a bike built for a 38t. I can’t really space any further out because it will really mess with the chain line.

 

You can probably flex that chainring into the chainstay at full wattage. Be careful.

 

That’s what I’m worried about…. I’ll likely keep the 40t on there to be safe. I really wanted the better top end but not at the expense of chewing up the frame.

I think you’re telling me what I deep down already know. It’s not a good idea to keep that one on there.

 

Also, I'm forever scarred by chain suck from back in the day when we didn't have clutches. One instance of chain suck can ruin that chainstay (if it's carbon).

 

It’s an inexpensive AL frame, but I’ve been building it up to something decent so it would suck if the chain got caught. I went back to the 40t, did the responsible thing for once!
Here’s the project bike, it’s a Poseidon Redwood although not much of the original bike is left aside from the frame and bars at this point

it’s getting a SRAM Apex drivetrain and brake upgrade. The rest has already been upgraded so after this, this may be the final configuration unless I find a smoking deal on a carbon fork.

 

Crashed into 7th. Hit a small drop onto a greasy rock and tucked the front, no chance to save it. My buddy also clipped pedal and went OTB.

We aint mad, still had a great time.

 

The Trail-One Crockett bar is supposed to have some compliance, but stiffer than the One Up. Also one of the lightest bars I found. I ride them on both of my mountain bikes. I really like them. I felt like I could feel the compliance of the one up bars - like, they'd flex on me. I didn't feel safe with that, so I went a little stiffer.

https://trailone.bike/products/the-crockett-handlebar?variant=41647410020557

Shameless plug - I have a set of brand new 20mm rise ones I'd let go for $75.

 

For me the biggest advantage of clips is that once me feet are in, I no longer need to worry about them bouncing around or coming off the pedal. The pulling up really comes into play when on the gravel bike and am thinking about the 'full circle' mantra when the going gets tough, but on the MTB its just once less variable to be focused on. The feet are planted and right where I like them, don't have to worry about repositioning or micro adjusting to stay comfortable.

I still ride flats in the winter on the fatbike, but I end up with toe cramps more often. I also tend to try and clear more sections when clipped in than when on flats. It's too easy to mentally give up when I can take a foot off the pedal to dab out - being clipped in give a little motivational boost to go for it. Only ran into an issue once when first being clipped in and not being able to put a foot down to catch myself, but at this point its second nature to unclip in an instant.

 

I have the same experience. I tried riding flats on my trail bike and my feet move around too much on the pedals in chunky sections and I feel like I can never get back to a comfortable spot for pedaly sections. I have flats on my little neighborhood bike so I can just jump on and ride with my daughter and I still find myself missing the connection.

You only fall down the side of the mountain once or twice before it becomes second nature to unclip the correct foot and lean the correct way when making an unplanned stop!

 

So I loaned my buddy my custom Ti frame...



Main thing I told him was to not get it stolen. Obviously he didn't get it stolen, but somehow their roof rack (which we've all used for years) gave out and the bike fell off the roof at 70mph. The handlebars, top cap, and saddle are ruined. The only damage to the frame is this dent on the top tube. It isn't bent at all, so I actually think the frame is totally fine to keep ridding, but my buddy found a shop that will cut out the tube and replace it for about $1200. I'm not sure if I feel like doing that as I usually run a frame bag that covers the dent anyway. Everything else seems to be perfectly fine! Should I just take him up on the repair though?

As far as the components go; I'm just using it as an excuse to upgrade a few things since he already gave me $1000 for my trouble. I'll probably order some Ti handlebars, as I've always wanted to make that upgrade anyway.

 

Maybe you guys could help me decide what bike to get.

I checked out my LBS and to see a spur and transam next to each other. they didnt have a transam, but did have a spur in a large. its the gx build with the rockshox suspension/sid, g2 rs brakes, idk which wheels. im not super set on the sid suspension, but they are selling it $100 off since they messed up the frame protection (like a little bubble or something on one of the seat stays), so its $4199 or something because its the non-udh version. im not finding this build online anymore. its the dark color with the bronzeish logo on the bike.

I was pretty set on a transam, but think my body would appreciate rear suspension for longer days. hopefully transition will restock the chrome frames and i can build one up someday.

while looking at transition's website at the transam, i got distracted by the spurs. they have a large spur with the nx build in the raw carbon for like $3300 or something. definitely a step down in components, but i also like this color a little more. i think this is the build Dr Doom Says got since he is selling similar components.

totally different bikes. idk which i would ride more. the transam would be a commuter and hit trails on the way home. take it out for some fun rides every now and then. the spur seems faster and probably more comfortable.

i'll still have my 2019 patrol for bigger days.

any advice?

 

I would put the money towards a new frame if anything. Depending on where/what kind of frame it is you are close to a custom Carver.
https://carverbikes.com/

I have a couple of friends that have Carvers for bike packing/endurance races. One has custom geo and belt drive with 12k miles on it.

 

I guess its really what you want to get out of it; the commuting aspect does put a different aspect to its use.

I did go NX route and upgraded wheels/GX group set on my own to get the black frame. However if the GX was available I would have went with that route, better wheels/suspension/group set.

But my case was I was riding my Chameleon more on mellow trails as I'm recovering from shoulder surgery - however the hardtail was taking it toll on me and I went down the path of replacing it with a burlier XC bike. It has been awesome and its probably one of my better cycling purchases. I have put 60 miles on it in a week in a half, compared to 130 miles on the Chameleon in the last 6 months, at this rate i'll have ridden the Spur more than the Chameleon by the end of next month.

 

This is already a custom frame, and I'm very happy with it, so not really looking for a new frame.

 

I did lose some grip stength but it's coming back. I'd say still less than it was at this point, but not to a degree it's an issue biking. Mostly soreness/fatigue right now.

What a bummer. I'm curious if a shop could do dent repair at all? As for what to ask your buddy for, that's a tough call. If it was out of neglect I'd say absolutely make him cover it all. With such a fluke thing though maybe split the frame repair? I'm sure that dent would be super annoying on a new custom frame, but I'd be hard pressed to drop $1200 on a cosmetic repair. If it had happened to you in transport would you pay to get it fixed?

Hmm interesting thought. My Pike is super non-compliant on small bump stuff too. What would be a good option for a 130 fork? Can you usually change travel on spring forks by changing the spring? Like could I get something that would range from 130 to 150 to help future-proof my purchase (in the event I want to get a new bike and keep the fork)?

 

I'm not saying to buy a new one per se, just that at $1200 for a repair you are getting close to the cost of a new frame.