RR: The Maiden Voyage



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Ride-A-Lot

Guest
Rain again on Friday and Saturday left no choice but to head to the
Pinelands. Not what I wanted for baby's first steps, but in spite of
the 2" of rain the trails were dry and hard.

It was just three of us who showed up. I guess everyone else spent the
day in. It was a little chilly but otherwise sunny when we started out.
I honestly didn't know what to expect from the new ride. Would it
handle as nimble as the 1FG? The first thing I noticed was that I felt
higher. I must of been because one of the low branches I usually go
right under hit my camelback. No big deal, but the extra 3" on the
wheel definitely have an effect. The second thing that got me was that
the bottom bracket seems a little lower than on my other bike. Just
means I have to remember to keep the pedals in the middle when coasting.
As for speed, the baby is fast. You do cover more ground with each
tire rotation and you know it. The biggest surprise was the handling.
Can I still move as fast through the tight twisty singletrack without
wrapping myself around a tree. I had an equal number of people tell me
that handling would suffer on a 29er as those who said I would not
notice. I actually thought it was a little quicker and stiffer in the
turns. Probably because the roots were no match for those behemoth tires.

The one thing that kind of disappointed me were the two 1 1/2 foot drops
we go over on this trail. I really like flying off them on the 26er. I
wasn't going any slower, but the drops were almost unnoticeable. I
guess I'll have to find bigger drops!

I really enjoy the singlespeed thing and I think that the 29er has a
place in it. I think it will really shine on more technically
challenging trails (if it ever stops raining).


--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws
 
"Ride-A-Lot" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:p[email protected]...
> Rain again on Friday and Saturday left no choice but to head to the
> Pinelands. Not what I wanted for baby's first steps, but in spite of the
> 2" of rain the trails were dry and hard.
>
> It was just three of us who showed up. I guess everyone else spent the
> day in. It was a little chilly but otherwise sunny when we started out. I
> honestly didn't know what to expect from the new ride. Would it handle as
> nimble as the 1FG? The first thing I noticed was that I felt higher. I
> must of been because one of the low branches I usually go right under hit
> my camelback. No big deal, but the extra 3" on the wheel definitely have
> an effect. The second thing that got me was that the bottom bracket seems
> a little lower than on my other bike. Just means I have to remember to
> keep the pedals in the middle when coasting. As for speed, the baby is
> fast. You do cover more ground with each tire rotation and you know it.
> The biggest surprise was the handling. Can I still move as fast through
> the tight twisty singletrack without wrapping myself around a tree. I had
> an equal number of people tell me that handling would suffer on a 29er as
> those who said I would not notice. I actually thought it was a little
> quicker and stiffer in the turns. Probably because the roots were no
> match for those behemoth tires.
>
> The one thing that kind of disappointed me were the two 1 1/2 foot drops
> we go over on this trail. I really like flying off them on the 26er. I
> wasn't going any slower, but the drops were almost unnoticeable. I guess
> I'll have to find bigger drops!
>
> I really enjoy the singlespeed thing and I think that the 29er has a place
> in it. I think it will really shine on more technically challenging
> trails (if it ever stops raining).
>
>
> --
> o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
> www.schnauzers.ws


Thanks for the report, I totally enjoy my Niner and have abandoned my other
bikes. Do you have any break squeal issues with the Avids?

I am having problems with the Juicy Sevens, they will not be quite...front
worse than the back. I have 7 inch rotors and have switched the polygon
rotors to round and that did not help. My next move is to try EBC green
pads. Surly Karate Monkey front fork with Chris King Hubs. Any useful
suggestions would be welcome. I may be robbing my Hayes Mags off the Kona
Unit to see if that helps.
 
Dean A. Stepper wrote:
>
> Thanks for the report, I totally enjoy my Niner and have abandoned my other
> bikes. Do you have any break squeal issues with the Avids?
>
> I am having problems with the Juicy Sevens, they will not be quite...front
> worse than the back. I have 7 inch rotors and have switched the polygon
> rotors to round and that did not help. My next move is to try EBC green
> pads. Surly Karate Monkey front fork with Chris King Hubs. Any useful
> suggestions would be welcome. I may be robbing my Hayes Mags off the Kona
> Unit to see if that helps.
>


I had some squeeling today, but they are new and I think that should be
expected. By the end of the ride, the sand had scratched the brake
surface enough to stop the squeal. Maybe you could score the rotors a
little witch sandpaper.

