Building Blocks

Now that my Yelli has been built, some may be wondering what components went into it. Why did I choose these parts? The short answer is, I wanted to try out some higher end components and get a feel for the difference between them and lower-range components that I had used in the past. It is always a tough gamble when trying to justify spending more on something that is seemingly similar. What do you get for double or even triple the price of most standard bike components?? Well, it depends on the component, but in most cases, it is the quality of materials, design that went into them, features and in most cases, weight [savings]. As you go up in the range of say, a rear derailleur, the price tends to increase exponentially. Lower-range offerings are basic, may use bushings rather than precision bearings and cheaper metals or more plastic than metal pieces. At a certain point, the more you spend is really not getting you any more for your money, but rather less! Weight of every component adds up and can be an advantage (durability) or disadvantage (reduced pedaling efficiency). Now, say you are building a lightweight XC bike for racing...you may feel that spending the extra $$ on lighter components gives you an advantage on the trails. On the other end of the spectrum, if your building a downhill bike that will send you flying down a rough trail at high speeds, you want the most durable parts you can get. An extra few grams here and there are not going to make much of a difference when your complete bike weighs 37 lbs!

With my build, I went with a bit of a mix. The drive-train, brakes, and wheels, I felt were worth spending a little more on in case I decided to take the Yelli on some demanding trails. Powerful brakes are piece of mind in times of panic...a smooth, fast shifting drive-train can instill confidence that you get into the gear you want that instant. Other pieces, as I have learned, are not really worth throwing a bunch of cash at. Parts such as handlebars, stem, and a seat post are mostly aluminum and don't vary nearly as much as the manufacturers would suggest. Now, if you splurge on carbon-fiber bits, then the damping and lightweight features may be worth the price tag.

In some cases, my choice of components relied simply on the fact that I was after a specific color to go with my "theme". I started this build with the intention of trying to find/use as much Blue and White as I could find. When one of these colors was not available, I went with tried and true Black (black goes with everything!!). A couple parts ended up with red as it just so happened to match the red in the fork knob and decals...

Also, (in my case) OCD played a small role. With most components, there are two big players....SRAM and Shimano. People either love or hate one of them and try to stick with a single manufacturer. I have used and been happy with SRAM and just found most of my choices swaying in that direction. Others will mix the two depending on their likes or the prices found. My Airborne Seeker XC bike came with a plethora of SRAM components and I really have had little issue with them, so I kept the SRAM train rolling!

Brakes...ahh a heated debate! A majority of mountain-bikers have a sore spot for SRAM/Avid brakes. This is due mostly to their newly replaced Elixir line of hydraulic disc brakes. You will find quite a few online posts/articles related to failed/leaking/and poorly designed reservoirs. The Elixirs are noted for having difficulty getting all of the air out of the hydraulic system when bled per SRAM instructions. This can lead to mushy levers and poor performance. If you've been keeping up with this blog, you may remember my issue with the Elixir 1's that came on my Airborne Seeker. While, this issue wasn't ideal, I will again restate that SRAM was friendly and quick to rectify the situation in my case and sent me a brand new set of their redesigned DB5 brakes. I have since had no issues with these and can attest to SRAM's phenomenal customer service! It was this event that gave me confidence to look to them when choosing brakes for my Yelli build and ultimately led me to purchase their new Guide RS brakes. The Guide's have the same newly designed lever/reservoir as the lower-range DB5's on my Seeker, but use the highly touted 4-piston brake calipers that have been used the last few years on the top of the line XO Trail series brakes. The new Guide series have only been out for about a year now, although I could not seem to find one bad review of them online. Now, there will always be people out there who were burned by the Elixirs and simply will not own another set of SRAM brakes. To those people, I may not be able to convince you, but everyone deserves another chance. The saying, "don't knock it till you've tried it" comes to mind...

I will admit that quite a few of my choices were sparked by looking at the many other Yelli Screamy builds posted online by owners. I looked at the more common parts being used, and this helped me figure out what worked and what didn't fit.

