Lockdown Bicycle Fleet Repairs and Mods Progress

"FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com" (alphaass)
05/04/2020 at 02:20 • Filed to: Two Wheels Good, Bikelopnik, Specialized Camber, Specialized Hotrock, Specialized Stumpjumper, Trek, Raleigh

Like a lot of us, I’ve had some more time around the house recently to do some wrenching. In my case, neither of the gasoline-powered conveyances need much right now. My mountain bike collection is a different story. Everything from the old to the new could use something, whether it is repair, maintenance, upgrade or just complete overhaul. Once I finally accepted mid-April that this stay-at-home thing wasn’t going to end anytime soon I started ordering parts from all over the web - Jenson USA, Performance Bike, REI, eBay, other Oppos... and the deliveries have started rolling in. I spent a good bit of the weekend in the garage and got quite a bit accomplished. I’m not done yet, because I’m still waiting on several orders, but I felt like writing about where things are and what plans are in the works.

Specialized Hotrock 24

This is my 10-year old daughter’s bike. I bought it used to see if she had any interest at all in mountain biking and she has really taken to it. But she hasn’t been too comfortable on it for more than half an hour or so. This bike is a solid base, but the previous owner kept it stock except for some questionable quick fixes and deferred maintenance was starting to stack up. I made this my priority project. My goal here was to shed a few pounds, upgrade the cockpit, and tighten up the drivetrain without going totally crazy or spending so much I may as well buy her a new bike - so the fork and wheels stay put even though I would love to upgrade them it doesn’t seem worth the cost.

Before:

Today:

Work done:

Stem - flipped up to a positive angle from a drop stem. Instant ergonomic improvement.

Handlebar - hand-me-down Kalloy bar from my Trek. That stock orange handlebar was unbelievably heavy. This one is nothing special but has pretty much the same geometry and is at least a pound lighter.

Brake Levers - brand new Avid Speed Dial 7 levers. IMO one of the best mechanical brake levers ever made. Huge upgrade over the junky Tekro levers, one of which was so busted from a fall I had to pry it open with a pipe wrench to extract the cable .

Shifters - 3x8 Shimano Deore rapid-fire shifters pulled off of the Raleigh. They are about 10 years old but still work well. Huge improvement over the sticky stock Tourney-level grip shifters that were on there.

Grips - Specialized Enduro grips that I found on sale. Acid green to match her helmet.

Seat Post - old Trek 6061 alloy post. Nothing fancy but a bit lighter than the stock post.

Brake Housing and Cables - replaced all the housing/cables with Jagwire Sport and dialed in the brakes. The Tektro V-brakes are decent enough when adjusted well and the previous owner but some decent aftermarket pads on them.

Pedals - hand-me-down Specialized dirt take-offs from the Stumpjumper. Again nothing special but better than the ones that were on there with bearing that were starting to grind pretty badly.

Rear derailleur - brand new Shimano Acera to replace the crappy Tourney stock unit. Acera is nothing special but holding it next to the Tourney you can see a huge increase in quality. It is shifting well. Right now I still have the stock 7-speed freewheel on there so there is a phantom shift 7-8 that does nothing until we get a real 8-speed on there.

Up-coming:

Saddle - ordered an SDG Fly Jr kids saddle that should be here sometime this week.

Freewheel - I ordered an 11-34T 8-speed freewheel from an eBay seller that appears to have been lost in the mail. Or maybe it doesn’t exist and never really shipped who knows. Unfortunately 24" wheels that take cassettes aren’t really an easy thing to buy and 8-speed freewheels are rare so hopefully it shows at some point - the range should be great for the hills here to get her confidence in climbing up.

Shift cable and housing - ordered a Jagwire kit to throw on there - the stock stuff is on its last legs.

Specialized Stumpjumper ST

This is my wife’s bike. It is only 5 months old so it didn’t need much. But after watching my wife’s feet slip on a recent ride and seeing REI had these blue Race Face Chester pedals on sale I couldn’t resist ditching the stock pedals (hand-me-down to the Hotrock). I have these pedals on my Camber and love them - smooth bearings, take abuse well - for a “budget” pedal they are really great. I had hoped the blue would match the frame better but oh well. Simple mod that should make riding much nicer.

Specialized Camber

Happy birthday to me - new handlbar and grips! For my birthday a few weeks ago I bought myself a Truvativ Sram Descendant carbon bar. Very close geometry to the stock bar that is being donated to the Trek. Amazing how light and stiff this thing is. I also got the ODI/Vans mash-up grips. Yes those are the classic Vans skate shoe sole as bike grips and they work great.

