[Davide]

i just bought a scandium frame and i am considering polishing it. is anybody aware any problems with polishing scandium? I will had a protective clear coat after removing the paint and polishing the frame

 

[top_ring]

There are no problems related to polishing a frame. However, you have to be careful not to use to much grinding force... especially electric tool force. The aluminum tubes are very thin walled as are all scandium additive frames. Too much force in one area would compromise the integrity. You don`t want to take off material - just paint.

What I would do - have it chemically dipped to remove the paint (it`s cheap) and then buff and hand polish. BTW - I own this frame also. It`s a nice plush ride.

 

[Davide]

There are no problems related to polishing a frame. However, you have to be careful not to use to much grinding force... especially electric tool force. The aluminum tubes are very thin walled as are all scandium additive frames. Too much force in one area would compromise the integrity. You don`t want to take off material - just paint.

What I would do - have it chemically dipped to remove the paint (it`s cheap) and then buff and hand polish. BTW - I own this frame also. It`s a nice plush ride.

yes, i was thinking to first remove the paint and then polish using a buffer with maybe just tripoli compound ... maybe just to be safe i'll do it by hand instead of using my electric polisher ...

I am eager to try the kona, i want to set it up as a fast city bike with a rigid aluminum or titanium fork + occasional off road with a vanilla! with the rigid fork sub-20 is easily achieved starting with a 3 pounds frame!

 

[top_ring]

Hey Davide - I think it was you? In a past post you talked about a Sram Quarz r. derailleur. How did that work out for you? I have the opportunity to buy one (green pulleys). How do you tell if it`s a D.I.R.T. model? And are there any problems with shifting using Shimano XTR triggers? Thanks.

 

[Davide]

quartz

Hey Davide - I think it was you? In a past post you talked about a Sram Quarz r. derailleur. How did that work out for you? I have the opportunity to buy one (green pulleys). How do you tell if it`s a D.I.R.T. model? And are there any problems with shifting using Shimano XTR triggers? Thanks.

The Sram http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=9929 is working perfectly after 1 year of heavy use, it is still the best der i ever had certanly beats xtr: effortless and very precise. It is bit hard to tell if they are trying to sell you a quartz or dirt because even retailer have often the wrong photos in the web. I never held a quartz in my hands but the quartz should look more compact and silver instead of black bodied like the dirt (i think, gee this does not help much) ... i think both should be compatible with shimano shifters ( i am using sachs shifters ) since this is from before the sram 1-1 pull ratio stuff

 

[top_ring]

Just to be sure...

I thought I`d let you see a photo. Is this the DIRT model? And it WILL work with trigger shifters right... NOT grip shift?

 

[Davide]

I thought I`d let you see a photo. Is this the DIRT model? And it WILL work with trigger shifters right... NOT grip shift?

yeo, that is the one you want. It will work with any sram pre 2002 and any shimano triggerm

 

[Max]

this is a 1999 model, back fron the days when sram bought sachs, relabelled the dirt RDs as "Sram Plasma/Quartz" instead of "Sachs Plasma/Quartz"

@Davide: this RD will work with any 2:1 ration gear shifter such as shi(t)mano shifters or SRAM attack/rocket twisties. but if you say it will work with any pre-2002 sram shifters, you'Re wrong. i have sram ESP twisties from 1999, which are definately 1:1 (to work with Sram 7.0/9.0/9.0 SL rear derailleurs)

or is it possible to change the Plasma/Quartz RDs from 2:1 to 1:1 ???

 

[Davide]

this is a 1999 model, back fron the days when sram bought sachs, relabelled the dirt RDs as "Sram Plasma/Quartz" instead of "Sachs Plasma/Quartz"

@Davide: this RD will work with any 2:1 ration gear shifter such as shi(t)mano shifters or SRAM attack/rocket twisties. but if you say it will work with any pre-2002 sram shifters, you'Re wrong. i have sram ESP twisties from 1999, which are definately 1:1 (to work with Sram 7.0/9.0/9.0 SL rear derailleurs)

or is it possible to change the Plasma/Quartz RDs from 2:1 to 1:1 ???

no you are right, i got my dates wrong, i thought sram switched to 1:1 in 2002 instead of as you say in 1999 ... time passes faster than ones mind and no you cannot change the sachs/quartz to 1:1 (not that i am aware of)