my 041 - Take 2

[carbonazza]

After another Carpe Diem moment, I finally ordered the parts needed to re-build my long due 041.

Unpacking the box. Always an exciting moment
Extremely quick delivery from r2-bike.com, and it had the better prices.



The huge Eagle cassette.
No, I definitely could not take the high-bling gold one.



The wait is over dear 041!!
This is the replacement frame I received from Peter, few months ago, after mine cracked due to a defect.
Pressing the BB92 was easy.
Finally the rear wheel I built few months ago will be used.



I love the design of a straight line between the headtube and the rear wheel



One worry I had was... does a 38T fit ? Well... yes



The bike finished. Not yet ridden.

No time sinks this time( usually headset mismatch, bad internal routing, rear brake bleeding after cut, brake caliper hard to align, hard to bead tires on the rims).

Here again is my proven receipt, if you have a hard to bead tire( almost guaranteed when putting a thinner tire on a larger rim ):

• Take the tire out of the box.
• Put a tube in the tire( without wheel ) and inflate it to the max it can.
• Then abandon it there a couple of hours, while you build the bike.
• Put the tire on the rim.
• Remove the core of the valve. Pump it, until it pops twice.
  No need of soapy water or any other sorcery.
• With a seringue put the sealant through the valve.
• Put the core back, and inflate.
• Rotate the wheel in all directions to send the sealant in any existing hole.

The internal routing of the 041 is very easy.
And I didn't have to bleed the rear brake after cutting it( experience is coming )

8.1Kg finished as pictured.
It will go below the psychological barrier of 8kg with summer tires and Time Atac pedals 



I'm a big fan of the Hope X2 brakes.
They are great to stop me. Very light.
But very expensive.



I took off the Lauf fork from the 062.
The front wheel was already in use on the 062 too.



Big change to my usual setup. I moved from a 660mm to a 700mm bar(not sure I will stay that large).
And 80mm stem from 90mm.
I'm do not like the SRAM grips you get with the Gripshift, but they are ok for now.
And I'm sooo happy to have a Gripshift again. The bar is so neat.
This one, is much better than what I remember of the XX1.

Or maybe it is the whole shifting that is better on Eagle.
I screwed the cable to the derailleur.
And shifted perfectly directly, not any fiddling needed.

Another striking property is the silence of the transmission when riding.
I was used to the grinding on higher sprockets. Here nothing.
And no chain drop issue when back pedalling on the bigger sprocket either.

Compared to my singing rear Hope's hub, the DT240 is adding quietness too.
I'll need a bell now. With Hope's hub, just stop pedalling and the walkers jumps out of the path in fear

The engagement angle is much much bigger on the DT240, that is a disappointment.
When free wheeling then pedalling again, there is a big gap before it takes on.
With Hope hubs it is immediate.



Here is the bike after the first ride.
I should have taken the picture before cleaning, with the mud!



Although on paper it has the same gears ratio as before, I felt the 38T to be a bit harder on steep climbs.
Either my quads will learn, or I will go down to 36T when my transmission dies.
One thing sure is now on the flat, this is flying!

Another thing that surprised me is how I didn't miss my beloved oval ring.
Quite the contrary, I had the impression of a fuller pedalling. Except may be the steep climbs, that seem harder(I worked to improve my pedalling these last months).
So... I guess this oval/round debate is definitely personal, if not just mood

The new master link is much more visible.
When lubing the chain, it is easier to spot you did a full revolution already.



r2-bike, had only the gold version of the derailleur in stock with Gripshift.
I would have preferred the black. But anyway I love it !



To avoid the stupid bend of the shifter entering the right of the frame.
I tried something else this time. Using the front derailleur holes.
And zipping the hose to the right seatstay.

So not fully internal routing, but the line is much shorter.
And no hard bends at all, usually found: out of the shifter, entering the frame, under the BB, out of the chainstay.
I hope this will result in better long term shifting.

I had to drill the little aluminium caps to run full housing.



I took a strange route for the front brake, to avoid a strong bend too to the left of the fork( from an MTB2223's advice on another bike ).