Unfortunately it’s not all sunshine and rainbows for the Camber. On a ride Friday my brakes started not fully returning. It’s a known problem with these Sram levers - the pistons swell with time/heat and start sticking. They were warranty replacing these but I think mine are too old and I don’t want to deal with returning them anyway. I’ve ordered a pair of rebuild kits that should be here this week. Not looking forward to it because brake fluid is nasty but should get me back on the trails while I look for a good sale on XT/XTR’s or Hopes.

Trek 8000

Where to start with this one... a bit of background first I guess- I bought this early-90's Trek 8000 frame when it popped up in my size on eBay back in 2006. I believed then that these USA-made, hand-built, bonded-aluminum frames that Trek was doing back then were (and still are) some of the most beautiful and special bike frames ever so I had to have it. Of course I was in grad school and poor then so I built it up as a cheap single speed conversion commuter using a hodge-podge of clearance, house-brand, and used parts. I then kept it in a shed in San Antonio for 10 years and rode it 1-2x per week on nearly flat dirt and gravel track around the property at work. Then I moved to NM two years ago and realized that it wasn’t going to be too useful here without an overhaul.

The biggest problem is a twitchy geometry caused by a 26" front wheel in a 29" fork paired to a narrow handlebar on a steer tube extender. Oh and it only had a front brake which is terrifying here. Also the trails near work now are all real single track so the pavement-biased tires need to go. I don’t want to do a full restoration on it just yet, but need to get it rideable so I can keep at in my office and go ride at lunch when the mood strikes me.

The goal is to turn it into a 69er with a wide riser handlebar which should make it a lot more rideable and do a few other livability upgrades while I’m at it. Not all the parts are here yet, but I did get going this weekend.

Work done:

Rear Brake Installed - Added a new Shimano Deore V-brake. I’m about to modify this frame to take a disc. This is about the highest-end V-brake you can get brand new anymore. I thought about the old dual-pivot XT/XTR brakes but wasn’t in an eBay mood for this. Maybe down the road I’ll go to Magura hydraulic rim brakes. This turned out to be a huge pain in the ass because the brake bosses were filled with years of dirt and rust that needed cleaned out since I never capped them off.

Brake Cables and Housing - Jagwire Sport housing split between the Hotrock and this bike. Had to zip-tie the handlebar in place to size it because the old stem is 25.4 mm and the bar is 31.8 mm.

Brake Levers - The same new Avid Speed Dial 7 levers that I put on the Hotrock.

Front Disc Brake - A new Avid BB5 mechanical disc brake to replace a Hayes MX-1 that was always needing adjustment. The Raleigh has a BB5 on it and it had been pretty much trouble-free.

Tensioner - Trying out a new Shimano Alfine tensioner designed for internally-geared hubs to replace the corroded old generic one I had on there. This didn’t go that well... I managed to cross-thread the derailleur hangar and had to clean it up by chasing it with a fresh bolt from both sides plus lots of oil. When I’m done with the build I’m going to pay our local bike wizard to helicoil it for the long-term.

Parts on-hand that can’t go on yet:

Front wheel - it’s a basic Sunringle Rhyno Lite + Shimano M525 29" front wheel. These have been like $100 forever and I’ve run them on the Raleigh for years. Lowest price wheel you can get that won’t explode. Not the lightest but they roll well and stay true. No tire/tube so it sits.

Saddle - WTB Speed that I picked up on closeout. No seatpost - got donated to the Hotrock

20T cog to replace the 15T - should make it a little more tolerable in the hills here. In theory this could go on but the rear wheel needs to be replaced.

Chainstay Tape - OK this can go on but I just didn’t get to it yet.

In the mail:

Rear wheel 26" - the old one is out of true and the bearing is shot so it just needs to go.

Seat Post - some Race Face entry-level that was on closeout

Tires/tubes - some Trek/Bontrager basic 26/29 set... it was surprisingly hard to find a matched set of new tires still offered in both 26" and 29" in the same width.

Chain

Stem for a 31.8 mm bar

This is coming from 3 different sources so hopefully it gets here by this weekend and then one more afternoon of work should have this thing rideable.

Raleigh M-50

This thing is a true mess at the moment. I keep it around because it was my first “real” mountain bike when I bought it new at 16 with money saved up from umpiring Little League games and mowing lawns. Then I took it 182 miles in a week on the C&O canal trail. And it is one of the last handmade in the USA Raleighs. So I can’t get rid of it but it has become a lower priority.

