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Re: New Lexon spirit
Lexon replied this morning and only replied to one of my questions. I had asked them how much a 19" Spirit weighs. They replied that they do not have any in stock, and if I ordered one, they would tell me how much it weighs when it is ready to ship. They sent me 2 images of a 15.5" frame and an image of the shock on a scale. Frame and shock is shown to weigh 2460 grams and the shock 345 grams. (Frame weight = 2115) Who knows if this is what all the 15.5 frames actually weigh. (Why would they lie?)   They wrote that they would deduct $120 if I want a frame without a shock. That is way to little of a credit. After digging deeper and spending way to much time researching this frame, I get the feeling that Lexon released the Spirit to soon in their development cycle. I like the frame overall, but until they supply shocks with a workable fill port on the bottom trunnion, plus refine how you set the sag and what appears to be some bearing assembly problems, I will wait on being a Guinea pig. November 28, 2022, 01:13:20 PM |
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Re: Interesting Aliexpress finds! - good deals, interesting stuff, new products etc!
They are lying about what they are selling and hoping that most people won't notice the differences. I think that should be reported. For every buyer who catches this difference there are a bunch who won't and don't get the item they paid for. I wrote Shimano USA asking them what I should do to report, and added the E-bay seller link. Let's see what happens. November 29, 2022, 07:16:02 PM |
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Re: New Lexon spirit
My latest response from Lexon regarding the Spirit: (After I wrote them I wasn't purchasing a frame from then until they gave me an actual weight for a 19" and fixed the air fill port access problem on the Spirit frame.) >We are about to install the newly updated frame. You can pay attention to us, my friend. The new frame has an opening at the bottom. Thank you for your understanding. I am waiting for a reply. Have you guys ready any articles about the New Scott Luman racing e-Mtn. Bike ? It appears to me that Scott is staying committed with the internal hidden shock frame design and have plans to expand this approach to other of their bicycle offerings. December 02, 2022, 07:56:41 PM |
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Re: Carbonda FM909
I keep seeing riders purchasing FM909s but when will someone post a decent review of how these frames perform. Flexy? Stiff? handling? I wonder how a large frame would hold up to a 210+ rider....
December 07, 2022, 02:51:30 PM |
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Re: 29er XC Hardtail - Boost - Modern Geometry
I almost have my Spcycle SP-M05 ready for a test ride. I purchased the frame a year ago. Finally accumulated the parts, built the wheels and put it together. All of the parts have been sourced via Aliexpress except for: RaceFace Next Carbon cranks/BB, Scumano XT rear derailleur and shift pod, Flite saddle, PWN Coast dropper, and the tires. I have a Rock Shock SID Ultimate SL on order to replace the Trifox carbon fork. Hits the scale at 19.7 lbs. When I add the Rockshox front fork, weight should be under 22lbs. December 09, 2022, 06:05:07 PM |
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Re: Interesting Aliexpress finds! - good deals, interesting stuff, new products etc!
I just ordered some disc brake hydraulic hose service parts. I need to cut down one of the lines on the IIIPRO E4 Mountain Bike Brakes I purchased a month ago. Until now, I have never had to cut down the hose length of a hydraulic line. I sometimes spend hours looking at all the little cool small parts that they have for sale for cycling, camping and other activities. December 09, 2022, 06:31:43 PM |
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Re: Interesting Aliexpress finds! - good deals, interesting stuff, new products etc!