I'm impressed how the bike manufacturer ignore that in Europe we have the front brake on the left( make some forks with the damn caliper on the right!! ).
And that with a 1x11 shifter( on the right ) it is better to enter the frame on the left ( This is international, Peter ? )


For the ride... I did say it many times and it stay.
This frame/bike is the best of the ones I tried( 256, 062 and even the new FSi I recently tried ).
Obviously for what I like: XC, out-sprinting friends and arriving first on the climbs 
Very stiff under load. It doesn't move at all.
And extremely precise to ride.

Did I say I'm very happy? 

Now, I will rebuild my 062 as my second bike.
Maintain the hubs. Put my old wheels, and the Lefty.

And ride with it when it is really wet and the mud gets deeper.
This season is exceptionally dry compared to last year, hope it will stay this way.

[Carbon_Dude]

Instead of pictures, I'm seeing [?].

[carbonazza]

Thanks for the warning.
I tried to use Google Drive for this post.

If you click on the link below, do you see something?
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=0B-K7grMvz5AIeWdnUTlseHlzd2M

[karstenhorn]

I do see all your pictures(nice build btw)


Karsten

[Carbon_Dude]

I see them now on my work computer.  Not sure what was going on this morning at home.

[RS VR6]

That is a great looking build.

The Lauf fork instests me alot. I'm trying to figure out how to get on one without spending a few hundred dollars.

[Sitar_Ned]

Opinions on the Lauf? Better than the lefty? Been interested in it for quite a while. Love the look of the front end of the bike with that fork and the small fender.

[SportingGoods]

I can finally see the pictures! Amazing bike. 8 kg must feel like flying on climbs. I really appreciate the engineering you put into the design and cable routing. This is as light as possible but still very robust. You will love the Eagle drivetrain. It is a couple steps up compared to their 11 speed product. Probably the best drivetrain available on the market today. And it sounds stupid but what a joy when you receive the boxes, they are so nice and shiny that it's difficult to put them in the recycling bin! I still kept the black padding (I did not say black pudding  ), can be useful to protect something.

Tell me what you think of the Chinese Time pedals when you get them. The more I look into mine (the road version) the more I think this is not a great quality. Now that I've upgraded the bearings to SKF they spin like a high quality product (you know when the only resistance is the effect of the thick grease) but I'll trust them only after a few rides (the first ones will be on the trainer, to make sure they are safe). What I don't like is that the only thing that prevents the axle to pull out completely is a C-ring. But the original X-presso is just the same design, so it should be OK 

[carbonazza]

Opinions on the Lauf? Better than the lefty? Been interested in it for quite a while. Love the look of the front end of the bike with that fork and the small fender.

For my type of rides(XC) I can't feel any advantage of the Lefty over the Lauf.

The Lauf got overloaded a couple of times, meaning I keep my hand tight on the bar, trying/hoping to keep the course until it ends.
Each time when going relatively fast in a steep track with rocks and roots. Not sure the Lefty with its 100mm would fare dramatically better.

There is no lock on the Lauf. But sprinting with friends is not an issue.
However I feel a big difference about this between the 062 and the 041 frame.

The big advantages of the Lauf is the weight saving in the front(500-600g less).
It makes a big handling difference to me.
And there is no maintenance.

When I rebuild my 062 and put the Lefty back in service, I will try to make some test.
Swapping them the same day, and riding on the same track.

[carbonazza]

I can finally see the pictures!

There seems to be problem with Google Drive hosting the pictures (may be some view limit), I will put them on imgur and update the post.

Amazing bike. 8 kg must feel like flying on climbs. I really appreciate the engineering you put into the design and cable routing. This is as light as possible but still very robust. You will love the Eagle drivetrain. It is a couple steps up compared to their 11 speed product. Probably the best drivetrain available on the market today.

Yes, each time I grab the bike, a smile starts
With an 8kg bike, no excuses, it is only you and the climb.
The news, is the 38T. This really flies on the flats. I look forward for my next fight with a roadie, an e-bike or a moped 

The Eagle transmission is incredible yes. As you say the best I tried( XX1-11, XTR and XT ).
The only thing I hope is not to have my yearly derailleur breakage too soon 

And it sounds stupid but what a joy when you receive the boxes, they are so nice and shiny that it's difficult to put them in the recycling bin! I still kept the black padding (I did not say black pudding  ), can be useful to protect something.

