I just came back from a 9d cycling training camp. Did about 34h/850k on the bike and gotten into a few slightly wet rides. Our hotel was directly located at the beach, so lots of sand and salty moisture was all around us. I gave the bike a good hose down after every wet ride and wiped it dry afterwards but towards the end of the vacation, it developed a slight creaking/cracking noise. Wasn't completely sure whether it was coming from the headset or the cranks/BB. Did two rides on the turbo once I returned home and still had the same noises. Now I was pretty sure it came from the BB or cranks since I didn't turn the steerer on the turbo. I didn't remove the cranks since I built the bike last year, so it's been on there for about 6.500k now.
Unsurprisingly, it was covered in some nice nasty grimy sand and grease paste. Took everything apart and gave it a good clean: wiped the surface grease off with a paper towel; soapy water for the sand and dirt; wipe down with cleaning alcohol to get everything shiny and remove the remaining greasy spots. Didn't douse the spider power meter ofc
Initially, I used the bolts and screws that came with the Pass Quest chain rings. However, they were really tough to remove. When trying to unscrew them, the threaded casing on the backside started turning with the bolts making it impossible to open them. Since the casing side does not accept a hex or allen key but just features a big slot (too large for even my largest screwdriver), it made it really tough to grab and hold that side. I eventually was able to hold them down with a large metal ruler that slotted in there. The screws also seemed a bit stuck in there. I first though the white stuff on the screws was some thread locker that was applied factory side. I have another pair of unused Pass Quest chainrings here for an upcoming build so I compared them. Their bolts do not feature any thread locker or any other material, just bare metal. Which leads me to conclude this might actually be some sort of corrosion in the bolts. Luckily, I did apply some grease to the bolts before installing them - otherwise this might have lead to an larger issue. During re-assembly I decided to now use the bolts that came with the Magene PES spider. They feature allen keys on both sides which should make them easier to disassemble even if stuck.
Which lead to another question: which direction/side was the small chainring attached? Unfortunately, I did not take a picture before unscrewing them. So I tried to find some info online. The PQ FAQ/website wasn't helpful at all. No instructions there at all. Only after browsing *several* PQ listings on AliExpress, I found eventually found one with this image attached which somewhat shows an installation direction. However, my small ring does not feature that "two notch indent" that their picture shows. I was about to install it oriented the way their picture shows the specifications imprint "34T AL7875 ..." pointing outwards and on "top" with the crank pointing to the right side. Luckily, I decided to look at my second pair of unused, still factory packed, spare chain rings. I remembered they had one bolt pre-installed. Turns out, they probably do that to showcase the correct installation. "Specification print" on the outside but pointing "downwards". I then realized there is a SUPER TINY notch on the inside of the ring, almost invisible to the eye if you don't know what you are looking for (red circle).
So I installed the rings accordingly. Only had one quick spin on the turbo last night but it seems my shifting has gotten MUCH better. Previously, I had some issues with shifting from small to big taking quite long and also had a few chain drops from big to small with the chain dropping towards the frame. Looking forward to do a conclusive outdoor test on the weekend and report back. But so far: if you are using a Pass Quest/Stone chain ring (which I know many do), you might wanna check if you small ring is installed correctly, especially if you are having subpar shifting performance. I am kinda mad I didn't take a picture before disassembly so I can't confirm how mine were installed before - but on the other had, if I had taken that picture, I probably would have not looked into how to install them correctly and just put them back the potentially wrong way I took them off ...
