John's IP-057 build - first bike build ever

[PeterXu]

Hi John, so sorry about this. Could you send me some pictures to me ?  petercycles@foxmail.com

THis is the second SP5 seat post that is not standard size 31.6mm, or close to 31.6mm. I know you bought this one from me when I was at Iplay, that is OK. I can send you replacement and chainstay protector from my own new company Carbon Speed.

I hope you could send me some pictures and I will pass them to our factory, I have to require them to check out the diameter carefully before giving seat posts to me.

[MTNRCKT]

Hi John, so sorry about this. Could you send me some pictures to me ?  petercycles@foxmail.com

THis is the second SP5 seat post that is not standard size 31.6mm, or close to 31.6mm. I know you bought this one from me when I was at Iplay, that is OK. I can send you replacement and chainstay protector from my own new company Carbon Speed.

I hope you could send me some pictures and I will pass them to our factory, I have to require them to check out the diameter carefully before giving seat posts to me.

Nice. Way to step up and take care of the customer, Peter.

[jwilds1]

Thank you for the offer, Peter.  I do appreciate it.  I have already purchased those components and they are arriving within the next few days.

I will followup with the pictures you want on the seat post.

[Carbon_Dude]

That is very good customer service from Peter.

[jwilds1]

Peter, I sent you the picture.  Keep in mind as you start up your company that there are now at least 5 or 6 companies doing what you intend to do, all with very similar pricing. The only major way you can stand out from the rest is by good customer service. Considering that you've left XMIplay, your offer is above and beyond what you needed to do. Remember though, the best way to react to mistakes is to prevent them from happening in the first place. If I were to take you up on your offer, it would have been a least a week to two to get here - I was able to go on Amazon and order the right seat post and have it at my door in two days for only a small amount more than if I were to purchase from you.

Anyhow, I fixed the headset issue by taking another 1/4" off the steer tube. The cap was bottoming out before providing any clamp force.

Drivetrain is funky. I am running XT 2x10, without Shadow+. When in big/big, if I were to backpedal, the rear  derailleur shifts and the chain jumps down the sprocket to the smaller gears.  I have tried adjusting things as best I can but look to you for guidance. There is a third screw on the rear derailleur near the travel stops that appears to adjust some sort of spring tension? Should I play with that?

[7]

I'll bet your derailleur hanger is out of alignment. Have you tried aligning it with the proper tool?

[Oolak]

Keep in mind as you start up your company that there are now at least 5 or 6 companies doing what you intend to do, all with very similar pricing. The only major way you can stand out from the rest is by good customer service.

Customer service and some good marketing and advertising. Personally, I think it would be extremely easy to stand out in this market.

[jwilds1]

First frustration-free rides of the year this weekend, after installing the right-size seatpost.

After work on Friday, I hit some new-to-me trails about 5 minutes from work.  Fiddled with the seat positioning a little bit.  The trails (Dearborn, MI - right along Hines Drive) are relatively flat, twisty, but every-so-often you have a short, wicked climb of about 30 feet when you come up from right next to a river up to the upper banks (hard to describe).  Couldn't do most of those climbs. Because this was my first time there, I got lost a few times into some areas with standing water, but at the end I did two laps of about 8 miles a piece.

Sunday was gorgeous - low 70's, sunny, and I had already gotten the yard work done on Saturday so I went out to some trails I helped build at Hines Drive in Plymouth.  There are two sections - Lakeview & Riverbends.  Lakeview is just that - up and down the shores of Newburgh Lake.  There are some flowy sections, but it's still fairly technical (at least to my novice skills).  The good news here is that I'm making climbs I wasn't able to do in the fall - 50% bike, 50% the engine. 

Riverbends is more flat, and shorter, but faster.  Because this goes right down to the shore of a river, it tends to dry out really slowly.  When combined, the two sections are about 3-4 miles, so that was 7 or 8 miles down & back.  Was still feeling it, so I went to another trail that is notorious for drying out slowly, and that was the case Sunday.  Had to hop on the gravel two-track after only a mile or two - shoulda stayed at Lakeview/Riverbends.  By that time though, I had developed a small issue and my a** was sore so I headed home.

