Dumbest Move Ever - Wrong Hub Fully Built into Wrong Wheel - XT M8010 vs M8110

So I finished the wheel, new spokes, new nipples, nice and true, tape on rim, tire back on, tubeless fluid injected, tested with weight and rolled on the Hightower, installed the brake rotor with the center-lock adapter.

ONLY THEN did I unpackaged the 10x51 SLX microspline cassette and found, hmmm, it does not fit?!

In my defense, the 11s did not look like 11s, very low profile nobs, to the point the cassette would
almost fit - just the very end is different.

I then went to the box, and noticed "11s". Really? Checked the number against the proper number, M8010 is not equal to M8100....arg!

Does the option even exist? Yes, confirmed on Worldwide Cyclery, right there, right next to the 12 speed micro spline hub.

Maybe I can reuse the spokes?

No, flanges are 60/61 vs 44/45.

ARG!

2 choices

1) new spokes, replace hub if possible

2) just keep it - the thought of destroying an otherwise newly rebuild wheel kills me -  return all the OTHER 12 speed (+250) and just keep running 11speed, with the boost hub and new nips as the "improvement". Get another 11s drivetrain for M's bike.

other lesser options
a) sell the wheel, start over, get another rim and proper hub


Going to sleep on it. Such a dumb and unlucky move. I mean, even the fluid is inside it, arg!!

The Perfect SF East Bay MTB Setup? Scott 29er Scale Expert "TRAIL"

I still have my first 29er, a XC race oriented 2011-12? Scott Scale Expert I picked up off Ebay on a deal in 2012. It brought me back to MTB big time, blowing my mind with the speed and the comfort of riding a bike that my 6'3" frame actually fit.

After the 2015 High Cascades 100 endurance race, I got into trail MTB as a means to improve my bike handling and descending skills. Previous to High Cascades, the modifications to the Scott were
mostly for for speed - tubeless wheel set, XT brakeset, Thompson Carbon race bar, and the Maxxis 2.25 Ardent to protect me from the shale in Bend.

Since then the conversion towards trail has continued - 34.6mm 125mm drop RockShox Reverb Dropper, 1x11 chainring, 11 speed shifter and derailleur, 180mm front disk, front fender, 800mm flat bar w/Diety grips

and this weekend the finishing touch, a Minion 2.3 DHF front tire. And today it all came together!

Fast on the flats, climbs like crazy, more ground clearance than the slacker bikes in the fleet (Scout 290 and SC Hightower), and now sticky front end. And it's light/easy to throw around.

Its only 100mm front-end travel (but note its not maxed out above), but clippless XT pedals and steep geometry, longer stem, it has that speedy race twitchiness missing from the others in the fleet. Remember, I went "Trail" to improve my XC.

Could this be the perfect MTB for the East Bay?

The FOX 34 CTD Fork (2014) Maintenance and Seal Replacement Mission!

Finding or building a cardboard box to ship the ailing Fox 34 fork to Fox so they can charge me $175 for basic service has been low priority, and tougher than clicking on Amazon to send me the elusive Fox 20wt Oil. Turns out the vendor via Amazon is now "Worldwide Cyclery", a rather aggressive/ambitious online bike + YouTube shop I will be mentioning in the next posts.
The fluid arrived in Prime time as promised (note my disclaimer at the bottom of all my pages - click the link I get a spiff) and all I needed was a window, which arrived last night, after dark, in the bike shed.

1. Video 1: Before shed time, I warmed up with a few YouTube clips. The first was an older GMBN one specific to a fork similar to mine. Seals were NOT covered here, but the basic steps and actual hints to the mess are apparent. His fork is way too clean too.
2. Video 2: While actually elbow deep into the destruction of my fork, I managed to pull this older video up, which focused more on the necessary CLEANING necessary - a long wooden dole is highly recommended! I lacked any handy wooden options, and ended up using an old $150 Thompson Carbon flat bar as my rag-plunger. If you want to go that way, pick one up here ;)

I went to Home Depot to grab some Nitrile Gloves, sorta like this "one size fits most" - next time I will go for some sizing options.
I also looked for some isopropyl alcohol in a sprayer, or this elusive "brake cleaner" always mentioned in the Youtubers. I have 70% medical stuff, but I want the good stuff. I shopped Home Depot's WD-40 collection, and reading the hazards online and on the product, chose this rather than the available brake cleaners and degreasers offering acetone, which I know is nasty.