This build was my first stab at trying out a 1x10 drive-train. If you haven't seen my previous post about kicking the front derailleur to the curb, check it out as there's some great information in there if you are new to this or just curious. It seems to be a popular trend lately as mountain bikers and now many manufacturers are omitting the front shifter/derailleur and cabling from their current products. This move towards simplicity and less maintenance is proving to be a game-changer as there is less to adjust and it saves a few grams. I played around with a gear calculator and ultimately chose to go with a 30 tooth chain-ring up front. This, coupled with the standard 10-speed 11-36 tooth rear cassette, should prove to be a comparable option to the 2x10 setup on my Seeker. Now, going from the standard 22/36t to a 30t does delete a couple of the low-end gears and the top-most, but all accounts suggest my legs should grow accustomed to it over time. I will have to report back on how I feel after a few good rides with this setup, but there are options to correct this such as changing to a 28t chain-ring or replacing a rear cog with a 42t offering in order to regain the lower climbing gears.

Next, we have the wheels. No matter how you slice it, unless you already have a set of good rims/hubs from another bike to use, the wheel-set is going to be one of the more expensive components you will have to purchase. Again I looked to other builds and noticed a large amount of people running Stan's wheels. They make many flavors from lighter "Crest" rims to the beefier "Flow" set. Prices being equal, I went with the more abusive-friendly Flow rims. Now, I have no idea what kind of trails are in my future, but i'm in the camp of "I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it". These wheels are most likely overkill for this bike and my level of riding, but it seems to be a popular choice among Yelli Screamy owners. The Yelli is considered an "All-Mountain Hardtail", so it is designed to take on some gnarly trails. Anyhow, the other selling point is that the Flow rims are wide, which makes for a nice wide contact patch with the tire. This is a great attribute when shod with the Ardent 2.4 I have mounted on the front. The Flow rim is laced to a Hope Pro 2 Evo hub, which is a great hub for the price. A nice feature of these hubs is that they use removable end caps to switch between axle sizes. If you want to move them to a different bike or change the fork/axle combo you have, it's easy!

The suspension fork was a happy coincidence...I was looking for a deal and stumbled upon this Manitou Tower Pro in the clearance section. It was last year's model and since Manitou has fallen off the radar with most riders, it was discounted 50%. I have always liked Manitou's offerings and find their forks to be very plush and provide smooth travel. It sports a tapered head-tube and 15mm QR axle. The controls are fairly simple providing only basic compression and rebound adjustments, which I kind of prefer...less to fiddle with on the trail. Only time will tell, but it should prove to be a great asset to the build!

Don't forget the pedals! When I purchased my Seeker last year, I took advantage of the Crank Brothers upgrade offer, which involved me sending an old set of egg-beaters to them and getting a discount code for 50% off a new set. Seeing as I already had a pair and the shoes/cleats to go with them, I figured it was a no-brainer....but it had been awhile since rode clipped-in and soon found myself a little uneasy at the thought of going down with my feet stuck in the pedals. Another trend being seen is the move back to flat pedals. After some reading, it had seemed as though Canfield Brothers (who I bought the frame from) built one of the lightest/thinnest flat pedals. So, I ordered a pair and couldn't be happier with them. The color matches the frame and they are super grippy with small set screws that act as cleats to keep your shoes stuck!

Last, (and arguably one of the more important items) is the tires. I needed help with this choice....there are so many different tires out there, I didn't know where to start. A quick post up on the MTBR forums in the "New York" section yielded some great options from some very knowledgeable members. Thus, I went with a 29x2.4 Maxxis Ardent up front and a 29x2.35 Maxxis Ikon out back. I am told for the area of NY I live in, this should prove to be a good starting point.

I think that pretty much covers it. If I left out something important, let me know....

Project Yelli Screamy Update #3

OK, so a lot has gone down since we last talked...I know I left off with a disappointing update being that my funds were being diverted to my Harley...well since then, some amazing things happened! During the holidays, I was blessed with some Amazon gift cards....lots of them. Being that most of my Amazon wish list contained various parts for this project, I have been able to purchase the remaining pieces of this puzzle.

I have spent my evenings for the last week or so getting this bike assembled and I can now (finally) present my completed Yelli Screamy. I will try to get some better pictures in the near future, but for now, here is the completed bike!

A trained eye might notice that the wheels don't match...sadly, I did run out of funds to buy the rear matching Flow EX rim/Hope Pro 2 Evo hub combo that is on the front. The up-side to this...I was able to "borrow" the rear wheel from my Airborne Seeker for the time being. Once I get some more funds allocated to the project, the rear wheel will be purchased, but that doesn't mean I can't have some fun in the meantime!

