My N019 Build, NASA themed!

[cmh]

a) bars - yeah, I could see that.

b) ROVER. Yes. Do this thing. I LOL'd when I saw that.

[rvc]

b) ROVER. Yes. Do this thing. I LOL'd when I saw that.

This is essentially your idea, sir!

I do like it, and the cost of the replica emblems is about the same as any sort of custom vinyl decals. I was originally thinking "Endeavour" or "Saturn" after the NASA vehicles, but the Rover is a bit more "down to earth" (pun intended).

[cmh]

b) ROVER. Yes. Do this thing. I LOL'd when I saw that.

This is essentially your idea, sir!

I do like it, and the cost of the replica emblems is about the same as any sort of custom vinyl decals. I was originally thinking "Endeavour" or "Saturn" after the NASA vehicles, but the Rover is a bit more "down to earth" (pun intended).

I take full credit, then.

[rvc]

Got an update from Chris yesterday... Have a look at these

This guy is just awesome!



Also, my wheels shipped today! Should be here in about 8 days.

[rvc]

3K Wheels

[cmh]

Got an update from Chris yesterday... Have a look at these

This guy is just awesome!

Jeez, what took him so long?

Coming along well! You still have a rebuild on that front wheel looming, yes?

[cmh]

How's the build going? Your stuff showed up and then *poof* no more updates!

Nosy minds wanna know!

[rvc]

How's the build going? Your stuff showed up and then *poof* no more updates!

Nosy minds wanna know!

Haha-- I see. Well, I've been on travel abroad for work and actually haven't set my eyes on the wheels yet (or the MTBtools spacer, for that matter). They're tortuously waiting for me at the Post Office.
I should have them in a week or so. Rest assured, my nosy friends... you will be updated! 

Side note: The UK has some incredible bike magazines + unique brands of stuff that you don't see here. One specific difference I noticed is that in the States, it seems like 9/10 of the magazine photos are insane jumps or manuals. You almost never see two wheels on the ground, much less on a flat trail. Too boring for American eyes? No ad retention?

[cmh]

How's the build going? Your stuff showed up and then *poof* no more updates!

Nosy minds wanna know!

Haha-- I see. Well, I've been on travel abroad for work and actually haven't set my eyes on the wheels yet (or the MTBtools spacer, for that matter). They're tortuously waiting for me at the Post Office.
I should have them in a week or so. Rest assured, my nosy friends... you will be updated! 

Side note: The UK has some incredible bike magazines + unique brands of stuff that you don't see here. One specific difference I noticed is that in the States, it seems like 9/10 of the magazine photos are insane jumps or manuals. You almost never see two wheels on the ground, much less on a flat trail. Too boring for American eyes? No ad retention?

Well we eagerly await your updates! I wanna see the moon buggy!

And yes - I noticed the exact same thing when I was in the UK, all the magazines make the US versions seem so very disappointing. I got tired of the US magazines showing all the riding I never do. Dirt Rag is still pretty good, but I enjoyed the UK mags.

[rvc]

So--At long last I am back and picked up the carbon wheel/rim! Fortunately, the post office was able to hold it for two weeks for me no problem.

First impressions, the rims are gorgeous. Looks exactly as shown in the previous pic, with the exception of silver nipples. I also observed the rear wheel (assembled) seems to be built quite well. The tensions are fairly consistent and the rim is dead true/round. I will be lacing and tensioning the front rim this weekend.

Weights:
Front rim (bare) 752g. This is a little more than I expected but still quite light.
Rear wheel, assembled (no axle) with Sapim D-LIGHT spokes, Novatec 202 hub and Shimano freewheel: 1370g
Front wheel, unassembled but with the hub, same as above spokes and nippes: 1170g

This gives a wheelset weight a little higher than advertised (2440g versus 2540g actual). Perhaps this is due to the 3K versus UD selection or mfg variance? An astute reader might note that I'm using a different front hub than shown on xmcarbonspeed.com, although mine is still the same model Novatec and is narrower (135mm vs 150mm). I also ended up with lighter spokes than "stock", the D-LIGHTs are supposedly ~50g/wheel lighter per wheel.

Regardless, I am now able to assemble the bike and will update you guys when I can!

Cheers
R

[rvc]

Also, I received the spacer ring from MTB tools and will need to tweak the ID slightly to get to fit. The craftsmanship and speed delivered by Chris/MTBtools was simply fantastic though!

I'm really looking forward to get it installed and ridden! Lately work and other activities have been crazy though and deleted my freetime to work on the fb project...

[cmh]

Also, I received the spacer ring from MTB tools and will need to tweak the ID slightly to get to fit. The craftsmanship and speed delivered by Chris/MTBtools was simply fantastic though!

I'm really looking forward to get it installed and ridden! Lately work and other activities have been crazy though and deleted my freetime to work on the fb project...

Awesome, coming along well! Glad to hear MTBtools worked out well!

+100g off claimed weight isn't terribly surprising. I got my 80mm fatbike rims from Peter when he was still at XMIPlay and they were listed as 650+/-50g, and both of them were almost exactly +50g.


cmh

[rvc]

I laced and tensioned up the wheel  , no problems aside from dropping two nipples into an almost finished wheel  . I had to make heavy use of the "Force" to lure those tiny nipples out of the nipple holes. The shape of the rim section is definitely not suited for stupid mistakes.

I ended up with 95kgf on the non-disc side and 125kgf on the disc side once dished correctly. It felt like I was making a motorcycle wheel!

The rear wheel, however  came laced super tight (23-26 on my Park TM-1, which is off the charts on their scale for 1.6mm spokes, I'm guessing in the neighborhood of 200-220kgf!). I messaged Peter to see if that tension is recommended or safe on the CF rims... not to mention aluminum nipples. Any thoughts?

[cmh]

I forget where I saw it, but I remember seeing ridiculously high tension limits for a chiner carbon rim. Dunno - I aimed for 120kgf on my 80mm build and it seems just fine. I think I confirmed that with Peter at the time, but my memory is $#!+. 

I would expect for sure that if the spokes didn't extend into the nipple head, that level of tension would have you breaking nipples all the time - I find that's the case with even normal tensions. I always run spokes a little longer when using aluminum nipples because of that. Also looked into nipples with extended internal threading, DT Swiss makes a cool one now that has a male torx head and gives about 1-2mm extra threading through the nipple head. Haven't built with it yet, though. Have use Sapim's hex head nipples which don't have the normal screwdriver slot and such give about an extra 1mm of threading in what seems to be a beefier nipple head.

[rvc]

IT'S ALIVE!!!

Build notes and ride review to follow... pics first!