SO an outline of my experiences, with some pics and links to product.

• My old floor mounted Park Tool work stand with the tiny round-tube grab - which stinks for all the modern carbon shapes - was an awesome holder for the fork while working on it.
• I did not have the tool(s) to punch off the airshaft, as in video 1. So I partially screwed the bolts on each chamber, and using the socket as a punch, tapped with my big rubber mallet. No real progress.
• Video 2 was much better, using metal on  the metal and a real hammer and a tap is all it took in the end - after scarring the finish on the bolts from the sockets, of course.
• This is a MESSY business. I bitch about my Stan's Bubble Baths during tubeless installs and bleeding Shimano Brakes/spraying Mineral Oil, but doing shocks is the worst - nasty stuff coming out 2 sides at once. 
• Lots of paper towels, attempts at the degreaser and my 70% medical Isopropyl - the gloves were indispensable, but even with gloves I was touching stuff all over. Clearly I need more practice.
• I had some cloth rags (cut up an old Banana Republic dress shirt) and the aforementioned handlebar to reach into the tubes to clean out the insides as per Video 2.
• Is my fork damaged? The Kashima Coating looks like its been worn a bit thin on the exposed stanchions
• The sweeps were filthy, the seals a little less so, but I might be too late to save the fork(?)
• Installing the new sweeps, after installing the seals, was easy as per the videos.
• Unlike videos 1 or 2 above, the oil dripping from MY FORK was of 2 different colors - yellowish on the damper side, and blue on the air side. I did see the blue "float" oil from the air chamber a few weeks back but only from the top, which I did NOT remove for this service.
• Did someone build or service this backwards at some point? (I thought it was NOS when I purchased)
• OR is something broken?
• REMOVING the seals required a little more force than Video 2 indicates. I also only had a 17mm open-spanner, vs the 19mm, and my fork is a 34 vs a 32 maybe?
• The metal springs popped out first.
• When trying to use pliers, I tore the top of the old seals.
• INSTALLING the new seals was tough too without the magic tool. Black rubber mallet was employed, I hope without too much damage.
  
• The crush washers from the kit worked great. The kit: 
• I soaked my new "sweeps" as per instructed, but I did not clean them in time as I started video 2 part way in.
• After much cleaning of the lowers and the floor and the tools (seriously, just messy), INJECTING the Fox 20wt Oil went smoothly too. I used these syringes, sucking up the remaining oil from the plastic container pictured above used to soak the seals.
• These syringes are ONLY 20ml, my forks required 30cc each side of the fork as per the FOX Bath Oil Volume Chart
• a larger syringe would be smoother, though I worked in 10ml gulps to slurp all the oil from my plastic bin
• again, I had blue "float oil" I presume, dripping out.
• My fork 4 digit code is CL7M, found here: 
• I have a 5cc of the Fox Float oil I purchased for this job. The chart indicates I can take 30cc- I assume this goes into the air chamber ABOVE - which seems HUGE, and expensive to get nearly this much in there
• I might add my 5cc to act as a volume spacer, which got me into this mess in the first place!
• AND after putting it all back together, the best part - the test ride!
• The night ride at 1 am showed lots of oil all over the Kashima - made me nervous, all leaky?
• This am, I zipped on the fender, adjusted brake, and I hit the road and then dirt. No black gook, they did feel the same and nearly bottomed out as per the "fun meter"
  

Replacing Dead Garmin 500 - Wahoo Reflkt + Tickr + iPhone SE. NO NO NO...

I purchased a new-old-stock Wahoo Reflkt off Ebay for about $30, and ordered a $50 Wahoo Tickr heart rate strap from AmazonThe goal is/was to connect the Wahoo parts to my iPhone SE via Bluetooth - I ride with my phone anyway, so why not leverage it all through the phone?