All in all, the project was fun and really didn't take a lot of knowledge to assemble. Now that I have purchased some of the necessary tools for this build, it will be a cinch in the future if/when I decide to build another frame....

Stay tuned, as I will be posting a more detailed examination of the components that went into this build and hopefully a short-term review of my new steed once I get it into action! As always, feel free to ask any questions or advice if your looking into building a bike of your own.

Give me a Brake!

I have some news...

My beloved Airborne Seeker has been having a little problem with the Elixir 1 brakes. Basically, whenever the bike would sit out in the sun, the rear brake locked up. After letting the bike "cool" down in the shade or basement, it would return to normal. It only happened a couple times this summer, however the last event resulted in a small fluid leak at the lever. I was not happy considering I had owned the bike less than a year. Figuring, it might just be a bad factory bleed, I took it to my LBS. They informed me that it would in fact need new seals in addition to bleeding. On top of that, they said it would cost around $50 total and a week to get the Avid seal kit shipped...

I figured I'd test out Airborne's great customer service reputation and see if this could be covered under warranty. Within an hour of emailing Airborne, they replied back letting me know they contacted SRAM and were awaiting a reply. I waited roughly a week without update and decided to fire off a curious email to Airborne. Sure enough, a speedy reply informed me that SRAM had sent out replacements and a pre-paid label to return my leaking Elixir. I was impressed to say the least...fairly quick responses, no hassle, no questions, free replacements. A few days later, the package arrived, with two surprises...

Surprise #1: Upgraded replacement brakes! I received the newly re-designed DB5 model (lower tier versions of the new GUIDE series) including (2) of the new "centerline" rotors!!

Surprise #2: The second brake in the box......a DB3??? wait a minute, who runs different brakes on the front/rear?? A 3rd email to Airborne revealed that it was indeed a mix-up at SRAM, and a rep emailed me back letting me know that a second DB5 was on it's way.

Eagerly, I unpacked the DB5 and installed it in the place of my leaky Elixir...and quickly noticed that the hose was too long for my Seeker. This meant that I would need to cut and bleed the line before I could go riding. I could have brought the bike to the LBS and paid to have it bled, but then in a couple days I would have to do it all over again once my front DB5 arrived from SRAM. Since I wanted to ride the bike NOW, I opted to bite the bullet and go buy an Avid bleed kit. I figured it would come in handy in the future with my Yelli Screamy build.

All in all, I have to commend Airborne as well as SRAM customer service throughout my issues. They provided fast, helpful responses and quickly shipped out replacements without question. I will keep everyone updated as I test out these new SRAM brakes (gone is the Avid name from the new design), and try to post up a review here soon.

Ride safe!

Project Yelli Screamy Update #2

I've got good news and I've got bad news...

First, let's get the bad news out of the way. The project has been going slowly, and will be getting even slower over the next few months as I have opted to divert my funds to rebuilding my motorcycle engine for more power...I'd go into detail but i suspect you are reading this because you're interested in mountain-biking, not motorcycles.

OK, now that that's out of the way...the good news! If you've been keeping up with me. I've got a good portion of the bike build out of the way. The next few components (namely the wheels and brakes) are a bit pricier than some of the smaller stuff. It will take some time for me to get the funds together and hopefully the Flow EX wheels to be back in stock.

I ran across some more sale items on JensonUSA the other day...and ended up purchasing a SRAM X9 Type 2 (clutch) rear derailleur and SRAM PC-1071 chain to go along with it. Next, I will be ordering the X9 shifter and shift cable kit and my drive-train will be complete! I can't wait to get it all bolted up and adjusted. The key component here is the front wheel, as the Manitou Tower Pro fork I picked up back in spring has a 15mm QR axle. Aside from that, if I get impatient, the rest of the components can be "borrowed" from my Airborne Seeker. I don't plan on using the Seeker as a donor, but we will see as time moves along... :)

Growing Pains - Airborne Seeker Update

So I've been putting some miles on the Seeker lately and figured I'd do an update to let everyone know what I think of the bike and what I've been learning...

