[mack_turtle]

I love the spreadsheets! I have several of those now for all kinds of bike stuff. I have saved info about the geometry of all the bikes I have owned so I can compare any future bikes to my past experiences. most of it is motivated by budget limits (married life). I currently have one that is set up to find me a wheelset for under $500 that does not suck. harder than you might think! the fact that my bike currently does not have wheels on it as all is a good motivator.

 

[rob feature]

I could not live without spreadsheets - use them all day at work for all sorts of stuff. Using the Open Office version for these and it's a little wonky compared to Excel. It makes stuff up sometimes so you have to watch it. But for free it's good enough for me.

Gotta love Colorado Cyclist. I'm only maybe 60 miles from them, so my parts showed up in slightly over 24 hours with free shipping!!

Lot o blue in that box!

I guess I need a frame now. I don't think I'm going to make it by the shop before they close today so I'll probably try & pick it up tomorrow.

Still need quite a few parts. Don't have a fork, stem, bars, grips, rotors, pedals, or cables yet (unless there are some in these boxes).

It's like warm Christmas! Now if you'll excuse me, I have some boxes to open :crazy:

 

[rob feature]

If you were looking closely at the parts pictures you may have noticed CC sent me 2 derailleurs. They sent the SLX that comes with that kit AND the XT. I only paid for an upgrade. While I'd like to think they did that on purpose, I'm guessing they'll want that back. It's cool that I get to play with them side by side though. They are remarkably similar, yet have quite a few items that set them apart - at least visually. I'm going to take a bunch of pictures of these when I get time and will try to note all the differences.

Got most of my stuff ordered up now. Can't go to shops right now and getting someone on the phone who can spend some time talking through stuff has been challenging so I've picked up most of my parts online. That has been tougher than expected as apparently the bike business is booming right now and finding suitable parts has been very time consuming. I am going to buy my fork from a dealer though as soon as I figure out who that will be - probably Pedal. I've had good experiences with them.

But I'm almost there. Well, not as far as parts in hand goes but I do have most of the stuff paid for and pointed in this direction. More importantly I have most everything picked out. I couldn't get too picky and had to make a sacrifice here and there because of availability but I think all the big things are decided.

If you were wondering, the stuff in blue is paid for and the stuff in green is in my hands.

 

[rob feature]

Went and got my frame today!

First impressions are pretty good. Build quality is impressive for the price point. It actually came with a headset - did not know that was included in these framesets, so I cancelled that order. There's a nice chunk of change not spent. These bearings are not sealed, so no telling how long they'll last, but they're in the box so I'm going to use them. Cups are already pressed into the frame too!

Dropouts are a bit less precise than I had imagined

Not that I'm too worried about it. I'm sure everything will click into place as it comes together. But with the adjusters locked all the way back, the axle doesn't want to turn without a good bit of effort.

Got the bottom bracket on too, but not without a bit of drama. This Loctite stuff they put on there kinda threw me off. It's kinda stiff, and I've encountered this stuff before, so I expected some resistance going on. However I mistook the resistance of cross-threading for the resistance of that stuff. Thankfully I was moving slowly and was able to correct with hardly any thread damage - only nicked the first thread, but I still took off a little aluminum.

Which begs the question of why things are done this way. The bottom bracket threads were perfect when I backed it out. The aluminum I took off came from the frame. Why on earth, with all the progress that has been made in bicycles over the years, are manufacturers using softer materials in frames than bottom brackets? WFT over? I've never had one do this, and it scared the crap out of me. Perhaps there was some imperfection in the threads that I did not notice, but in my perfect world, there would be a metallurgical reversal there where the bottom bracket threads will deform before the threads on the frame.

So that was a bit more time than I expected to spend on that. Got to crank assembly after that and realized I'm going to need to go buy a wrench big enough to get the lock ring on the chainring tight so stopping for now. The rest of the stuff I need to get the cockpit done won't be here 'till next Friday anyway and I still don't have a shock. Struck out at the usual suspects LBS today.