NO NO NO, its too much and too complicated. The Wahoo Reflkt is a bit "old" and of low quality compared to the full Wahoo head-units as well, and the Wahoo app is a bit much too - involving the phone in ride set up is a drag.

When I ordered the Tickr, I had also ordered the Garmin Forerunner 235, and being a watch-guy, I strapped it on and haven't really looked back - see my review here and pick one up if your old Garmin cycling computer dies on you. I am returning the Tickr un-opened, I'll maybe buy one if my Garmin strap dies/goes missing maybe.

I am not quite sure what to do with the REFLKT - maybe it can live on the road bike, but then I'd be riding with iPhone SE, Reflkt, Forerunner 235, HR strap, Speed/Cadence. I did try to see if the Forerunner would sync with the Reflkt, imagining a second screen for the watch might be okay, keep my eyes on the road/etc, but no dice. Involving the phone IS a bigger pain in the butt than I imagined, but is now confirmed.

Hit me up if you want a good deal on a Reflkt!

Replacing My Garmin 500 with a Garmin Forerunner 235 - a Review

Garmin Forerunner 235 vs Garmin 500

As mentioned previously on the blog, my Garmin 500 recently died, after breaking in half, being glued and then filling up with water in Downieville.

Dropping $300+ for a dedicated cycling GPS computer didn't feel right - I am cheap, the mounts all changed anyway and even though it would be cool, I don't need to enumerate my hang-time or "flow". A fan of GMBN, I checked out the watches they are promoting, the newest big flashy Garmin Fenix varieties. I run when I don't ride, and using my 500 with a watch strap was a bit silly. I am a watch guy anyway so maybe this is the way to go -- until I see the $500-800 prices. Wha?

As I read about GPS watches, the reviews and comments from long term users indicated to me the best value right be the Garmin Forerunner 235. Confirming it would sync with my existing Garmin heart-rate strap and speed/cadence on the road bike, I ordered one for under $200 - above now I see its under $195, the deal keeps getting better.
Having the watch for the last 2 or 3 weeks now, I can report its been really good. Its lighter than its size indicates, the built in heart-rate monitor is pretty solid, the display is large and easy for my aging eyes to read, and the integration with my iPhone SE is solid - I get notifications that come through better than on my aging Pebble Steel. I like the wireless synchronization too, a big improvement over the Garmin 500's mini-USB port. The battery life is okay too, but I find myself over-charging it with the alligator-like USB jaws.

My only gripe - where is the temperature? Maybe on the wrist this is not accurate enough to worry about? Looks like there is an add-on, the "Tempe"

 A second more minor gripe is the uncertainty of when its using my heart-rate strap vs the built-in - when my strap is on, I'd prefer it to fail over/use it.

Otherwise, its all good. We will watch the watch's durability and note any issues as we go along - hope its waterproof :)

Fixing Stripped Shimano XT M8000 Crankset Bolts

Anyone else have a problem with Torx-headed bolts? And their XT cranks? I recall 4 or 5 years ago torquing the shiny 30t chainring, maybe with a little cross-threading, thinking "this will be a bitch to
take off someday".


"Someday" was about 3 years later, the desire was to swap out the chainring for a new one due to wear. And it was a bitch and a half. 2 bolts came out with the torx as desired, the other 2 stripped in short order.  I attempted to use the Dremel
  to cut in a notch for a flathead, also failed. Looking
recently at the damage, I might have used a hacksaw too in my rage to cut the bolt.

Anyway, the result was me getting really pissed at the poor design, and bolts in general, so I went and picked up a Raceface Affect  crankset with Cinch and a pretty blue 30t Raceface  chainring. I put the M8000 damaged crank on the shelf and sort of glowered at it for the last year or so. Ongoing loosening issues with the Race Face and its backwards design, and now the need for a 1x solution for M's NS Bike had be looking for resurrection.


SO repair and rethreading the damaged hole(s) became the next approach.
First I bought a big tool and tap set, the best/highest recommended I could muster on Amazon - this one . Its a nice set for being so obviously Chinese and cheap, BUT its missing the M8 x 0.75 threading tool I needed. SO I also had to order one of these too
I used the handle from the first set to hold the plain tool. All tooled up, I had to do a little more drilling, some more tapping (ie screwing the above tool into the damaged hole.