My wife and I have been riding some local trails lately. I forgot to mention that we picked her up a Kona Tika from the local EMS. We had a hard time finding a bike to fit her as she is 5ft tall. Luckily for 2014, Kona made the Tika in a 13" frame which worked out well for her size. I'm impressed by the bike and how well it's setup given its a sub $1000 rig. It is her first real mountain bike so, she is stoked as well.

I also had a chance recently to ride Millstone trails in VT with a friend of mine who lives only a couple miles from the trail system. Beautiful views and naturally air-conditioned rock formations which really made the ride perfect! I did have a little incident on a steep decent where I hit a rock/root section and ended up going over my handlebars...Walked away with a scraped knee and minor cut to my hand. Glad I had my helmet on and needless to say, I put an order in for some Fox Launch Pro knee pads! Look for a future review of those...

On to the Seeker! Don't let the title fool you...I still love the bike. It's been great for the most part, but I'm slowly learning what I like and don't like. This is very important data that I'm applying to component purchases for my Yelli Screamy build. My latest trip to Vermont started with a 4 hour drive with my Seeker on board my new 1UpUSA bike rack. The rack functioned perfectly and was well worth the price tag. My issue began once I got to my friend's house and unloaded the bike. My rear brake was hung up and tight. The rear wheel barely moved and I couldn't figure out why. Sitting in the garage overnight the brake went back to normal. My guess is that sitting in the hot sun on the rack during the drive caused the hydraulic brake fluid to expand and clamp down on the rotor. Not really an issue with the bike itself, but I found several threads on Elixir brakes doing this. I'm now understanding why the Elixirs generate unfavorable reports...the rear has been giving me on/off squealing and rubbing. I did align the rotor when I first got the bike, but it may need further attention. This is my first bike with disc brakes, so I'll chalk it up to inexperience on my part. It does however make me consider Shimano brakes for the Yelli build.

My next issue is the cockpit. I feel the 100mm stem is too long for my taste. I also think wider bars are in my future. I'm contemplating a 70mm stem and 700mm bars as a possibility. As stated above, I had a little run in with some rocks. I feel if I had a shorter stem, I would have had my weight further back and maybe kept me from launching forward. I will never know, but food for thought.

A worthwhile upgrade prior to this trip was a WTB Speed V saddle. So far, so good and much more comfortable than the stock saddle. No surprise there.

Something else I noticed after the trip, the drive-side of the BB has a black plastic seal that covers the bearing. It seems to have slid out from the bearing and onto the crank. Again, some searching yielded that this is a common issue. It doesn't affect much except maybe crap getting into the bearing.

***Short Version (for those who don't like to read)***

All in all, not a bad report. To recap, the Airborne Seeker would benefit from a better saddle, and maybe different cockpit setup. But that is normal with most any production bike you purchase. It is mostly a personal feel thing. I would go as far as to say you may want to upgrade the brakes, but I really don't have a lot of experience with hydraulic disc brakes. Take a look around online forums though, and you'll quickly find out that Shimano brakes generate much better reviews. I will say they still work a lot better than my V-brakes on my old Iron Horse.

Stay tuned for more!

Quick Update...with Pictures!!

I know I have not been keeping up....just got back from Bike Week in Laconia, NH. Hopefully a few pictures will keep everyone interested!

I just received my handlebars after a couple months of being back-ordered. After installing them, I can tell you it was worth the wait! I also threw on my Chromag saddle that I was previously borrowing on my Seeker. Next step is to order the wheels. Once I get those on, I'll focus on the drive-train and brakes......doesn't help that it's motorcycle season!

I also wanted to show off my new bike rack....the ever popular 1UpUSA Quick-Rack system! I'll try and post up a detailed review once I get a chance to really use it.

Project Yelli Screamy Update #1

I know it has been a while since my last post....work has had me traveling a bit. I've been slowly but surely getting the Yelli put together. As of right now, the front end is all together, just waiting on my handlebars which were back-ordered and are slated to arrive in mid June...

Meanwhile, I'm focusing on wheels, brakes, and the drive-train. The only thing holding me back is $$ right now. I will say, not being able to just purchase everything all at once has made me hunt down some parts and find some pretty good deals. If you look enough and wait long enough, deals do come around.

-Price Point had a great deal on the Manitou Tower Pro fork. Being a 2012 model, it was half-off! I paid $250 for the 140mm fork with a 15mm qr axle. I was stoked!