I've been playing with this drivetrain a good bit as it's all new to me. What can I say - I'm impressed. It's light years ahead of what I've been using on my almost decade old builds. The drivetrain parts look like they're from outer space. I was showing the crank to my neighbor - went over to see if he had a wrench big enough to get the lock ring on. He noted that the little tool used to get the lock ring on is a good bit heavier than the drive side arm with the chainring on. Attention to detail is outstanding with this stuff. Manufacturing processes and materials, at this price point, are nothing short of amazing.

I think I'm going to see about getting this drivetrain finished up tomorrow. Wish I could work on it more actually - I LOVE this kinda stuff. I'll almost be sad when it's done, but not really because I really wanna ride it! And once I get this bike sorted I'm tearing into a couple others 'cause they need some love. I'll probably be tired of wrenching by the end of that.

 

[Millennial29erGuy]

Dropouts are a bit less precise than I had imagined

Not that I'm too worried about it. I'm sure everything will click into place as it comes together. But with the adjusters locked all the way back, the axle doesn't want to turn without a good bit of effort.

Got the bottom bracket on too, but not without a bit of drama. This Loctite stuff they put on there kinda threw me off. It's kinda stiff, and I've encountered this stuff before, so I expected some resistance going on. However I mistook the resistance of cross-threading for the resistance of that stuff. Thankfully I was moving slowly and was able to correct with hardly any thread damage - only nicked the first thread, but I still took off a little aluminum.

:thumbsup: The dropouts on mine behave just like you describe. If you adjust them with a wheel/hub/thru axle fully installed, there won't be any alignment problems tho.

My frame definitely needed a "chase and face" at the bike shop. It was not horrible, but outer faces were not parallel. https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/bottom-bracket-tapping-threading-chasing-and-facing

 

[JMac47]

Went and got my frame today!

First impressions are pretty good. Build quality is impressive for the price point. It actually came with a headset - did not know that was included in these framesets, so I cancelled that order. There's a nice chunk of change not spent. These bearings are not sealed, so no telling how long they'll last, but they're in the box so I'm going to use them. Cups are already pressed into the frame too!

Dropouts are a bit less precise than I had imagined

Not that I'm too worried about it. I'm sure everything will click into place as it comes together. But with the adjusters locked all the way back, the axle doesn't want to turn without a good bit of effort.

Got the bottom bracket on too, but not without a bit of drama. This Loctite stuff they put on there kinda threw me off. It's kinda stiff, and I've encountered this stuff before, so I expected some resistance going on. However I mistook the resistance of cross-threading for the resistance of that stuff. Thankfully I was moving slowly and was able to correct with hardly any thread damage - only nicked the first thread, but I still took off a little aluminum.

Which begs the question of why things are done this way. The bottom bracket threads were perfect when I backed it out. The aluminum I took off came from the frame. Why on earth, with all the progress that has been made in bicycles over the years, are manufacturers using softer materials in frames than bottom brackets? WFT over? I've never had one do this, and it scared the crap out of me. Perhaps there was some imperfection in the threads that I did not notice, but in my perfect world, there would be a metallurgical reversal there where the bottom bracket threads will deform before the threads on the frame.

So that was a bit more time than I expected to spend on that. Got to crank assembly after that and realized I'm going to need to go buy a wrench big enough to get the lock ring on the chainring tight so stopping for now. The rest of the stuff I need to get the cockpit done won't be here 'till next Friday anyway and I still don't have a shock. Struck out at the usual suspects LBS today.

I've been playing with this drivetrain a good bit as it's all new to me. What can I say - I'm impressed. It's light years ahead of what I've been using on my almost decade old builds. The drivetrain parts look like they're from outer space. I was showing the crank to my neighbor - went over to see if he had a wrench big enough to get the lock ring on. He noted that the little tool used to get the lock ring on is a good bit heavier than the drive side arm with the chainring on. Attention to detail is outstanding with this stuff. Manufacturing processes and materials, at this price point, are nothing short of amazing.

