MALF Newbie

T-Rex

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Today this arrived from BikeBug with my TL-LR11...



So I grabbed my new rear MT-500 wheel, my other Lockring socket and married the two together.



I really like having the exact correct tools for little things now (like putting that wheel together) and for maintenance.

All I need now is to swap the tyre off - or realistically buy a new tyre :).

After the 30 secs that took I jumped onto the bike and ate bugs for a 35 minute ride in the dusk. 7 Strava PRs - apparently I ride well on a forced diet of protein.

Might have to think about another order this week so I can have everything for my fork swap over Christmas. Also might just buy the bits to redo and bleed the brake hose fitting in my wife’s bike. We either get the LBS to sort it, or I sort it and do the obvious spanner check etc.

Tyre for a 50/50 split of tarmac bike paths and gravel/hardpack. Off I go to pollute another thread.
Did you grease the splines before you put the new cassette on?

And did you watch lots of Youtube videos in the absence of RB?
 

AaronM

Likes Dirt
Did you grease the splines before you put the new cassette on?

And did you watch lots of Youtube videos in the absence of RB?
Grease the splines of a thing that shouldn’t move except for installation?



Pretty sure adding grease to these splines will result in a mess and increased wear as dirt+grease make a great grinding paste.

As for YoobTube, I watch stuff in the absence of proper written OEM doco, realised long ago too many experts on YouTube and only talented at calling themselves, or passing themselves off as experts.
 

T-Rex

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Grease the splines of a thing that shouldn’t move except for installation?



Pretty sure adding grease to these splines will result in a mess and increased wear as dirt+grease make a great grinding paste.

As for YoobTube, I watch stuff in the absence of proper written OEM doco, realised long ago too many experts on YouTube and only talented at calling themselves, or passing themselves off as experts.
There is sometimes a tiny amount of movement between the freehub body and the cassette, enough to make an annoying noise under load. If said noise appears (and it may not be straight away) you know what to check. A very light application of grease will resolve it, and there's not enough movement for dust to cause abrasion and damage either part.

BTW WD40 and mountain bikes don't mix well - overspray has a habit of finding it's way onto disk brakes.
 

AaronM

Likes Dirt
Yeah I’m not a fan of WD40 for any practical purpose. The meme is more about “if it moves and should lube it”

Will keep an ear out for noises, I have a few alternative to grease antisieze options in mind that would also dampen a noise from the minor movement of the cassette against splines
 

AaronM

Likes Dirt
Back in November after my face plant into a bush full of bees I bought a very cheap set of SR Suntour Epixon Air forks...

Contrary to what I expected when looking at them a bit more closely today they are 34mm stanchions (they are replacing SR Suntour XCR Coil), then I QR’d their build sticker and it turns out that yes indeed they are the mid-spec Epixons, built in July 2019 not old duds left over from 2015... 120mm travel too which should be a bit nicer to ride that my stock ones.
 

T-Rex

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Back in November after my face plant into a bush full of bees I bought a very cheap set of SR Suntour Epixon Air forks...

Contrary to what I expected when looking at them a bit more closely today they are 34mm stanchions (they are replacing SR Suntour XCR Coil), then I QR’d their build sticker and it turns out that yes indeed they are the mid-spec Epixons, built in July 2019 not old duds left over from 2015... 120mm travel too which should be a bit nicer to ride that my stock ones.
Good score. You comfortable you know what’s involved in fitting them?
 

AaronM

Likes Dirt
They’re now fitted. Was a palava but realistically I had enough hammers on hand to overcome any difficulty.

Bearings greased with CV joint grease, and the factory or LBS supplied swarf removed.
 

AaronM

Likes Dirt
They’re now fitted. Was a palava but realistically I had enough hammers on hand to overcome any difficulty.

Bearings greased with CV joint grease, and the factory or LBS supplied swarf removed.
I might add $199.99 Air forks are a substantial improvement on OEM low-end Coil forks :)
 

AaronM

Likes Dirt
That’s unexpected.

What? I hear no-one ask.

I simply cannot believe how much better these damn Epixons are compared to the forks the bike came with.

Yes they are meant to be a entry level Air fork, and I am running them a little low on pressure for my weight, but wow.

Maybe I’m just easily amused but the difference in comfort and steerability is amazing, it’s almost like a different bike to ride.

If only the front derailleur didn’t fuck up (again).
 

AaronM

Likes Dirt
Cycling deal if I remember correctly, they were $199 straight steer I think.
Yep. They had 4 permutations (Straight and Tapered, With Remote and Non-remote lockout of each).

They’re all out of stock, however chuck the alert on. They may rustle up more stock.

Cycling Deal seem to have a few low-cost Air shocks going at any time and I’d presume they’re all much of a muchness - terrific for a hack like me who just wants to ride relatively flat single track and trails but not really Downhill rated...
 

T-Rex

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That’s unexpected.

What? I hear no-one ask.

I simply cannot believe how much better these damn Epixons are compared to the forks the bike came with.

Yes they are meant to be a entry level Air fork, and I am running them a little low on pressure for my weight, but wow.

Maybe I’m just easily amused but the difference in comfort and steerability is amazing, it’s almost like a different bike to ride.

If only the front derailleur didn’t fuck up (again).
Yeah, just getting the spring rate so you can use all the travel makes a huge difference, those low end coil spring forks tend to be too stiff. Imagine what a whole upgraded bike new bike would feel like....
 

AaronM

Likes Dirt
New FD-M4000 front derailleur arrived yesterday. It’s basically an “Alivio” series 3x unit (obvious Shimano).

The massive step up in material and structure from the FD-M390 (aka Altus or entry level) is unexpected, yet somewhat restores my faith that this was the right move.

When I eventually do the swap I’ll take some side-by-side comparison shots, but so far the key differences are a better clamp mechanism (cast metal not a pressed metal) which looks like it removes the pivot stress point on the pivot pin that bent on my the first time everything went to crap.
 

AaronM

Likes Dirt
After a few months of barely touching the bike (thanks to lung damage from being out in everything burns season, which translated into carrying lung infection into Wuhan flu season) I started doing sporadic rides and munted the old derailleur enough that it was time to swap.

I’m surprised it lasted as long as it did. New one still needs fine tuning but is definitely a much nicer proposition.

The current aim is to get back to a minimum 25km a week and just get back general fitness.

Have to be careful with the cold air because the lungs aren’t 100% and I don’t want to end up down that rabbit hole again.
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
Tha sounds like quite an adventure. Smoking your way there in a Dutch oven of bucket bongs would have been more fun. Good luck with the recovery.
 
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