I get it: LBS = bad Amazon = bad REI = good Aliexpress = good the majority of the time if you can wait 2 weeks to a month for delivery. Other online bicycle part suppliers = good when the price is right. Working on your own bicycles = priceless. December 10, 2022, 12:03:52 AM |
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Re: Super Boost Discussion
What do you consider light weight and cost effective? DT Swiss 350 is about an o and ounce more than the 250g that you mentioned. The company I was working with was via Alibaba. They wanted about $28.63 each for their custom, (to my Specification) rear 157 CL MS based rear hub. They claimed it would weigh around 250 grams. At first, they wanted 100 unit minimum then later dropped it to 50 minimum. I didn't like the bearing they specified, so they were willing to upgrade, but I would have to pay around $35 each. Since this would be a "business transaction" I would probably have to pay a Tariff (Probably 25% of value and used an import broker, into the USA, Plus shipping.) (I asked if they were willing to sell me 2 samples, but they wanted a $50% deposit, on an order of at least 50 hubs. What country are you in? USA Did you post the details of your frame elsewhere on the forum? I'll have to look, perhaps when I joined the forum a month ago. But I think I posted the bike somewhere, but it might be on MTBR. I agree the the superboost/83mm BB combo is a great option, especially for Ti bikepacking rigs. I wasn't aware that you could go up to 4" though. Peronally, I like the extra space just for mud clearance alone. I have a carbon framed Otso Voytek that has an 83mm BB. It'll fit up to 4.6 on the rear. I've never run bigger than 2.8x27.5 though. I really don't notice the wider BB at all (183mm Q factor) I'm curious which cranks you use. The Votek's crank options are pretty limited. If anyone is in the market for a set of 83mm cranks I have a take off set of Race Face Affects and BB. I went with Race Face Carbon Next SL cranks, axle and BSA83 BB. Here are a couple pics of the back half of the frame and one where the bike is partially dressed for bikepacking. December 12, 2022, 12:09:46 AM |
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Re: Super Boost Discussion
Many, if not most of the Chinese hubs use NBK Chinese bearings. The grade they originally offered me is the second to the lowest that NBK manufactures. The upgrade they offered me was an increase of around $2.00 each per bearing, X 3 bearings = $6.00 Not too bad an increase if you think about it. If you look up a decent Timkin or SKF cartridge bearing, they will cost starting around $15 each. Ceramic cartridge bearings are often in the $30 range each. I wont go into details about bearing selections for bicycle hubs. I spent several years of my career working with bearing applications and designs in low RPM High vacuum environments, and had to do a lot of work with, low friction, very low particulate generation, bearings/races and non-outgassing lubricants. In general, almost all hub manufactures around the world are using medium RPM range cartridge bearings for what is considered a low RPM range bearing applications. (Bicycle hubs = typically under 500 rpm.) Bearing selection for bicycles is based more on available space between the axle OD and the ID hub housing, rather than an optimized ball/race/rpm combination. The lubricants/greases used are typically as inexpensive as one can find. I could go on and on, but in the end it doesn't matter because the performance of the bearings they use are good enough overall and is a second order energy loss in the complete bicycle applied to an average cyclist. I haven't looked up the current harmonized tariffs for bicycle parts. I believe that many of the 25% tariffs of the last administration have expired, or negotiated away by the bicycle industry. (My hub negotiations were done at the end of last year. I decided, what the heck would I do with even 50 hubs? I am no longer dabble in the cycling industry on the side, so 40+ Super Boost rear hubs would be a drain on my time trying to sell them.) December 12, 2022, 10:39:42 AM |
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Re: Downcountry ramblings
Regarding TI frames. They can be the best of the best regarding handling and balance of flex/stiffness, or they can not be as good as you would expect. My road bike standard is still my Merlin Extralight. My Merlin is still the best riding road frame I have ever owned. But, My Scott Addict, (Carbon) rides every bit as good as the Merlin, but is lighter. I had Waltly build me a 29er hardtail TI frame built last year. I just love it overall. But it is a slacker geometry, so it is fantastic for bikepacking, and gravel grinding, but doesn't handle tight berms very well. (Partlycompounded by using dropper bars.) This being written, I actually enjoy riding many of our local trails on the 29er Waltly hardtai, more than I do on my older full suspension bike. I am faster on the climbs than my riding buddies, but a bit slower descending, versus them riding their FS bikes. Therefore I am building up a Spcycle SP-M05 carbon hardtail this winter, so I will have a lighter carbon hardtail that I hope will climb even better and be faster on the berms and descents. (Then I will use my Waltly more for bikepacking, and gravel grinders. Versus my Gravel bike that beats the heck out of me on descents) Perhaps the last bike I will build next year and may be my last modern full suspension 29er (Something I can enjoy for a few years before I get too old and move on to an E-bike) One of the reasons I recently joined this forum, is to research/find out what the best Chinese FS frame might be for my needs. December 12, 2022, 12:19:52 PM |
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