I think I'm going to see about getting this drivetrain finished up tomorrow. Wish I could work on it more actually - I LOVE this kinda stuff. I'll almost be sad when it's done, but not really because I really wanna ride it! And once I get this bike sorted I'm tearing into a couple others 'cause they need some love. I'll probably be tired of wrenching by the end of that.

I have same frame. What travel did you go with on your fork?

 

[rob feature]

:thumbsup: The dropouts on mine behave just like you describe. If you adjust them with a wheel/hub/thru axle fully installed, there won't be any alignment problems tho.

My frame definitely needed a "chase and face" at the bike shop. It was not horrible, but outer faces were not parallel. https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/bottom-bracket-tapping-threading-chasing-and-facing

Sweet, thanks for that link. I had no idea that was a thing. I figured I'd learn a lot doing this, and have, but never saw that one coming. BB is on and nothing stands out to the eye, but if something feels wonky, that'll be something to check.

Wheels showed up last night. Man, this bike is gonna be stealthy. Beyond the almost blacked out thing, these freehubs are almost dead silent. I really dig it 'cause the hub on my stumpy is stupid loud (Stan's). I do like that folks can hear you coming, but it's a little over the top.

 

[rob feature]

I have same frame. What travel did you go with on your fork?

130

 

[rob feature]

You guys with these Timberjack frames - do the internally-routed cables bang against the inside of the frame that you can tell? Tempted to wrap them in cloth Tesa tape.

 

[eplanajr]

Here's a silly question...

How are you going to stop the thing? Are brakes part of your "group"

 

[rob feature]

Here's a silly question...

How are you going to stop the thing? Are brakes part of your "group"

Figured the ol' shoe between the tire and the frame should get me by

Me keed…yep, part of the group. She's getting SLX binders. They're right here, but still don't have a bar or fork so they're mostly sitting in boxes waiting for the right time. Rear's on though.

Did get my fork ordered today. It should be here next week. LBS actually came through for me there - woohoo! It took a while, but I was able to find a black Marzocchi Bomber Z2, 130mm, 51mm 29er fork. Rest of the cockpit's on the way, but that stuff isn't supposed to be here 'till next Friday. With any luck I might get to ride this thing next weekend!

 

[rob feature]

Aside from a couple small items the parts acquisition is complete - assuming it all gets here. I don't see why it wouldn't. Should have everything here by Friday.

I decided to hold up on a dropper post for a couple reasons. I can't decide if I want a dropper or a suspension post. And I don't know which one of either I would want, so that's just going to wait until later. I've never ridden with either, so I'm not really missing out on a need.

Got the rear built up & all the cables routed through the top tube. The hydraulic line for the rear brake had a little nosepiece on it with holes for string or whatnot. I did not notice this at first and fished it through with a ziptie - which was remarkably easy. But getting the shifter cable through afterward was not so easy. I wound up tying floss through the eye of the hydraulic hose & pushing it back in to bring the shifter housing through first. In hindsight floss on both of these before sticking them through the first hole would make it all easier, but I did not think of this 'till I had them both out the other side.

Zipties were used in the place of the included clips for a couple reasons. IMO they are more secure and allow the cable to play less in the cradle. I made sure they still have a little room to breathe, but they will bounce around less this way and hopefully chafe less...at least in my head. I also found those clips pretty hard to get off without a tool. And that made me think they might be easy to lose, so I went with zipties.

Turns out all the cables and hoses I need were in the kits so saved a few bucks there. I don't like how rigid the shifter cable housing is, but I do get that part affects shifting performance so I'm going to assume whoever put that together knows what they're doing.

I still did not tape the inside of the cables with Tesa tape. It is cloth and if; err no, when moisture gets in there it can get nasty. Might try to find some O-rings to fit around the cable. Might not do anything at all right away as this can be fixed later if it's a problem without too much fuss.

Saddle came today Millenium29erGuy - THANK YOU!!! Feels like it has about the right amount of stuff in all the right places - looking forward to trying this out!

At least at this point I'm really glad I did this instead of buying another off the shelf rig for a few reasons.

