Frankd3000 - new and improved

[Frankd3000]

Well, it looks like phases 2, 3 and 4 all came together at the same time. Not without a bit of a fight, but it's nearly complete. No pics yet, but i'll have some up tomorrow (as in Sunday afternoon).

Changes as follows;

Fork - the Noleen CrossLink ELT is no longer the suspender of Frank. Now he's perched by an '05 Manitou Minute 1:00 (SPV Evolve, coil sprung), topped with Enduro seals. With an adjustable 100 - 130 mm travel i'll probably need to do something about the angles with another rear adaptor, but that'll some with time. I opted to re-use the original Aheadset headset as it was in perfect condition (gee, I wonder why? [smiley=laughing.gif] ).

Wheels - my original wheelset craped out on my earlier this year, so I ended up buying a used set off a local. They lasted about 2 months and now the current wheelset consists of XT disc hubs laced with DT 14g spokes on Mavic X317 disc-specific rims. These are also used, but in very good condition.

Brakes - no more V-brakes. The new binders are Avid mechanicals, the newer type that use 160 mm rotors (purchased new). The front was easy as the Manitou fork uses the 74 mm post mount set-up. The rear, well, you'll see (hey, I gotta leave some suspense, right? [smiley=nod.gif] ). Both front and rear are the 160 mm size. I figured i'd see what kind of power I get with these and if I need more then i'll deal with it over the winter. Oh, and Avid SD-7 levers (used).

So, today has been busy doing all this stuff. I had to rebuild my fork (purchased used, then the stupid plastic rebound rod broke). Then once that was done I could install... everything. I still need to get the brake lines routed satisfactorily (don't like the rear - too much suspension-induced braking for my liking - even though it's really minor). Once that's done i'll set them up and try it all out. I'm also in the process of getting an XTR cassette - to help reduce some weight - and new handlebars (hint - members "across the pond" will appreciate these, i'm sure   ). With some luck the bars will be here sometime next week and the cassette by the end of the month.

Okay, i'm going to bed now. I don't know why - i'll only be up all night like a kid on Christmas Eve. [smiley=laughing.gif] Plenty of pics tomorrow. Expect to see a VERY different Frank. Not all by choice, but accepted and loved just as much as original.

Okay, maybe a few inches more.

[proflex252]

Can't wait to see the pics!

[Frankd3000]

Wait no longer. They're up.

Pardon the many pics of the rear brake caliper adaptor - i'm just a "proud papa". [smiley=laughing.gif] It came out far better than I planned/expected.

Had my first ride around the neighbourhood. Still waiting for the brakes to settle. Rear - solid. Front - squeeeeeaaaaaaaalllllllll. [smiley=laughing.gif] Actually, it doesn't bother me anywhere near as much the rear brale lever. Release the brake - CLINK! EVERY SINGLE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!! [smiley=disbelief.gif] That's gonna come to a quick end.

Weather is nice. I'm going to do more riding... and tweaking.

Oh, and my scrawny butt doesn't get full compression out of the fork. [smiley=laughing.gif]

[Simon]

Sweeeet that mount should do you proud,
you know you can weld disc adaptors to those dropouts if you want a really stiff setup,done a couple,
tell me why have you gone away from your CC setup ???that was really nice,
is it just you need more travel,
that should ride really nice with the forks at 100mm though you should try at 130mm you may like it,
bit of a pain routing disc cables/hoses with a strut bike but you've done a nice job,like the clipping to the canti post,Simon.
took the liberty of uploading one of your pic's here,

[Frankd3000]

I went away from the CrossLinks for several reasons.

- to try out the newer generation of tele's.
- easier to put a disc on tele's.
- more travel

If I want to put discs on the 'Links, then they have to come off anyways. Not a big deal, really. Maybe even more of an excuse.  Now that Ionit has stickers available i'll pick up a few and keep them. I might now be done with them yet. I might put them on something else (no, probably not the 5000, although it would be a dream to).

More travel is very hard to come by with the 'Links with the way i'm doing it. It would take some very strategic planning and very nifty fabrication to get a full 3" of travel and, honestly, I wasn't willing to put that much time and effort into it. I couldn't deem it to be such at this point in time.