The main thing I have planned for it is to go from 1x8 to 1x9 with a decently wide capacity 11-36T capacity cassette that I have on order. The rear derailleur is an XT 9-speed but I’ve just run it with 8. It just donated its 8-speed shifter to the Hotrock and an old Deore LX 9-speed shifter is in the mail from fellow Oppo Highlander who was giving away parts if we paid shipping. Thanks Highlander! We think the shift pod needs opened up and cleaned/greased but I’m willing to take that on to cure lockdown boredom.

Raleigh M-40

This exists. So low on priority I don’t even have a photo. It needs lots of help. To start, the front wheel is bent like a taco. It is going to get the wheel from the Trek. Also a cantilever brake that Highlander sent. (Thanks again!) I’ll get to it once all the other ones are all rideable and maybe turn it into a neighborhood runabout to follow my son around as he learns to ride his bike. Speaking of which...

Raleigh 16" Thing

The only one not getting any work done on it at the moment. This thing is a piece of crap and weights about the same as my Camber but my 7-year old boy is having a blast riding it up and down our street and I don’t have to care if he just drops it wherever he feels like. Soon enough I’ll pass it on to one of the other kids in the neighborhood and get my boy a 20" bike. Probably as soon as the lockdowns are lifted and we can see how he fits on one at the store.

And if you made it this far I’m assuming you are under a stay at home order too and pretty bored but thanks for sticking with. I’ll be posting again when I get some more parts on.

DISCUSSION (28)

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
05/04/2020 at 05:46

I'll be interested to hear how the mullet conversion goes on the Trek...

CalzoneGolem > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
05/04/2020 at 07:11

This has provided me the inspiration to order bike parts to fix my Marin.

Nom De Plume > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
05/04/2020 at 07:26

You’re an Oppo alright . Everyone else in the family has sane and reasonable upgrades to bikes that seem fitting enough. L ost track how many of your own project bikes one could easily advise getting rid of to focus on more worthy causes.

So many boner stems!

Snuze: Needs another Swede > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
05/04/2020 at 07:28

Cool stuff! Looks like you accomplished a lot!

My dad’s folks always wanted my sister and I to have nice bikes. When I was little they got me a 16", which I don’t really remember, then when I was about your son’s age they got me a red 20" Schwinn single speed. Then when I turned 12 they got me a Schwinn 3x7 mountain bike , it’s either a 24 or 26", I can’t remember. They passed away the following year and I still have that bike. It’s sitting up in the storage loft above my garage.

Lately I’ve been thinking about pulling it down and freshening it up - it’s never had a bit of maintenance done, and the brakes and tires are original to it. I remember the last time I tried to ride it one of the shifters didn’t work (can’t remember if it was front or rear). I need to finish some other projects first, and I also need to decide what I want to do with it and how much I’m willing to sink in. There aren’t really any mountains near me, and most of the trails are paved, so a mountain bike is a bit silly, but I have to weigh any changes against the budget. I’m sure when I’m ready I’ll be asking a ton of questions on here.

Nom De Plume > CalzoneGolem
05/04/2020 at 07:56

[deleted]

CalzoneGolem > Nom De Plume
05/04/2020 at 07:57

I ... don’t know what that is ...

Nom De Plume > CalzoneGolem
05/04/2020 at 07:58

let’s just forget it and move on

CalzoneGolem > Nom De Plume
05/04/2020 at 08:00

So I did a google images search and I’m even more confused now lol

Nom De Plume > CalzoneGolem
05/04/2020 at 08:35

T o make it sleeker and more presentable. :p

While we’re at it could you describe your bike and what you intend to change on it?

CalzoneGolem > Nom De Plume
05/04/2020 at 09:28

I just want to fix that back wheel. I intend to replace it with this : https://www.jensonusa.com/Quality-Wheels-Alex-Y2000-26-MTB-Wheels

I have a Marin Bolinas Ridge 1 it is completely stock except for a shorter handlebar stem and some bar ends so I can sit up straighter.

OPPOsaurus WRX > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
05/04/2020 at 09:58

i need to dig into my rear gear set. It jumps and shifts like crap

Nom De Plume > CalzoneGolem
05/04/2020 at 10:29

Especially with there being so many better quality 26"wheels from a decade or two ago. I t’s realistic to get a higher quality full set for that much. That Alex may be worse than what came on the bike; Similar parts and assembly quality without a trained mechanic truing it or adjusting the bearings before rolling it out the door.

Ignore my bad jokes. FtToHG obviously has an idea what he’s doing and my repertoire of bike anec dotes is as stale as it is expansive.