Exactly the same for me... Don't me ashamed! 

[carbonazza]

Tell me what you think of the Chinese Time pedals when you get them. The more I look into mine (the road version) the more I think this is not a great quality. Now that I've upgraded the bearings to SKF they spin like a high quality product (you know when the only resistance is the effect of the thick grease) but I'll trust them only after a few rides (the first ones will be on the trainer, to make sure they are safe). What I don't like is that the only thing that prevents the axle to pull out completely is a C-ring. But the original X-presso is just the same design, so it should be OK 

I just got the Mavic ones yesterday(that I will keep anyway) and will make a thorough comparison.
At first sight they look a black box to me.
Are they easy to dismantle? Did you find useful resources to do it?

[Sitar_Ned]

Opinions on the Lauf? Better than the lefty? Been interested in it for quite a while. Love the look of the front end of the bike with that fork and the small fender.

For my type of rides(XC) I can't feel any advantage of the Lefty over the Lauf.

The Lauf got overloaded a couple of times, meaning I keep my hand tight on the bar, trying/hoping to keep the course until it ends.
Each time when going relatively fast in a steep track with rocks and roots. Not sure the Lefty with its 100mm would fare dramatically better.

There is no lock on the Lauf. But sprinting with friends is not an issue.
However I feel a big difference about this between the 062 and the 041 frame.

The big advantages of the Lauf is the weight saving in the front(500-600g less).
It makes a big handling difference to me.
And there is no maintenance.

When I rebuild my 062 and put the Lefty back in service, I will try to make some test.
Swapping them the same day, and riding on the same track.

Interesting and thanks for the feedback.

Beautiful build btw. One of my my favorites thus far.

And nothing wrong with some package love. I think I still have most of my boxes from both my chiner build and custom PC build.. too pretty to throw away! lol especially those Eagle boxes.. damn nice.

[JohnSpeed]

And nothing wrong with some package love. I think I still have most of my boxes from both my chiner build and custom PC build.. too pretty to throw away! lol especially those Eagle boxes.. damn nice.

Haha. Yep! Gotta keep that shiny new GPU box to remind you of the power inside!


SWEET build carbonazza. I'm jelly!

[SportingGoods]

I just got the Mavic ones yesterday(that I will keep anyway) and will make a thorough comparison.
At first sight they look a black box to me.
Are they easy to dismantle? Did you find useful resources to do it?

You need to understand that the XC and X-presso are completely different design. I've never maintained my XC8, as they just don't need any maintenance so far. Those are really great MTB pedals. If you want to open them (I really recommend you to do it for the chinese ones, not the Mavic) you need to remove the end cap. This enables access to the locking nut at the end of the axle. Remove this nut and then you just tap everything out from the axle.
So the XC8-12 are robust, hold strongly by a nut.

The X-presso are held only by a C-ring, I don't fully trust that design. That is the cost of light pedals! But again, it's not just the Chinese, the Time have the same poor design, just like that plastic barrel that supports the end of the axle instead of a bearing... My pedals are now 3g heavier for the pair (166g total) but so much more smooth and reliable! I also replaced the large bearing with SKF sealed bearing. With sealed bearing I should not need any maintenance till the bearing is dead. And SKF steel bearings are really top quality (3x more expensive then most bearings but you can tell the difference), I actually prefer these to the very expensive ceramic bearings.

[Jerryno]

The engagement angle is much much bigger on the DT240, that is a disappointment.
When free wheeling then pedalling again, there is a big gap before it takes on.
With Hope hubs it is immediate.

Do you have the 36T star ratchet or the 18T? I was thinking of upgrading my hubs to 36T DT240, but if that is no good I'll think about the 54T DT240S hub. Here are the engagement angles: 20° for the 18t, 10° for the 36t, 6.6° for the 54T. I wonder if they differ in durability, there are some posts online ditching the 54T as not that durable and other people claiming the opposite and pointing out the failure might be because of thin lube.