Race Face Ride XC...hmmmm

So I received the Race Face Ride XC crank the other day. It seemed like a lightweight crank when I first got it out of the box, and seemed well put together. Following the instructions, I installed it on the bike, and took it for a spin around the block. The first thing I noticed, this crank was NOISY! It chattered and clicked like crazy- the chainrings did not match up to the settings I had on my Deore, and the chain rubbed noisily on the front derailleur. I thought that messing around with the derailleur would help matters, but the noise persisted. I noticed the worst noise on the largest chainring, and it was unbearable.
I was so disppointed in the crank, I sent it back to Jenson USA today for a refund. I guess I shouldn't have expected much for an $80 setup.
I put my Deore back on; night and day difference in quality for sure. I think from now on I won't plan on spending any less than $150 for a crank- or at least stick with the higher end Shimano setups.

Test ride-moderate success...

So the other day I hit the local Wilderness Park Trail in North Tampa with the new ride. I immediately noticed how incredible this FSR suspension is...wow! The bike soaked up some bumps without any issues, and rode amazing. I can best describe it the way I read in another internet blog: " picture any other suspension like a Hyundai- the FSR suspension is like a Cadillac". I noted that it's better to stay in the seat on this bike, as opposed to the Trek, where I needed to be off the seat to help the bumps soak up.
So, after about 15 minutes of riding, the left crankarm falls off. Fortunately, I brought my allen wrench keys with me, and I promptly re-fastened it. I continued on without a hitch down an entire trail, when BAM, it falls off again. Not good. Something is definitely wrong here. I noticed that it appeared as if there was not enough space on the through-tube of the right arm to fasten the left one...I started thinking that I had the wrong size bottom bracket on the bike. This issue happened 5 more times until I finally limped the bike (as the sun had already set) to the parking lot.
Sure enough, when I got home I measured the BB width of the Trek- 68mm. The KHS was 73mm... oops. And, I left the spacers in when I installed the BB on the KHS...so, I removed the spacer on the non-driveline side and-viola... it looked like it was fixed.
To be on the safe side, I have ordered a Race Face Ride X crankset and BB from Jenson USA. It appears as if the splines on my Shimano have been toasted. I am not sure what effect this will have on my riding, but I will soon find out. At least I know that my BB shell is a larger size. Oh well, you live and you learn...

BUILD-DONE

Just picked up my bike from the shop- the guys at Suncoast Trailside Bikes in Odessa Florida hooked me up right with some new cables and squared away the adjustments for me. The bike rides plush on the pavement- tomorrow I am going to hit a local trail and give it a good break-in.

BUILD-Almost done!

Well, here's my Fuel after most of the major parts have been removed. the seatpost is the same size on teh Trek as on the KHS, so tat easily slid into it's place. I started by putting the rear derailleur hanger on the KHS, mounting the rear derailleur, and taking all the levers and disc brake assemblies off the Trek. I then tried to figure out how to place all the cables-and realized I was screwed. The cable routing guides on the KHS are completely different than the Trek. After a lot of cutting and messing around, I decided to skip this step until I could get some more information. There was a cable guide that was on the Trek that bolted to the bottom bracket and routed the front derailleur cable to it's spot- that bolt wouldn't fit the KHS, and it sure didn't look right even when I test-fitted it. Crap. Oh well. I went on to the other parts- front fork and stem/bars were next.
I took the original Bontrager Race components off my 4300 Hardtail- the bar and stem. These things were originally on the Fuel, but I didn't like how the bars forced me to hunch over too much, so I swapped them with the Bontrager Select equipment on my hardtail. I noticed after replacing my fork on the Fuel with the SUPER lightweight SID fork, that there was hardly any front wheel weight-very rough on climbing, since the front end lifts up when you go up hills and hit obstacles. Furthermore, the front wheel tends to wash out more on turns unless you lean way over the bars and put weight on it. So this swap should improve handling for the type of riding I do with this bike. Plus, the "Race" bars and stem is a lot more beefy than the Select equipment.
Forks on! If you recall the SID forks when they were on my Fuel, you'd remember they were red- well, thanks to Rock Shox thinking ahead, they provided multi-colored decal sets with the fork- so I decided to put silver decals on to match the bike's motif. Looks pretty OEM, if you ask me!
Almost done. I am putting the clipless Shimano SPD's on the cranks, and you can see all the zipties poking out where I temporarily attached the cables to the frame. This bike has a couple inch longer wheelbase compared to the Trek, which makes it ideal for downhill runs. Bike looks kick ass.
Due to all the issues I had with the cables, I decided to take the bike to a local shop to have them set it up properly. I dropped it off today, and plan on getting it back tomorrow. If all goes right, I will be doing a test run with it tomorrow.