As for the rear - it was a total fluke to use the rear brake post with the zip-tie the way I did. I was just about to cut-off the extended piece that had the mount on it and caught myself (just as I was closing the blade on it, too!!! ). Glad I did.  

Easy routing? You're right, heck NO! I spent 3 hours picking something that was "juuuuuust right". I finally ended up with what i have. It resulted in the least amount of brake cable actuation for travel - just under 1 mm of cable movement for full 5" rear wheel travel.

I'll only try the 130 mm travel on the Minute with the longer 190/50 C9 on the back - too much stiction on the tele if I don't. [smiley=laughing.gif]

I already miss the old front set-up. The simplicity, the adaptibility, the stiffness. We'll see what happens with time.

I like the new look of the bike with the all-black wheels and fork. Sets a different "mood" for the bike. I think a set of white cranks and a ton of red-anodized alloy bolts will look good.

Off to the trails!

[Simon]

I went away from the CrossLinks for several reasons.

- to try out the newer generation of tele's.
- easier to put a disc on tele's.
- more travel



Off to the trails!

That clears that up ,makes total sense,
enjoy your ride,don't scratch anything [smiley=laughing.gif]
Simon.

[shovelon]

Super Nice!

I like the shape of the adapter. Have fun testing it.

Put that beauty on the scales. Inquiring minds want to know.

Terry

[Frankd3000]

Okay Terry. I'll, ummm, find one on E-Bay and check it out.

Back from my ride. The front doesn't squeal anymore. I did some tweaking during my ride and all was good.

I must say that i'm very impressed so far. Some blabs....

- the fork is a bit flexy, but i'm not sure that's a fair statement considering what i'm coming from. I barely notice the SPV. I like this fork - so far.

- the alteration in frame geometry is very welcome. I used the 100 mm setting the whole time and found
that I like having the front end up a bit higher. This was very noticeable as the first thing I had to do when I got on the bike was re-adjust my seat's angle.

- the brakes are super easy to adjust - thank god!!!! Tweaking galore as I have to deal with the cables stretching and everything settling in.

- I have to re-tweak my C9 on the back as a result of all this. I'm only so surprised at this. Not so much the air pressure, but the compression and rebound settings are not agreeable with the fork. It's balanced, in terms of travel, but not in terms of feel (hard to do with coil front/air rear?). Riding time and tweaking will resolve this, i'm sure.

- I really can't wait for my new bars now - my wrists hurt!

- I think I might have broke-even with the weight. While I did add discs front and rear, I believe the added weight has been shed by my tire selection. A pair of Michelin WildGripper Comp S Lights are the rolling rubber right now, and they're about 1 pound lighter than the Panaracer's I had on before. Very noticeable. I don't know if i'll keep using these tires or not. Gotta give them time. They were free with my wheelset. I didn't know I was getting them untill he gave them to me and said "here, try these, I don't like them".

I'll post a few choice pics of my ride. Nothing exciting, so don't get all excited.

[Matno]

From your gallery:

Damn, that's a taaaaaaaall front end.

Front end?!! How about that 3 foot seat post. Dang, that's a taaaaaaaallll rear end!



You must be tall...

[Frankd3000]

 [smiley=laughing.gif] Yyyyyyyyup. 6' 4".

Oh, where ARE my manners?!

Special THANKS!!!! to Simon, Terry and Matt for help with specific problems during the various phases of this batch of upgrades.

THANKS guys!!!!

Oh, Matt, the seat could actually be raised by about another 1/2" for my liking. Maybe even 3/4".

[Matno]

Speaking of manners, I forgot to mention that your rear disc adaptor is just plain BEAUTIFUL! Makes my Dremel hack job look like crap. (Now I'll have to paint mine black, just so it won't stand out so much!)

Let us know how the Manitou fork works out. I've debated the merits of SPV on the front end, but haven't come to a conclusion. As for the rear end, I'm STILL waiting for my shock mounts to come so I can try my Swinger Air! The guy who offered to send them to me (Charles, who runs HammerHead Bikes in Texas) seems to have dropped off the end of the world. Of course, I do know that he travels a lot, so I must have just missed him, but frustrating nonetheless. Should have heard from him about 3 weeks ago, but no response to emails! Oh well, I'm just barely getting back to riding after my shoulder incident. (Which, "incidentally" no longer hurts unless I REALLY push it. Very happy about that! I even did a couple of pull-ups today with no noticeable pain!)

