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Re: SVChucko's Seraph/TanTan FM10 build - it lives! I finally set up the cockpit yesterday. It was no surprise that I had to shim the OneUp dropper post. The FM10 design has a shallow seat tube, and at the full 150mm extension, the saddle was just a tad too high. But I picked the OneUp because it had the shortest insertion depth at 150mm, and because they claimed you could adjust the travel in a couple of minutes without tools. They weren't lying. I only needed to shorten it by 10mm - one set of shims - so I still have plenty of room to drop the saddle in the rough stuff. I set up the handlebar angle and the controls much like my old bike. I was a little disappointed to see that the saddle-to-bar distance was actually shorter than my old bike. I had a bike fit done last summer, and the fitter thought the bar was too close on the old bike. OTOH, the old bike was designed around a 100mm stem. The new bike has a 70mm stem at present, which I thought would be too long. The grips on the 16° SQLabs 30X bar are in line with the steerer. I might try moving the saddle back on its rails. It's a gorgeous day here in Silicon Valley today, so I took the new bike to a popular local preserve for a shakedown ride. And had a blast! Only a couple of minor issues came up during the shakedown ride. The seatpost creaks pretty badly in the frame. The headset developed a little bit of play, no surprise, and no big deal. Some of the helicopter tape I put on the chainstay had come loose and was buzzing against the tire. And (oops) I put the rear tire on backwards. I wish I could blame the bike for my (lack of) fitness, but I didn't really notice the weight of the fatter tires. The ZTTO 11 speed cassette, Sensah CRX shifter and derailleur, and low-end SRAM 12-speed chain combination worked great. I had no issues with shifting. We'll see how that changes as it wears. No issues today with the Goldix rear hub either, thankfully. I'm still leery after the rotor bolt threads stripped in the front hub, and after all the reports of Chinese star ratchets breaking down much sooner than expected. The 16° bar seems to suit my hands. The Ergon saddle seems kind of firm, but then I haven't done much riding lately, and I know I won't notice it after a few weeks. Overall it rides a lot like my 2007 vintage 26er. This is both good (no major adjustments to riding style) and bad (expecting the spouse to say "You spent $$$$ for a bike that rides just like the old one?!)" It did seem a little easier to control on downhills. I'll want to go over everything with a fine toothed comb before taking it for another ride. And I'll cut down the steerer tube by about 20mm. I'd left it long just in case, but the Cane Creek Helm II fork seems to work fine. I may build a set of 29" wheels and trade off to see if the extra width of the 27.5" tires makes up for the lower bottom bracket. The trails I rode today had been groomed recently, so there wasn't a lot of rough stuff to provoke pedal strikes. Pictures attached as promised. I went with a stealth matte black theme because I'm lazy, and I suck at painting. (I was the kid who always had glue thumbprints on any model kit I built.) March 13, 2022, 08:03:07 PM	1

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Re: SVChucko's Seraph/TanTan FM10 build - it lives! I finally set up the cockpit yesterday. It was no surprise that I had to shim the OneUp dropper post. The FM10 design has a shallow seat tube, and at the full 150mm extension, the saddle was just a tad too high. But I picked the OneUp because it had the shortest insertion depth at 150mm, and because they claimed you could adjust the travel in a couple of minutes without tools. They weren't lying. I only needed to shorten it by 10mm - one set of shims - so I still have plenty of room to drop the saddle in the rough stuff. I set up the handlebar angle and the controls much like my old bike.

I was a little disappointed to see that the saddle-to-bar distance was actually shorter than my old bike. I had a bike fit done last summer, and the fitter thought the bar was too close on the old bike. OTOH, the old bike was designed around a 100mm stem. The new bike has a 70mm stem at present, which I thought would be too long. The grips on the 16° SQLabs 30X bar are in line with the steerer. I might try moving the saddle back on its rails.

It's a gorgeous day here in Silicon Valley today, so I took the new bike to a popular local preserve for a shakedown ride. And had a blast!

Only a couple of minor issues came up during the shakedown ride. The seatpost creaks pretty badly in the frame. The headset developed a little bit of play, no surprise, and no big deal. Some of the helicopter tape I put on the chainstay had come loose and was buzzing against the tire. And (oops) I put the rear tire on backwards.

I wish I could blame the bike for my (lack of) fitness, but I didn't really notice the weight of the fatter tires.

The ZTTO 11 speed cassette, Sensah CRX shifter and derailleur, and low-end SRAM 12-speed chain combination worked great. I had no issues with shifting. We'll see how that changes as it wears. No issues today with the Goldix rear hub either, thankfully. I'm still leery after the rotor bolt threads stripped in the front hub, and after all the reports of Chinese star ratchets breaking down much sooner than expected. The 16° bar seems to suit my hands. The Ergon saddle seems kind of firm, but then I haven't done much riding lately, and I know I won't notice it after a few weeks.

Overall it rides a lot like my 2007 vintage 26er. This is both good (no major adjustments to riding style) and bad (expecting the spouse to say "You spent $$$$ for a bike that rides just like the old one?!)"

It did seem a little easier to control on downhills.

I'll want to go over everything with a fine toothed comb before taking it for another ride. And I'll cut down the steerer tube by about 20mm. I'd left it long just in case, but the Cane Creek Helm II fork seems to work fine.

I may build a set of 29" wheels and trade off to see if the extra width of the 27.5" tires makes up for the lower bottom bracket. The trails I rode today had been groomed recently, so there wasn't a lot of rough stuff to provoke pedal strikes.

Pictures attached as promised. I went with a stealth matte black theme because I'm lazy, and I suck at painting.

(I was the kid who always had glue thumbprints on any model kit I built.)
March 13, 2022, 08:03:07 PM

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