HammerheadFistpunch > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
05/04/2020 at 10:39

Man you've been busy! I'm getting new tires for my old race hard tail, a new 1x11 divetrain for my blur as well as new bearings. Looking at starting today on that one. Looking to find a 24 inch come for my nearly 9 year old.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Snuze: Needs another Swede
05/04/2020 at 12:27

If you like the bike for sentimental reasons and are riding for recreation mainly then there are several good-quality pavement tires in MTB sizes that you can get - I’ve used Serfas Drifters for a long time on a loop that is 50% pavement, 25% gravel, 25% dirt with good success. There is also the Maxxis Hookworm which is even more pavement-biased and comes in 20, 24, 26, and 29" sizes.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > CalzoneGolem
05/04/2020 at 12:47

Like Nom De Plume said, those Alex rims are pretty much the bottom of the barrel replacement wheel , though they are probably pretty similar to what came on your bike. They are basically made for bikes shops to stock to use when customers want back out the same day. I don’t know what happened to your wheel but it may be possible to fix it for around the same price. You can also look at used wheels to get a higher quality for the same price, but in that case you also probably need to be prepared to repack the bearings.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Nom De Plume
05/04/2020 at 12:49

Exactly. I don’t know why I do this to myself but that’s pretty much why I find myself coming here where basically all of us exercise this kind of questionable judgement.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > HammerheadFistpunch
05/04/2020 at 12:55

Yeah the lockdown here is giving me more time than usual to be bust on this. If your 9 year is going to be getting pretty serious then I would recommend getting something like a Specialized Riprock or Salsa Timberjack that comes with disc wheels in 24" - I haven’t been able to find any aftermarket to make the upgrade which basically means buying hubs and rims and building them.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > OPPOsaurus WRX
05/04/2020 at 12:56

Could be as simple as a loose derailleur bolt, bent hanger, or bent derailleur cage.

HammerheadFistpunch > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
05/04/2020 at 13:02

She’s on a used 20 inch bike with a flower basket, so this will be an introduction. I looked at the salsa, looked cool. Probably not going to be spending that much until I know though.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
05/04/2020 at 14:04

Yeah, I’d just use it to tool around the neighborhood , or run short errands on. As I get closer I’ll check those tires out, but either sounds like it would be a good choice.

CalzoneGolem > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
05/04/2020 at 14:25

This is what happened to my wheel : https://oppositelock.kinja.com/spoke-too-soon-1843136430

I’ll order up some spokes and keep looking for some used wheels then. There are quite lot of choices for spokes.

Nom De Plume > Snuze: Needs another Swede
05/04/2020 at 15:28

I suspect you’ll notice this very quickly if you get a lot of flat tires. The best “inner city”tires are in the Continental Contact tire family. They make tires for 24"and 26" in widths suitable for safe use on a mtb rim that have the thickest puncture resistance of any brand.

Nom De Plume > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
05/04/2020 at 15:50

Rebuilding machine made wheels is not good. Definitely get new rims if you do this. I’m going to take a look locally for a set of these wheels. Because there is at least a chance of them popping up.

To be clear, fork and frame both have mounts like in the photo below?

Kinja'd!!!

Nom De Plume > CalzoneGolem
05/04/2020 at 15:54

Haha, it didn’t quite click in my head. Without making any assumptions . Whether the cause was being a bit heavier or terrain based makes no difference. The failure (spokes breaking) is always the same with cheap wheels like this and will only repeat itself with that REI Alex wheel.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > CalzoneGolem
05/04/2020 at 15:59

Oof yeah that is a rough one. You probably still can rescue that wheel but it is going to be a pain - might be worth the learning experience though. Honestly I think that wheel you linked to is pretty equivalent to what you had stock and not a bad deal. Just remember your bike has a freewheel not a cassette so get the right version unless you want to buy a cassette too. You may run into the same issue shopping used - freewheels on mountain bikes are generally reserved for the entry-level. So a wheel that is an “upgrade” will likely have a freehub and need a cassette too.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Nom De Plume
05/04/2020 at 16:03

I think maybe this reply is supposed to go towards CalzoneGolem rather than me.

Nom De Plume > FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com
05/04/2020 at 16:24

A fter scrolling two miles back up it does appear the orange bike has mounts in both places(?) and you did mention the upgrade.

His daughter doesn’t have a disc capable bike yet.

Quick search didn’t turn up anything anyways.

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > Nom De Plume
05/04/2020 at 16:45

Ah the joy of Kinja comments! Yeah I could go disc on the orange one but my search says you can’t really get machine-made 24" disc hub wheels... if I was going to build them (more realistically have someone build them for me) I’d buy all new hubs, spokes, and rims.