Next problem? I tapped too much, so the threads closest to the hold opening were no longer gripping the existing bolt collection. I took out the spanner to measure 10-11mm bolt, so I would look for something longer.

I ordered some of these original Shimano 11mm Torx bolts,
and finally, THESE 12.4 mm by RaceFace,
which have the awesome property of NOT being Torx, just plain old hex, with little "Race Face" fonts wrapping the head like a tiny hotrod mag tire from a 70's Hotwheel car. Next to each other, they look identical in length but the effective length of the Race Face has them acting a little longer, biting earlier/deeper. Is that even a term, "biting"?

Anyway they seem to be long enough to reach, in one hole even too long (might be time to tap that hole too!) so I am now running 3x Raceface 5mm Hex and +1 original Torx 25.

SO the runway is clear to shop for a 12 speed 30t chainring, 96BCD or Cinch...

NSBike Project, Fox on the Nukeproof, Chainline Boost Rebuild

Constantly falling behind the Blog.

The Rockshox has been rocking the Hightower, its staying on for now.

I did fully install the Fox 34 CTD on the Nukeproof hardtail for a ride - it was okay, but lots of black
gook all over the stanchions. I need to find/build a box to ship these to the service center, not sure
its worth the $175+ unless I *CAN* upgrade the internals.  Need to tighten the cassette.

The 46t on the Hightower has been good, but I find myself holding the lever under power to keep that
46t engaged. The problem is chainline - its a 142mm with a Boost adapter to 148. The disc side has an adapter to to properly reposition the disk 3mm outboard, BUT the cassette has no such compensation. The fix is to get a Boost hub, new spokes, rebuild the rim, etc. IF I bother, do I go 12sp SLX/XT on a wheel rebuild? The bike rode well today, maybe back burner this one until there is a problem.

Problem could be the NSBike - it needs a rear mech. I also will be trying to fix the damaged threads/complete the bolt removal from the 1 x XT M8000, which would also be used for the NSBike. Using a new 11sp would be such a waste...(looking for 12sp justification already).

Downieville 2019 - Too Much Time in a Bike Shop, Awesome Minion DHF, Dying Garmin Gone Deader

Just back from my 2019 Downieville camping and riding tour. Good times, some amazing riding.

We managed 2 runs, day 3 we bailed due to possible snow and rain at the top.

Tracking hardware and maintenance here, I had way too much time waiting to load shuttles at Yuba Expeditions.

Picked up a new Volt Comp 142mm with custom "Downieville Classic" texture and paint, no more torn cover tearing at my holy shorts collection.

Next, I noticed the cool little on-trail tire plug kits on the rack. One of these for $45. AND my leaking water bladder was killing me too, dripping all over my bag.

Checking over my bag with 30 minutes left, my road-kill Leatherman was found to be siezed up, and I have not apparently been riding with a multi-tool in my bag.

New saddle, new bladder and new tire-plugging tool, off we went.

Minion DHF on the front with one adjustment to drop some pressure and the Hightower was awesome in the dry on Day 1 and wet baby heads on Day 2.

Good Choice - Swap vs Maintenance

So it looks like the swap strategy was the best for me, given the short time and skills available for the DIY maintenance approach:

Rockshox Pike RCT3 on the Hightower - tuning time!

The Pike got a test this am, and from the indicator, full travel was not achieved.

Not a surprise, as this fork has 2 volume spacers installed. Dare I remove 1 and try again?

Fork Maintenance My Way: The Swap!

Given the bad luck I have had understanding my Fox 34 FIT CTD 2014 140mm fork the past few weeks, I glumly tried to order the parts for a lower form maintenance.

Fox 20wt oil, a graduated syringe, a set actually, and a new SKS sweeps and seal kit for 34mm forks.

I watched YouTube of Fox mechanics unbolting the lowers and cleverly using hammers to break loose the lower legs of what I hope is close to my fork. I read charts on the levels of fluid I need to add for my exact fork, confused over the 20wt gold and something called "Fox Float Fluid" sold in pillows. Okay, so order one of those too.