[Frankd3000]

Super Nice!

I like the shape of the adapter. Have fun testing it.

Put that beauty on the scales. Inquiring minds want to know.

Terry

Sorry for the wait, Terry. I finally managed to get some time to weight Franks today using the shipping scale at work.

(drum roll)

29.35 pounds!

That's in the same trim as the pictures I e-mailed you with 2 exceptions;

1) I swapped out my 500 gram old-school M525 clipless pedals for a pair of Crank Brothers Eggbeater C's (weight savings of ~206 grams). First ride with them today - need some time to get used to all the floooooaaaaat in these. [smiley=blankstare.gif]

2) I swapped out my original cassette (unknown Shimano chrome 11-32 8-speed cassette) for an XTR 12-32 8-speed cassette (3 biggest cogs are Ti with an alloy carrier - holy light!). Still need to check the weight savings with this one, but the point is he was over 30 pounds before the two changes.

Considering that I saved just a hair shy of one pound with my newer Michelin tires i'm just a little disappointed, but it's still under 30 which i'm happy with..


Through the winter i'm planning on doing something for my current wheels. Either a new wheelset alltogether (probably not) or at least double-butted spokes with alloy nipples. Lighter cranks (Mmmmm, Cooks CBR. Arrhhghghghhg) and BB and a full compliment of Ti/alloy hardware.

I'm not going to go nuts with the weight weenie stuff as I don't think this bike could hit sub-25 pounds and that's not what i'm after anyways. The bike is fast (faster than my brain can process trail info when riding), agile, reliable and FUN. My goals are met.

Now I just need to work more on MY goals - more seat time. That's working out nicely letaly, too.

[shovelon]

Yes, Put that longer shock on the back.

Looks like some parts are a tradeoff in weight. But you have improved the lot nicely. Bet your bike descends like a demon. And the stopping power is awesome.

Yes, there are a lot of rabbits still in your hat!

Ride On,

Terry

[will]

Simply maaahvelous. Really, that bike is looking fine.
Hope you progress up the "eggbeater learning curve" faster than I did.
I probably landed on my hip/butt 6 times while learning to unclip from those things! But they are just SO COOL...

You may be our North American answer to Britain's master craftsman, Simon...

[Frankd3000]

Yes, Put that longer shock on the back.

Looks like some parts are a tradeoff in weight. But you have improved the lot nicely. Bet your bike descends like a demon. And the stopping power is awesome.

Yes, there are a lot of rabbits still in your hat!

Ride On,

Terry

Yyyyyyyyyyup! Up, down, left, right - I can barely keep up with the bike! (sound familiar?)

Wierd - how did you know I saw a rabbit on the trail today? First time that's ever hapened. No, I didn't follow him.

I was afraid he might have "biiiiig teeth!" [smiley=laughing.gif] (Monty Python reference)

Matno - about the SPV - so far i'm diggin' it. I have the pressure set up low (about 40-45 psi) and while I can certainly attest to the many mentions of people saying "it defeats the purpose" or "it's not as plush" I can also say that i've not had a problem with this so far. No, it's not as supple as something without some kind of platform but right now it's not something that's really bothering me. There's a modification you can do (Dougal's SPV DEvolve from MTBR) to remove the SPV that I might try, but it won't be untill next year. I'm too busy enjoying the bike, flying around everything everywhere. The fork, in general, i'm loving! Still lots of room for improvement (with my riding and set-up) and the fork can handle it all with ease. I still haven't tried removing the booster spring, adjusting for longer travel or even played with the rebound!

As I mentioned earlier i've also had to re-tune the rear Cloud Nine to compensate for the fork (actually, i've had to make lots of changes due to the fork). The shock now has 10 psi more than before (now at about 85 psi). This is with the shorter shock. Front suspension travel is at about 90 mm/3.5" (on the 100 mm setting with both main and booster spring) and the RWT is about 114 mm/4.5". Next will be more front travel to match.

This, by no stretch of the imagination, is NOT the same bike I bought. Frank is now way way way faster than he was earler this year. Tires have helped, too. I'm beside myself with ... stupification. [smiley=blankstare.gif]