general update and long term gear review
1. Fox Fork creak/front end noise
Is now mostly gone in fact I can't remember the last time I heard it creak. There are a number of things which have contributed to resolving this (in no particular order).
- Loctite on fork stanchion/crown junction (tried 290 first, then 609)
- Dismantled headset and greased race, all bearing cups and stem/steerer interface
- Loctite on fork crown/steerer junction
- Set front through-axle torque in accordance with Fox guidelines
- Wrapped internally routed cables with rubber amalgamating tape
2. Light Bicycle wheels
Aluminium nipples have corroded on 5 month old carbon rims.
I don't know how I ever got talked into saving 20g by using aluminium nipples, so now I have paid for my weenieness by getting both wheels re-built with brass nipples so I am not left by the trailside when the aluminium ones finally let go.
Props to Astro Boy Racer in Collingwood for re-building my wheels.
This alu-carbon reaction is real, so check your rims out before the nipples disintegrate:
3. Drivetrain
Wiggle replaced the derailleur under warranty after receiving the old one back, so all is good. It is apparent Shimano have now revised the clutch mechanism with a heavier duty bracket but it is the same part # so it's a luck of draw really as to whether you receive old or new stock.
Found chain was 0.75% worn so replaced it as it was starting to ghost shift a little. The Wolf Tooth 32T then started crunching like all hell, and the 28T cog on the Leonardi cassette jumping off under load. Put old new chain back on and all back to normal.
So I would say that the Wolf Tooth Ring and Leonardi cassette have lasted one season and 1,700Kms. Probably would have lasted longer if I replaced the chain earlier. 1x10 is always going to wear the chainrings more quickly than 3x.
The Wolf Tooth teeth look a bit weird; are some bent or just wearing in a shark tooth pattern?
Here's how the Leonardi cassette held up. I will miss the beautiful CNC design of the spider.
Now running a OneUp 32T chainring and 40T rear cog with the optional 16T replacing the standard 15T & 17T. The remaining cogs remain Shimano XT. With all cogs except the 40T now in steel, and alternating between 2 chains every couple of months, I hope to get longer out of these new gears.
Didn't really like the loud artwork on the ring so I positioned it behind the crank arm:
4. Tyres
Still stoked with the Magic Mary but not so much with their durability. Have put around 800Km on them and the centre knobs still have plenty of meat but the shoulders are torn and missing chunks. Is this a characteristic of softer compound on the sides and/or running them on wide rims?
After slashing 2 Rock Razors on the rear I am pissed. Second one was brand new and slashed in the middle of a race, which involved pushing bike back to village and to the shop to buy a new tyre then re-join the race. Maxxis was all they had so opted for a High Roller 2 Exo 3C.
It was a pretty good tyre good on straights, braking, and technical climbing, but not so much leaned over hard on a wide rim. The shoulder knobs end up being on the normal contact patch so you are trying to grip with sidewall where there is no tread.
Have just fitted some Minion HR2 which are reportedly much better for wide rims as they are a rounder profile.
Maxxis should start releasing bigger Exo carcasses now with all the wide rims in the market. Rumor has it they will have a 27.5x2.5 Exo Minion DHF out around Jul/Aug this year. Until then I will be keeping the Magic Marys.