BIKE BUILD PART 3

It finally arrived!! Bob's Bicycles finally got the frame to me- actually, I am a pretty impatient bastard and it only took a week to get out here from the day I ordered it. They were pretty quick on the shipping. The frame is very lightweight. I took it out of the box and checked it out- it appeared to have some minor differences in cable routing when compared to the Trek (which would prove to be an issue later- more on that to come).
The XCT 555 comes with a Rock Shox Monarch 2.1 shock. The shock has a external rebound adjustment, but no gate adjustment like I have on the 3.1. I decided to leave this shock on until I get a chance to test it. If it doesn't perform the way I want, I may swap out the shock from my Fuel as well. I like the fact this Monarch has a sag setting guide on the side of the shock- this makes it easy to determine sag and properly set the shock.

The bike uses the four-bar Horst link suspension, which is nicknamed "FSR" by Specialized. This suspension is supposed to be amazing at reducing pedal bob and suspension flex. This bike has 5.5 inches of rear wheel travel- plenty for the type of riding I do.
This frame looks like it is put together real well. The welds appear strong, and the bike looks like it's going to be real sweet once I get it together.

BUILD PART TWO

I started the teardown of my Trek Fuel today, beginning with the cranks and bottom bracket. This was actually pretty simple, whereas I initially saw it as being the most difficult part.
Once I took the crankarms off, it was a simple matter of using the right tool to unscrew the bracket cups. I had to buy a special tool at the local shop in order to do this; the kit I had didn't contain the right equipment.
Here is the bottom bracket. It's still in excellent condition.
Here's the Shimano Deore crank/ chainrings. Very lightweight.

I plan on using these Shimano SPD clipless pedals on the KHS- this bike is going to be all mountain.
I started to work on the chain- the cheapo chain tool I had broke while I was trying to break the chain. Unreal. I have to go buy another one, and I am going to swap out the chain with a SRAM chain with a Powerlink for easy removal.

KHS XCT555 BUILD (PART ONE)

Since I have been very involved in mountain biking for over a year now, I made a decision that I was going to build my own mountain bike.
I purchased my first full suspension bike in January of this year, the Trek Fuel EX6. It has given me some minor issues, but for the most part the frame has held up. The Fuel was purchased #1 because it was inexpensive ($800 because it was a 2 year old model) and because it was FS. I wanted another full suspension (FS) bike, one that has more rear travel and was slightly lighter. The Fuel's frame alone weighs in at roughly 8.5 pounds, which puts in in a moderately heavy category. I did some hunting for the past months, and I managed to find a frame that received good reviews, and looked a lot nicer than the Trek...quite frankly, the red color of the Trek is a little outdated- I like my bikes to be black or silver.
The KHS XCT555 frame weighs in at 7 pounds, shaving off some minor weight. It also has 5.5 inches of rear travel, opposed to the Trek's 4.0". The full bike has been tested and reviewed in Mountain Bike Action magazine, and a fully equipped KHS runs around $1600. It has been given very positive reviews.
So, the frame is on order, and is on its way to me. I'll be posting the build as I progress. Keep in mind, I have never done anything like this before, so this is going to be a new experience for me. I have decided to cannibalize the parts from the Fuel and swap them onto the KHS to keep the cost minimal. I am assuming that all the parts are interchangeable... if they are not, I will be selling this frame on EBay rather quickly. I may have to buy a new seatpost, but we shall see once the bike arrives. Thanks to Trek, I have a lot of upgraded parts on the bike (Rock Shox SID fork, Shimano Deore cranks) that will work outstanding on the KHS. I forsee the most difficult part being the chain and crank removal/installation, but I have most of the tools needed for that job.
Stay tuned!