The seals arrive Monday, giving me 2 days to actually do the work. I imagine myself Tuesday midnight learning the next lesson in the Fox fork game. Enough!

I got up and went to measure the length of the trusty Rockshox Pike RCT3 140mm 46mm offset (huh?) on my son's Scout 290. 180, no 190 mm, maybe 5 mm shorter than the Fox. Also, this fork is newer, works with plastic (vs oil) volume spacers and has 35mm stations, which is more than 34mm. SOLD, we are gonna swap em!

So tonight, I did the deed. Smooth transplant accept for getting the Cane Creek headset bearing race off the Fox, the Rubber mallet again proved its worth.

The resulting Hightower - besides steerer length, the color is good!

And the Scout, with the Fork sorta on but cable not committed:

After Downieville, I will build a box to send the Fox to Sparks Nevada, unless I decide to acquire more Pike's in my life.

I'll do a test on dirt in the AM - hopefully I will enjoy the results and worry about the non-riding bits of the upcoming trip - woohoo!

Nukeproof Scout Framesets at Chain Reaction! Got a 26" NS Bikes Frame for M Upgrade

Arg, prompted by daily Chain Reaction spam, I browsed the Scout 290 (29er) hardtail frame sets - so tempted to pick up an XL, cannot justify it - got one already. Go pick one up, I highly recommend it.

I asked M if he could fit Z's - maybe M could get the Large, and I put Z on the XL so we can "share" that one too. Z's bike is my favorite of the fleet, it always puts a smile on my face, and it inspired the Hightower which has been a struggle to relate.

M's little Trek is loaded with sweet parts. Wheels we hand built together, nice SLX brakes, etc. I've been shopping for a 26 frames upgrade that's a bit larger. CR had a deal on a NS Bikes sized Medium AL frame for $169 that I could not refuse, we will see how that might work (or not). The frames looks to be all QR too.

Hightower gets a 46t, new chain and cable housing + cable

As in the title, the prep on Santa Creme the Hightower continues.

The best "deal" I got on SLX chain and cassette was from REI - better than Amazon. I went SLX after not seeing a big weight advantage with XT, and in fact there exist forum chains claiming to GO SLX all the way, and spend money on the SHIFTER, XTR if possible. Hmm.

Also, to match the weight of XT, use the XT cassette binding/threaded ring. Done!

The next issue was making sure my 11speed XT could run the big 46t gear. Barely, so barely, I was
losing the tiny gear or the 46t when adjusting the B-screw. Then it seemed to actually be the tension.
After much struggling, I noticed the housing sort of jumping out of the shifter, on a mangled metal furrel. Doh!

I got to Sports Basement just before closing to get a new housing and cable, slapped it in to make the Saturday early AM ride. Worked so well that I forgot I had upgraded until I got to the trailhead.

46t was sweet, I almost made it up JM's nasty "Big Trees" climb, the closest in years. The cable did get pulled/fell out somewhere down Chaparrel, requiring a stop, tool unpack, and even reading glasses from the backpack, but overall, a success.

The Fox 34 left all sorts of black gooeyness on the "Kashima" coating, hope it survives Downieville. Maybe swap out Z's Pike for the trip?

Fox 34 pre 2016 don't use volume spacers

I finally got all the 28mm Fox socket to open up my Fox 34 CTD FIT so I could add my collection
of Fox 34 volume spacers, and....no where to connect the spacers!

Nice smooth top, no way to connect. Looking into the left fork-leg and a reflecting pool of oil stared back. Hmm.

Internet, and I found pictures of the "Top Cap" air assembly for 32's that were hacked for spacers, but reading I finally found other clods like myself who were surprised to learn that volume spacers were NOT for their forks. We get to use OIL. Not sure I want to get into that.

So the excellent Fox site and plugged in my fork ID and its a 2014, and oh, there is an upgrade
to 2016 internals that maybe take air spacers? I can't find the part online/out of stock, so I sign up for an "RA" from Fox. I get a number, and go back and forth asking about a quote on that upgrade, which is supposed to be a sweet deal.

Downieville is next week, out of time, maybe after.

Lesson is, I should have started with Fox first, maybe 2 months ago :)

Fox 34 Air Volume Spacer Upgrade!