-Also, I found a discounted price on last year's Chromag Lynx saddle on Amazon. For $45, I received Chromag's leather saddle with titanium rails! Glad I looked around as I was just going to go with a $40 WTB saddle.

-Lastly, I scored big on Ebay when I was ready for a single chainring for my X9 cranks. I was going to buy the Wolftooth Sram direct-mount 30t ring from their website for $78. I know they are worth the money (made in USA) but it was still a lot to swallow for a ring. Just out of curiosity, I decided to check Ebay for some prices. To my surprise, I found one search result which was a used 30t Wolftooth chainring just like the one I was going to purchase. This person was selling not only the ring, but had the bashguard, and mounting bolts with it. I looked on Wolftooth Components website and priced it all out...$78 for the ring, $47 for the bashguard, and $15 for the bolts....I ended up winning the auction for $36 plus $8 shipping.....now that's bargain hunting!

Tool Time!!

In my earlier posts, I mentioned that there are some bike-specific tools that are highly recommended and in some cases required to assemble a bike yourself without the use of your local bike shop. I have made and purchased a few so far. Here are my thoughts...

Headset Press: Park Tool makes 2 different models costing roughly $75 and $150. This tool is used to press the headset cups into the head tube of the frame. With very little searching online, I found many DIY pages on how to make one yourself using hardware from Lowe's. All in all, it ended up costing me around $20 to make. Not bad. If you really want to cheap out, I have actually had luck using a piece of 2x4 and a mallet. I did this back in college with my old Iron Horse bike. However, I really don't recommend this...especially if your going with a high end frame and a costly headset. If your spending good money on quality parts, only to use the cheapest methods/tools, it really makes little sense. The press I made, worked pretty well, but not perfect. It did get the job done and was easy to buy the parts and make. I recommend the DIY route if your only building one bike and most likely will not do it again....but after doing both of the cheaper methods, I have to admit, it seems like it would be worth just buying the Park Tool press if you plan on doing several bikes over time.

Crown Race Setter: Again, Park Tool makes one of these as well as other companies. It is essentially a pipe with one end closed and it slips over the fork tube. You slip on the crown race, then the pipe and with a hammer, tap and press the crown bearing race down to the crown of the fork. In this case, I went the DIY route as well. In the past, the standard has been 1-1/8" steerers. If your bike has one, you can simply go out and purchase a piece of 1-1/4" pvc pipe. In this case, my Yelli like many new mountainbikes, is using a tapered tube with a 1.5" dia crown. For this, I purchased a 2ft piece of 1.5" schedule 40 pvc. Just like the higher end tools, you slip it over and hit it with a hammer until the crown race is seated. Worked like a charm! For the $2 or so it cost for the pvc, I highly recommend this over buying the specific tool.

Bottom Bracket Tool: Next up is the socket specific to threaded bottom bracket cups. This tool is somewhat unavoidable. For a threaded BB, you simply thread the drive-side and non drive-side cups into the frame by hand until they are snug, then you put the said socket on your rachet (or torque wrench in my case) and torque it down the required specs. Now, I've heard of people using a rag and channel-locks to torque it down, but that really doesn't sit right with me. Again, if your buying higher-end parts, why marr it with the wrong tool. In my case, I'm using a SRAM GXP BB, which similar to Shimano, has 19 splines around the circumference. This socket is precision machined and slips nicely over the cups and snugs them down to spec with my torque wrench. The socket cost me around $20, so not super expensive. Worth it in my eyes. (Part# BBT-19)

**If your bike/frame uses a press-fit bottom bracket, you will not need this socket and instead, use a headset press discussed above.

Star Fangled Nut Setter: This one, I just purchased. A lot of people simply install the star nut with a screw-driver. Your really just driving a one-way nut down into the steer tube. Is this tool necessary....not really, but for $20 it gives me piece of mind as it hammers the nut in exactly 15mm from where you cut the tube. This one is really up to you. If your like me and precision allows you to sleep better at night...just buy it. It's something you'll probably use again if you buy other forks. (Part# TNS-1)

Pipe Cutter: This is needed for cutting down the steerer tube, handlebars, and seat tube if necessary. The other option would be to use a hack-saw and cutting guide. In my experience, it is very difficult to make a nice clean STRAIGHT cut using a hacksaw without a guide. So, you can buy Park Tool's cutting guide...or just buy a pipe cutter. I chose the latter, as I had it laying around from when I cut down the steer tube on my Iron Horse a few years ago.