The issues I've got now:
1) bottom bracket has developed a creak, only under power.  I'm used to this with my old SS CX bike with a press-in bottom bracket, so this is new to me.  I think I'm going to spend this week looking into the drivetrain issues (creak, and my rear derailleur issue pointed out prior).  I'm also wondering if my spacer use is correct on the BB.  I *think* I have zero on the non-drive side and 1 on the drive-side (XT 2x10).

2) I can't seem to get this seat to be comfy.  I've been playing around with the position (fore/aft, angle), and I'm almost out of angle adjustment (tilted nose-down).  I'm going to throw on an old seat I have to see if that fixes it - didn't have any comfort issues, but it's a boat anchor.

[MTB2223]

1) bottom bracket has developed a creak, only under power.  I'm used to this with my old SS CX bike with a press-in bottom bracket, so this is new to me.  I think I'm going to spend this week looking into the drivetrain issues (creak, and my rear derailleur issue pointed out prior).  I'm also wondering if my spacer use is correct on the BB.  I *think* I have zero on the non-drive side and 1 on the drive-side (XT 2x10).

This weekend I had also a creak, which I thought it came from my BB. After replacing the BB with another one, still the same creak. Finally I found the creak, it was some friction between the rear axle and the drop-out. I cleaned both parts and now it's quiet again.
So, don't only focus on your BB.

[jwilds1]

I'm spent. 35 miles this weekend. I installed my clip-in pedals and just went for a ride around town to get used to them. By the time I got back I was wondering why I didn't do this before. To those of you who are on the fence, DO IT. So much more efficient.

This morning I went on a group ride and the area in my prior post. New-old seat is so much more comfy (now to see if I can find an exact match online or I'm going to have to swap seats across 3 bikes). Started getting the creak again at the end of that ride (10 miles). Also had no rear brake for the entire ride cuz I messed it up bleeding it the other day.

With a wonky rear brake and a mystery creak, I said what the he** and drove up to Maybury, about 15 minutes from spot #1 .  Checked out the creak - rear axle was TOTALLY loose. One problem down, one left (no rear brake). Made it through both spots, 28 miles total, and only fell twice - no fault of the clipless, I was trying to manage downhills with only a front brake which isn't fun.

[jwilds1]

Wow, bump of a really old topic - haven't been able to access from work for a while (some IT-type stuff about "Categorization")...

After what amounts to almost a full season on my 057, I have to say I am very pleased with the bike.  I've fallen considerably, with a few of them being "bike flying in the air" crashes, and it's handled everything very well. Things I would have done different:

1) Gone with a 1x setup.  I've been doing a lot of research on next spring's project (read further below), and it is now definitely within my level of comprehension.  Remember, I had never so much as adjusted a derailleur or brakes before this build, so I was a little apprehensive when it came to sourcing parts.  Going with a full drivetrain/brakes groupset from Ribble was the easiest way for me to ensure I got everything I needed and that it all worked together.

2) Gone 27.5".  I'm a rank novice when it comes to the trails, and our trails around here make up for their lack of elevation change with tight turns and some technical stuff.  Coming from a 26er, the jump to a 29er (at least for me) was drastic in terms of bike handling in the twisties.

So.  What's next?

My son (age 11) and I have a long weekend trip to Brown County next weekend.  I just finished tuning up his bike (Trek MT220) for the trip, and I have some tires to throw on mine (Rons/Ralphs) and do a last-minute tune-up/shake-down ride.  We did the same trip last year, and he wants to start tackling some of the more difficult stuff while there.

Also, I'm finalizing plans to put together a bike for him in the late-winter/early-spring.  Peter sent me the geometry of his 14.5" frame, and the reach is remarkably long (560mm ETT), so I'm looking into eBay frames.  His current bike has a 21" ETT, so I don't want to go much bigger than that.  His bike will also probably have a better drivetrain than mine, as I spec'd out a RaceFace Cinch 1x crank with the XT 11-speed rear (11-42).  Also, I'm planning on going BB7 for his bike. 

I realize it's a ton of money to spend on a bike that he'll only be in for a few years, but without going into details, he's had a rough year or two and he's an amazing kid.  Biking is our chance to bond, and I'm going to have him do most of the build on the bike so he can put in some sweat equity.

Pics from Brown County to follow...