Author Topic: Mounting Tall Chubbies (Read 3086 times)

loaded · « **on:** October 28, 2004, 05:08:41 pm »

Hi again,
At the moment I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of my Chubby LT's from eDiscount which is leaving me some time to contemplate their installation.

My frame is a medium so I'm going to need a stack of spacers as the chubbies are the tall version.

I was considering moving the lower tripple clamp further up the stansions so I wouldn't need so many spacers. I realise this will raise the headset of my bike somewhat and change the geometry a little. Would it have any impact on the performance of the forks

weaken them maybe? I'm 175lb so not that heavier rider. Or maybe having longer stansions will make the steering sloppy

Any comments or installation tips would be great, I've already downloaded the chubby manual and info from the archives.

Also, I now have my old ELT crosslinks spare with the smartshock on them. Has anyone tried fitting a fork smartshock to the rear of a Proflex 4000?? Do they fit??I could swap the spring with that of my existing NR-2.

Or maybe I should dig out the old klein hard tail frame I have & see If I can pop them on the front & assemble some kind of frankenstein singlespeed!!! [smiley=evil.gif] [smiley=bomb.gif] he! he!

Cheers all [smiley=beer.gif]
Luke

shovelon · « **Reply #1 on:** October 29, 2004, 08:17:58 am »

Luke,

I have had chubbies on my last bike. I may be going out on a limb here but I think that the long you are refering to is the travel, not the headtube size. So it should fit fine. You can also adjust the ride hieght by sliding the forks up or down and clamping.

Your LT chubbies have about 5 inches of travel, and if they work anywhere as good as my old 4 inch chubbies you will be very happy. Maintainance is easy and ride is plush. My favorite grease was Englund's Slick Honey. Springs are also available if you want to ditch the elastomers.

Terry

loaded · « **Reply #2 on:** November 03, 2004, 09:39:04 am »

Hi Shovelon,
They are chubby LT's with 5 inches of travel but they are also the tall version for bikes with head tubes in excess of 130mm. So the stansions are about 60mm longer than the standard chubbies. I was hoping to just move the bottom tripple clamp up a bit to fit my head tube.

The spring kit sounds good as I don't trust elastomers as far as I can bounce on them! Where would I pick up a conversion kit & is it a performance improvement over the elastomers??

shovelon · « **Reply #3 on:** November 04, 2004, 03:05:29 am »

Loaded,

Yes, I am sure that you can slide the clamp up to meet the bottom race. You can also slide the forks up into the clamps to lower the front end if you want.
The company that made spring kits for chubbies and RST Hi 5 is Mountainspeed. Cambria bike carries some Mountainspeed products.

Terry

loaded · « **Reply #4 on:** November 04, 2004, 09:51:40 am »

[smiley=beer.gif]
Cheers Terry,
Can't wait to get my new forks! They should be hear any day now!!!

Thanks for ya help!!!

Luke

loaded · « **Reply #5 on:** November 11, 2004, 09:52:05 am »

Shiny new Chubbies just arrived this morning!!!! Cheers to ediscount [smiley=beer.gif]
The rubber dust covers don't look like they'll last long but I still can't wait to get them on my bike!!

Will post an updated bike pic after!
Cheers, [smiley=beer.gif]
Luke

shovelon · « **Reply #6 on:** November 12, 2004, 02:21:07 am »

Congrats on the arrival.

A word of caution, don't trust the grease job inside. Mine were near dry when new and the LBS showed me how they get regreased.

You may want to pull off the slliders and coat the stanchions and bushings. If you need a scenario let me know as I have done the regrease many times. Or remove the top caps and put a couple of drops of oil in them for safe measure.

You know those were realy great forks, I miss them.

Terry

loaded · « **Reply #7 on:** November 14, 2004, 07:24:42 am »

Hi Guys,
I've set about mounting my new Chubbies on my 4000 & have run into a small problem. I can't seem to get the lower bearing race of the headset off the old crosslinks!

K2 obviously did a very good job of seating it & I don't want to go hammering away and making a mess of everything!

Are there any tricks to getting these off or should I just find myself a new bearing race/headset???

After I've got my old crosslink off I think I'll recondition it for a crosscountry hard-tail project.

Cheers, [smiley=beer.gif]
Luke

Simon · « **Reply #8 on:** November 14, 2004, 07:56:49 am »

Try applying heat to the bearing race (something with a small thin flame eg small flame blow torch) taking care to only apply heat to the bearing race (don't get to hot or you will change the metal properties),try to remove the race before the heat has transfered through to the steerer tube,
the heat will expand the bearing race,should you allow the steerer to get hot that to would expand (being aluminium at a greater rate) thus tightening the bearing race so timing is crucial,
sorry best suggestion I can come up with at the mo,
maybe worth a try if your considering a new headset anyway.
Simon.

loaded · « **Reply #9 on:** November 14, 2004, 08:40:21 am »

Hi Simon,
I was thinking along those sorta lines, but alas the smallest gas torch I have access to is an oxy-acetylene gas-axe!
Probably a little to grunty for the job!

So maybe I buy a little butane torch or just spend my $$$ on a new headset [smiley=worry.gif]

Any other suggestions would be great!

Luke

Simon · « **Reply #10 on:** November 14, 2004, 08:49:53 am »

Hey new eagerly awaited forks I think deserve a new headset,worry about the old one later,get them on and ride [smiley=laughing.gif]
Simon.

shovelon · « **Reply #11 on:** November 15, 2004, 02:28:43 am »

I would have to agree with a new headset. Keep the old set on the old forks for a quick swap when needed.

Good Luck!

Terry

loaded · « **Reply #12 on:** November 22, 2004, 09:08:13 am »

Hi Guys,
Am now the proud owner of brand new headset as well as brand new chubbies. Unfortunately I'm now having major problems removing the old headset cups from the frame!!!

K2 did a pretty good job of seating the little buggers in there!! Do I have any choice apart from grovelling down to my lbs to have them removed? [smiley=turtle.gif]

Any tips or tricks would be great!

cheers, [smiley=beer.gif]
Luke

shovelon · « **Reply #13 on:** November 22, 2004, 09:36:08 am »

Depends if you want to save the old cups. I am sure they are knocked out from the inside. A little heat from a heat gun or hair dryer may help. If you have means to cut a wood block that can slip inside then rotate 90 degrees to saddle the cup you may be able to knock them out.

If all else fails beyond groveling to your LBS, you could sacrafice the old cups by cutting them out. What I have done in the past on bearing races is cut or file mostly through the wall of the cup on opposite sides. At some point the cup will collapse from the pressure and will knock out easily.

I have to admitt that I don't have much experilence with removing headset cups and imagine that they may be junk anyway. I buy the same brand headsets and have them installed at my LBS, and then I can swap forks at random.

Good Luck, Terry

Chris · « **Reply #14 on:** November 24, 2004, 08:57:42 am »

Hey guys, I was looking for some info on these chubbies and saw the post about removing headset cups. I took a piece of relatively thin wall pipe ( it might have even been a shower curtain rod) about 1" in diameter and cut four lines in it about four or five inches long running parallel to the pipe with a dremel tool. Then bend each of the four sides outward a little. It will look just like the tool they use at the LBS to remove cups and works equally as well. Pull it through the head tube until it snaps into place and then pop it a couple of times with a hammer. Voila!

Now I have a question about mounting disc brakes on these jokers. The tabs are not international standard are they? My Deore mechanical discs do not line up with the existing tabs. Is there an adapter or what brakes will bolt on?

Thanks,
Chris

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Author Topic: Mounting Tall Chubbies (Read 3086 times)

Chris