Chain Whip: This is really only needed for install/removal of your cassette from the free-wheel/hub. Looks like a flat handle with a short length of chain attached. The chain grips the cogs on the cassette to keep it from spinning and allowing you to tighten/loosten the cassette. Handy to have in your tool kit.

Chain link Tools: I'm putting these together, but there are two separate tools here. One is a chain-breaker. This is used to install/remove the rivets/pins in the chain links to break a chain or assemble it again. It is essentially a small press that presses the pin in or out of the links. The second tool is a set of master-link pliers. Most branded chains now use a "quick-link" and have their own marketing name for it, but essentially there is one "master link" in the chain that is the point to disconnect or connect the chain. I purchased Park Tool's version (MLP-1.2) that makes quick work of breaking the chain for removal/cleaning. You can get buy without these and use a pair of needle-nose pliers to squeeze the link, but for the $14 or so I paid for the pliers, it just works better.

Allen Key Set: For most, Allen keys or wrenches are something you most likely already have. I wasn't sure if it was worth mentioning, but if your new to biking, you NEED to get a set. They don't have to be fancy or expensive either. Most local hardware store's should have a set of METRIC allen keys ("L" shaped). You can also get them with handles or a set of Allen sockets to be used with a ratchet. Just about every part of a bike has allen-head bolts. You can pretty much remove, adjust, install 95% of a bike with these and they are a must if you plan on doing any maintenance.

Unless I'm forgetting something...that should really be the minimum required/recommended tools. Feel free to drop me a message if you feel I should add something. Thanks for reading!

R.I.P. Front Derailleur...

Well, its not exactly dead and gone...but it seems as though the front derailleur is becoming an endangered species lately. More and more rider's are choosing to drop their front mech from their rigs, and I can see why. You see, I'm a firm believer in the KISS principle. Keep It Simple, Stupid!

The concept of a 1x drive-train is not exactly new. Many free-ride/downhillers favor the simplicity of less gears and less chances of dropping a chain during rough descents. Aside from those benefits, it can reduce the weight of a bike since you're ditching the front mech, shifter, cable, and extra chain rings. There are still many people who use and like 2x and even 3x drive-trains and wouldn't dream of losing their front mech. I'm not knocking those who want a plethora of gears, but for my application, 1x10 works and keeps my rig simple and saves a little weight in the process.

So, my first steps for this frame-build is to get a crankset/BB....SRAM makes some trick spider-less cranks. Their X9 and up cranksets have 3 torx bolts holding their spider/chain ring setup to the spindle. You simply remove the 3 bolts, spider, rings, and then bolt up a new single ring chain ring of your choice (and tooth count). This goes along the same lines as the rest of rest of my setup...simple an clean.

What I've ended up with so far...is an X9 crankset with hollow forged crank arms and GXP bottom bracket. The plan is go to with a Wolftooth 30 tooth chain ring which they happen to make in a SRAM style direct-mount (remember the 3 torx bolts??). Also going to be purchasing X9 rear derailleur (type2 clutch) and X9 shifter to round out the group. I will try and update once I get more parts together. Thanks for reading!

The Yelli Has Landed!

My frame has arrived...in all its screamy-blue goodness! The pictures do a pretty good job of showing off what nice color it is. Canfield Bros. offer this frame in a few different colors and they seem to add a couple with every new batch. I originally wanted wasabi green anodizing, but they were out of medium frames in that color at the time I ordered...oh well I think the blue is sweet! I'm used to bike frames being painted or powder-coated, the anodized frame is new for me and I'm glad I went with that over their powder-coat finishes.

So now, that it is here...there is a lot to think about as far as what components I want and what I want from the bike itself. I've already spec'd out what I want for a headset and pretty much have my heart set on doing a 1x10 drive-train. The most expensive components will be the wheelset, fork, and brakes. That means I will have to do some serious research and make sure I know what I want and hopefully find some deals...

Stay tuned as I go over each of the major components I end up purchasing and the reason behind them. Should be informative.