1 - if anything is messed up, it's either my fault or I had bad parts (my money's on the former). But I'm reasonably meticulous - especially when I have plenty of time. I've moved away from paying people to work on my stuff in the last couple decades - especially my machines. Aside from the fact that I enjoy it, not everyone is careful and attentive when it comes to working on your stuff. My Stumpy needed many trips back to the shop to fix things that were caused by a novice shop wrench.

2 - when things go wrong on the trail, I have a better idea of how to fix it. I installed and tuned all the components myself. If adjustments need to be made, I'm more comfortable and effective than I would be if someone built this up for me. I'm more likely to be able to get myself back to the truck before sunset.

3 - it's just fun! It's not for everyone, I get it, but I'm going to have a hard time buying off the shelf again. Chances are you aren't getting exactly what you want anyway. Off the shelf builds are almost always compromises. That's how this build evolved. There was no one build kit that I wanted. And doing it the way I did it - replacing parts on a factory build would have been more expensive.

4 - a continuation of the above - it saved me money. I won't bother you with all the details, but the factory XT build in this bike only uses 2 XT parts - rear mech and shifter. If you go through the parts list, it uses several parts 3 or 4 notches down from XT. All things considered I think this will be a much better specced bike for only another 400 bucks. If nothing else, it gets XT wheels where the factory build goes a good bit cheaper. I also don't need to deal with takeoffs when upgrading. I'm totally convinced that going this route actually saved money.

5 - it's unique. As I understand it the only way to get a black Timberjack is to roll your own. All my bikes are black. Why mess with a good thing? . Not sure that's enough reason to sway decisions, but it's kinda neat riding something that probably nobody else around you is riding. Some of the color restrictions actually keep me from buying bikes. I'd probably have an Ice Cream Truck in here if you didn't have to buy it in pink :nono:.

There's probably other stuff, but no regrets. This has been a great experience so far. As fun as it's been, still really wanna ride it though. That's the end game after all, but the learning experience has been awesome.

 

[huckleberry hound]

I decided to hold up on a dropper post for a couple reasons. I can't decide if I want a dropper or a suspension post. And I don't know which one of either I would want, so that's just going to wait until later. I've never ridden with either, so I'm not really missing out on a need.

Why not get both? https://www.pnwcomponents.com/colle...le-trail/products/coast-suspension-dropper-post-external?variant=28488424620109

I haven't tried this but it is a dropper post and suspension post built in together.

If not this I would definitely get a dropper. I have gotten so used to using mine I couldn't imagine riding a MTB without one.

 

[rob feature]

I do love the idea of both. I'm just not sold on the tech. Seems almost too good to be true for the price.

There are a couple/few of these devices running around out there...ran into one yesterday for 800 money units.

Food for thought...

 

[rob feature]

I got as far as possible with the bike last weekend, but it wasn't very far. Was still waiting on maybe half the parts to get here so I tinkered a bit - getting to know this new-to-me drivetrain. I still marvel at the stuff. When I paid $100 for an SLX cassette, it was kind of hard to swallow, but as you look closely at the thing it suddenly seems like a bargain. All the meticulous machining that went into making it makes you wonder how they sell it for a Benjamin. The thing's a work of functional art. If I ever start rapping, I'm wearing one of these around my neck yo.

Not only have I never used tubeless before, but I've never set them up either. I figured - how hard could it really be? So I watched the 15 minute Park video and got after it. Turns out it's FAR easier than I ever imagined. Had the GMBN version playing as I was doing the front. Finished before he got to the part about it making a mess if you don't use a syringe. I didn't spill a drop with the pour in method. These Assguys were a little tough getting the last few licks in, but honestly the Stan's rim on the rear of my Stumpy is harder - way harder. Only needed one lever and the last lip was a little too easy - just getting the last 3 or 4 took some effort.

Figured I was going to need a compressor to get these to seat, but decided to try an inflator first. For those of you who hoarde Milwaukee 12V tools like I do, you need one of these. I use it almost daily.