After realizing the awesomeness inside the Pike RCT on Z's bike, I decided to review the theory of  volume spacers with Dotty at GMBN

Missing from my toolkit for the Fox 34 is the 26mm socket - ordered the nice one from Park here
Assuming no spacers are in my Fox 34, I ordered 2x spacers for the fork - sold by Worldwide Cyclery via Amazon Looking forward to tuning the Fox up - adding rebound has helped, and the spacers should keep me from bottoming it out/add some subtleness to the ride I am missing.

Fearing the Bonk, and Setting Rebound on the Hightower

I slept in Saturday, fearing the bonk and wasted day of recovery I experienced last Saturday on the Norris Canyon loop from Danville Peets.

This left energy for the afternoon family MTB ride at Stafford Bike Park on Sunday. Some jumps, some optimization of effort to use the Midpoint cutoff to the Kid's Flow Trail - gets me to the good jumps.


I've been getting along better with the Hightower, now that I have been trying to tune the suspension -  the secret has been REBOUND. Increasing this front and rear has made the bike come alive. I took Z's Nukeproof Scout for a spin on the jumps, its a nice comparison.

Speaking of the Scout, the Rockshock Pike continues to amaze. I bled off the air and opened up the chamber to find 2 volume tokens in place, maybe explaining the subtle, amazing handling and fun of that bike. So I added another token.
I then tried to open up my Fox 34 on the Hightower, but was unable to open the airchamber to peek inside because I lack a 28+mm socket. Maybe I should put the Pike on the Hightower.

Psyched by the afternoon at Stafford Lake, I woke up ready to face the road bike again on Labor Day with a 50 mile Zoo Loop:

State of the Fleet 2019

Its been a time since the last update. New house, new bikes arrived, old bikes have left. Ankles have been broken, and healed. Time Passes.

The Focus is gone, traded to my neighbor for yard work assistance. Not a bad deal, as the bike was hurting my back every time I got on it.

The Ridley Fenix disk is now the main road bike. Parts moved from the FM166, carbon wheels and all. Solid and prettier than the Chinese fantastic.

Niner Carbon RDO is SOLD, the frame at least, its parts moved to a Santa Cruz Hightower Carbon C frameset. The Hightower is proving almost too much bike, lots of pedal strikes, but capable of warp-speeds when pointed downhill. Hello Downieville! (see Sept)

That FM166 - a frameset for a while, stripped for the Fenix upgrade after a tangle with CJ, is now a fast commuter with Shimano Saint flat pedals. I rebuilt this rig from spare parts, mostly from the Scott 29er cast offs. I traded Jiro a 26er front wheel for a saddle, and bought a Deity seat clamp, otherwise all recycled. Running old 28's that barely clear the front fork.

Oh, the Scott 29er is still here, and will remain as long as the Hightower is in the house. The contrast is necessary, no required, with a big slow MTB. The Scott has a dropper, a 34.9 Rockshox Reverb, the only native size to fit. The bike is still my "original 29er" rig, still fast, solid and my favorite bike park rig.

The CX, "Old Blue", Raleigh RCX Pro, finally got gears. The Genevalle shifter mod for the TRP Disc brakes finally showed up, allowing me to install a 10 Speed Shimano XT rear derailler on the DT Swiss hubs from the Scott 29er. The WTB Cross Boss 35mm tires have been a nightmare between brief moments of awesome - leaky, crooked, leaky again, they do not like to hold air. 3 has been enough, the WTB guy promised to send me a replacement that never showed. Trying some Schwalbe X-Ones at the moment, but have not tried to make them tubeless yet.

A Nukeproof Scout 290 is the most pleasant surprise - a slacker hardtail built for my son's use, it is a hoot to ride, just defines the word "rowdy". Every ride has been a revelation, the joy it brought inspired the equally slack Hightower. The Big 170mm One-Up dropper is awesome, the seat just goes away.

I am back to The Fleet in order to document and advise, to see if its something I want to re-focus and invest more time in. Part of this will be trying to sign up as an Amazon Affiliate, to highlight the myriad of products I use and so you can easily order, review or debate me on.