CS-MB01 Update

[gohloum]

Hey guys,

It's been a few since I posted.  But I've had a chance to put a butt load of miles on the bike and through some serious torture, especially for an XC Hardtail. 

I'm actually in 5th place on Strava at the Quarry where most of the elite riders here go to train.  It's pretty brutal for Florida, cypress knees, muddy areas, loads of rocks and boulders, vertical drops, jumps, and since it's a quarry, our trails traverse up and down the mounds that have been there for years.  Super technical and quite dangerous to ride.

The frame has been holding up great!  I got the wheels, seat post, bars, and headset from Peter as well.  I am experiencing a little creaking in the headset although it's tight, but its the NECO $15 one, so I imagine the tolerances are not exact.  A may put a little carbon grease in where the bearings touch the frame and see if that stops it.  Just a little annoying, thats all.

I've had some pretty good crashes too.  One caused my handlebar to spin around and my shifter clipped the top tube which now has a small crack.  However, Ive ridding the Quarry 4 times since the crash and the crack is stable and not growing.  My repair kit came in today and I'll take some time in the new year to do the repair and document it.  That's a whole different subject in itself....

I am very satisfied with the frame at this point and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for an aggressive hard tail.  After Christmas, I'll have my GoPro cameras in hand and will post some video for you guys as well so you can get some idea of the torture I am putting the bike through.

Hope all is well for everyone and have a great Holiday and New Year!

[carbonazza]

I am experiencing a little creaking in the headset although it's tight, but its the NECO $15

You may have the bottom bearing that is toast, if it met water often.
I now use aliexpress bottom bearings in stainless steel. They last much longer.
Beware that a crack when riding can come from many parts of the bike.

My repair kit came in today and I'll take some time in the new year to do the repair and document it.  That's a whole different subject in itself....

Good luck with the repair. You will see, it is easier than it look

[gohloum]

I now use aliexpress bottom bearings in stainless steel.

Do you have a link for this?  I'd like to order a few and give it a try.

[carbonazza]

Here is the last I ordered: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1-1-2-tapered-headset-bearings-SMH-P16-40x52x7-SUS440-stainless-steel-material/32241211712.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.CwQ1VM

The other provider I ordered before seems to have disappeared.

Another option is to get headsets from Aliexpress too(I did it a couple of times).
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Road-TT-MTB-bicycle-parts-NECO-H373-1-1-8-to-1-1-2-Headset-free/32331360302.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.FbWqQG
For about the same price, you may get little less resistant bearings, but you get all the other parts.

[gohloum]

Thanks for that!  I now have some on order.  Turns out after pulling apart my headset, the bottom bearing had some issues, it actually came apart!  I was able to re-assemble it and greased it good.  Took it for a test ride and I think it will hold until my replacement comes.

[gohloum]

Hey Carbonazza, I meant to update this some time ago, but I've been busy and my spare time has been in the saddle.  The bearing recommendation worked and my bike is now silent. 

For the rest of your monitoring my feedback on this frame, I have managed to crash it pretty hard a few times, gotten it all scratch up where I picked up some barbed wire with the back tire and ripped off the derailleur hanger (had to order replacement), and fell into some cypress knees with direct impacts on the frame.  So far so good!  Other than it looks like hell now, it's riding great. 

Through all of this, my skills have greatly improved and I am able to ride all of Markham park, including advanced trails and All of Alafia minus the one crazy drop and jump in Moonscape trail.  I've really tortured it over rock gardens and jumps and the frame is still stiff.  Currently I am putting about 85 - 100 miles a week of offroad riding on it.

My riding partner has been so impressed with it (probably my crashes more than anything), I ordered him the same frame and will be building his bike up with the Fox StepCast fork and SRAM xx1 11 speed group set.  I'll post more info on the build once the frame arrives.

That's about it for now.  Keep pedaling and banging trails!