I didn't buy this for bicycles - bought it to keep in my truck. But tried it out on bike tires and it's just so damn handy it gets used before every ride. No cord to drag around, no unwieldy floor pump that's gonna get worse with time, and I have a thousand batteries for the thing so it just makes sense. And it's cheaper than a lot of floor pumps.

Back to the tires though, this seems to be a good combo of rims and tires for a tubeless setup. Beads both seated almost immediately. Used no soap. Took about 22 psi and they were there! I keep checking on them and although I haven't used a guage, I don't think they've lost any air. Kicking self for not trying this earlier. It's too easy. Long term impressions may vary, but for now I like.

A pretty good idea what it's going to wind up looking like. It's a bit more beastly in person than the photo suggests. These tires are bossy.

It's bigger than I thought it would be...like overall, but I've always liked bigger bikes. And heavier. Weight has never been a big deal for me though. I mean, I can tell the difference when you ditch a few pounds, but that was never the goal here.

I have the droputs set all the way back. Going to ride it like that for a while and see how that works out. Dropout alignment was easier than I thought it would be. I just needed to get everything on and tweak - everything dialed right in.

Going to cut the stem tomorrow, but am leaving the bars at full length until I ride it a couple times. These are about 1.5" longer than the bars I normally ride, but since it's there, I wanna see what I think.

Looking at my parts here, unless something goes sideways tomorrow, I should be able to do some tweaking rides tomorrow and maybe even hit some trails Sunday! Still need to get the cockpit done, brakes bled and drivetrain tuned, but it ain't that far away from done.

So far no regrets on any of this. Unless it's one of those unicorn deals, I don't see myself ever buying a ready to ride rig from a shop again. It's too much fun building. I did lean on shops to get this done though, so no plans to cut them out. I'm glad they're there and am happy to support them.

 

[Millennial29erGuy]

:thumbsup: Nice

 

[rob feature]

I really need to take some pictures, 'cause this one turned out sorta pretty, but I've been spending all my time tinkering & riding.

This got held up a couple weeks waiting on parts, so I just finished the build Monday. Spent a couple days' spare time tuning on the stand, tweaking through neighborhood rides, bedding in the brakes on hills behind the house, etc.

But I finally got to take it for a ride. I chose a long loop (for my current physical condition), about 20 miles of mixed urban terrain of mostly singletrack, but also bike path, stairs, sidewalks, etc...a good variety.

The first thing I noticed was that the factory recommendations for the fork were far too stiff. Let about 15 psi out and found a sweet spot. Once I got that dialed it started feeling gooooooooooood. It feels as good as my Float 34 so far - really impressive. The lockout is better too - super stiff where the Float is just more low speed damping.

The handling in a nutshell is, um, amazing. This has roughly the same wheelbase as my Yeti SB95, but the Yeti corners like a limo in the tight stuff. This bike is flickable - shockingly so. It's not light either. I think I have 5 pounds in tires. But it feels light!

This is my first foray into single ring drivetrains and I think I'm sold. I need to replace the 3x on my Yeti and I'm pretty sure I'm going to mirror what I did here - save the shifter. The SLX shifter feels kinda funny. It shifts well, but feels a little cheesy. Overall though, I'm a believer. I've ridden poorly-adjusted 1x before and was not impressed, but after spending some time dialing this one in, I will probabably stick with a single front ring. This one's rocking a 10 - 51 range and I miss nothing about 20 or 30 speeds.

I could go on all day long about the componentry, but I won't. I'll keep it short & sweet & report that this rig rides like a dream. It inspired me to make some much-needed changes to my squishy bike as well, but this will be the one that sees the most miles - the hardtails always are.

The Stumpy this is replacing is going to get a BBSHD for work and grocery store duty. I have this dream of mostly retiring my gas vehicles and this puts me one step closer.

Pics to follow once I can get off of it long enough to take them, but for now it's just too much fun to ride!