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws
 
Dean A. Stepper wrote:
> Thanks for the report, I totally enjoy my Niner and have abandoned my other
> bikes. Do you have any break squeal issues with the Avids?
>
> I am having problems with the Juicy Sevens, they will not be quite...front
> worse than the back. I have 7 inch rotors and have switched the polygon
> rotors to round and that did not help. My next move is to try EBC green
> pads. Surly Karate Monkey front fork with Chris King Hubs. Any useful
> suggestions would be welcome. I may be robbing my Hayes Mags off the Kona
> Unit to see if that helps.



Were the mounting points on the frame and fork faced to a true 90
degrees? If not, it's probably a slight alignment issue that could
cause constant squeal, even with the alignment adjustability of the
Avids.

JD
 
"JD" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Dean A. Stepper wrote:
>> Thanks for the report, I totally enjoy my Niner and have abandoned my
>> other
>> bikes. Do you have any break squeal issues with the Avids?
>>
>> I am having problems with the Juicy Sevens, they will not be
>> quite...front
>> worse than the back. I have 7 inch rotors and have switched the polygon
>> rotors to round and that did not help. My next move is to try EBC green
>> pads. Surly Karate Monkey front fork with Chris King Hubs. Any useful
>> suggestions would be welcome. I may be robbing my Hayes Mags off the
>> Kona
>> Unit to see if that helps.

>
>
> Were the mounting points on the frame and fork faced to a true 90
> degrees? If not, it's probably a slight alignment issue that could
> cause constant squeal, even with the alignment adjustability of the
> Avids.
>
> JD
>


Good point, I will ask The Path to do that for me. They built the bike.
 
Dean A. Stepper wrote:
> "JD" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > Dean A. Stepper wrote:
> >> Thanks for the report, I totally enjoy my Niner and have abandoned my
> >> other
> >> bikes. Do you have any break squeal issues with the Avids?
> >>
> >> I am having problems with the Juicy Sevens, they will not be
> >> quite...front
> >> worse than the back. I have 7 inch rotors and have switched the polygon
> >> rotors to round and that did not help. My next move is to try EBC green
> >> pads. Surly Karate Monkey front fork with Chris King Hubs. Any useful
> >> suggestions would be welcome. I may be robbing my Hayes Mags off the
> >> Kona
> >> Unit to see if that helps.

> >
> >
> > Were the mounting points on the frame and fork faced to a true 90
> > degrees? If not, it's probably a slight alignment issue that could
> > cause constant squeal, even with the alignment adjustability of the
> > Avids.
> >
> > JD
> >

>
> Good point, I will ask The Path to do that for me. They built the bike.



If the face is not perfectly even it can cause that vibration, so even
if it's not an alignment issue, it could be an uneven surface issue. I
didn't have my Edge faced, but personally faced the frame and fork
mounts for my Ventana. No squeals on either, except for the Edge when
the brake pads started to make an indentation in the rotor. If the
rotors are indented, the brake pad can chatter in-between and squeal
too. To alleve this, just deburr the edges of the indentation with a
fine metal file and the pads should stop chattering.

JD
 
On Sun, 23 Oct 2005 16:42:45 -0700, Dean A. Stepper wrote
(in article <wdV6f.3230$UF4.634@fed1read02>):


> Thanks for the report, I totally enjoy my Niner and have abandoned my other
> bikes. Do you have any break squeal issues with the Avids?
>
> I am having problems with the Juicy Sevens, they will not be quite...front
> worse than the back. I have 7 inch rotors and have switched the polygon
> rotors to round and that did not help. My next move is to try EBC green
> pads. Surly Karate Monkey front fork with Chris King Hubs. Any useful
> suggestions would be welcome. I may be robbing my Hayes Mags off the Kona
> Unit to see if that helps.
>
>


my BB7's started to squeal and I couldn't figure out why. I finally pulled
out the pads and blew out the calipers with compressed air, that did the
trick. there was probably some grit between the pad and the caliper allowing
the pads to vibrate.

Paul
 

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