 

[rob feature]

 

[rob feature]

We just broke out of a heatwave, so I haven't ridden as much as I would have liked, but have gotten in 3 good trail rides now. I think the bike is totally dialed, and for the most part it exceeds expectations in every way. It handles like a dream. Cornering is precise and predictable, grip is amazing, feeling very little flex under full power sprints, hardly any room to complain.

I did order a short travel Thudbuster - that should be here today. Even though the larger tires and lower pressures I'm using now help, it's still a hardtail and something to take the bite out of rougher sections is very welcome. I'll use this more than I would use a dropper and it will hopefully result in longer rides. Not sure if I'm going to get to keep this tailbag as I bought the neoprene bootie for the new post - seems like over time it would get a lot of crap in the moving parts considering where it is.

Really enjoying this XT rear hub as well. It has a good bit more engagement points than anything I've owned before. I can see getting spoiled on these. It's reasonably quiet too. Actually this is the quietest bike I've ever owned...unless I get it on the pavement...then it sounds like an ATV.

Fork leaves nothing to be desired either. I'd wondered if I would miss the feel of the twice-as-expensive Fox I've come to love, but so far for my needs it's just as good. There are probably plenty of riders who would disagree, but I'm finding no disadvantages in the Marzocchi unless I'm paying attention to weight - and I'm not. I did peel the stickers off - going for that murdered out thing. Black bikes are faster, ya know

 

[rob feature]

Thought I'd follow up briefly since I've had time to put a few miles on this bike...about 350 give or take. I haven't been up in the mountains on it yet, but have been mostly riding neighborhood trails along creeks/rivers - at which this bike excels.

The 2.5 Assegais make easy work of the sometimes sandy conditions and stay well-planted in the mostly smooth singletrack. I've experimented with pressures from 20 to 35 and think I've found a sweet spot around 25. Any less and they like to roll. More and it gets noticeable quickly. 35 is just out of the question. They take on a whole different character with pressures that high and would only suit me if I were having to run a long stretch of pavement. They just get super bouncy and rigid up there. But at 25, they're almost too sticky. And when they lose traction they tend to do it fairly dramatically, so they've been a learning curve. I love them though - they climb like no tire I've ever used - just plain hook up. I can get out over the bars and not worry about breaking traction in the rear.

Still impressed by the ride over all. It does everything I've asked of it well. It climbs well, corners well, descends well, and is super responsive in every way. It feels lighter than it is. Still think the Marzocchi feels every bit as good as the Float 34 for the type of riding I'm doing.

Glad I did the Thudbuster. That makes a major difference. I did swap the saddle though. The one I started with wound up being a little too small so I pulled an old Serfas gel saddle off my F900 and LOVE it. I'll be glad to pass along that take-off for free if someone wants to pick up shipping.

I do have a couple gripes - this one minor enough. The bolts for the grip clamps on the Spank Spoon grips are rusted. I keep my bikes in the house, in my living space, so the only time they're exposed to the elements are washing and riding. I've never ridden this bike in the rain, so this rust has developed over the course of a handful of washes. It's only on the bolts, but rust on my bikes rubs me the wrong way. I'm going to assume that shortcuts were taken with the rest of the grips and replace these soon.

A much bigger gripe is the XT rear mech

I haven't ridden this bike hard and haven't gotten it wet save a few washes (sans soap) and the rear mech is about useless now. The clutch is sticking. Folks in another thread here were kind enough to offer some remedies, so I'm going to play doctor before sending it back as I don't want to go without for weeks. But this was a pretty big disappointment. I can limp around on it now, but it's dangerous as is - just stops working and lets the chain go slack whenever it gets good & ready. Not so sure I like this whole clutch thing, but supposedly I can get this thing cleaned up and greased properly and it will work if the internals are not corroded. We'll see.

I'm super impressed with the build otherwise. I think it's going to serve me well for years to come and at this point am not finding too many other problems that I need to solve. In addition to being fast, this bike's a bit of a battletank and just eats up everything I throw at it without complaint. Save the rear mech, it has been everything I wanted of it and more. It's just been a great all-rounder & makes me question the need for a full-suspension rig (not that a need is needed )