So my primary mountain bike (a 29er) developed a problem with the non-driveside dropout. It seems that somewhere along the line, the dropout interface with the axle has widened a bit. Not sure how that happened or if it has anything to do with a wheelset’s non-drive side bearing adjustment cap coming loose during a long ride (and subsequently thrashing all 4 bearings in the process of which I had to replace). I’m speculating, but perhaps when that cap came loose, it create play and allowed things to rock and wallow things out just a bit (either dropout, axle or both). Could that dropout’s steel composition been a bit off? Who knows – but a problem has developed. But under heavy load, I can actually push the wheel back just enough so it occasionally rubs the non-drive chainstay – long term not ok. I also never really liked how the rear triangle on this one turned out either – that’s just me being picky I suppose. But I need a replacement so I can properly repair my primary ride, but have a frame that I’m not constantly looking at during the ride or my upcoming Hampshire 100 race. I will most likely cut the rear triangle off, and rebuild everything from scratch and possibly even reconfigure the overall look of the build with paragon’s hooded sliders. It will be a good experience overall to deal with a repair but on my own time and terms. Still on the fence for which route I’ll take regarding look and setup, but I decided to solidify my bikes image a bit more into the form you see below. This is my signature “look” if you will. I also made this one a bit more of an “all day” ride so 16.5″ chainstays, slightly longer top tube and managed to squeeze two water bottle mounts in there but still maintain maximum top tube clearance. I’ll also add a water bottle mount to my primary ride. It will be nice to have an all day ride and a more aggressive short day ride in the stable but also develop a situation where clients can experience an aggressive setup vs. an all day setup mountain bike wise.
29er Finished and Off to Powder
So my primary mountain bike (a 29er) developed a problem with the non-driveside dropout. It seems that somewhere along the line, the dropout interface with the axle has widened a bit. Not sure how that happened or if it has anything to do with a wheelset’s non-drive side bearing adjustment cap coming loose during a long ride (and subsequently thrashing all 4 bearings in the process of which I had to replace). I’m speculating, but perhaps when that cap came loose, it create play and allowed things to rock and wallow things out just a bit (either dropout, axle or both). Could that dropout’s steel composition been a bit off? Who knows – but a problem has developed. But under heavy load, I can actually push the wheel back just enough so it occasionally rubs the non-drive chainstay – long term not ok. I also never really liked how the rear triangle on this one turned out either – that’s just me being picky I suppose. But I need a replacement so I can properly repair my primary ride, but have a frame that I’m not constantly looking at during the ride or my upcoming Hampshire 100 race. I will most likely cut the rear triangle off, and rebuild everything from scratch and possibly even reconfigure the overall look of the build with paragon’s hooded sliders. It will be a good experience overall to deal with a repair but on my own time and terms. Still on the fence for which route I’ll take regarding look and setup, but I decided to solidify my bikes image a bit more into the form you see below. This is my signature “look” if you will. I also made this one a bit more of an “all day” ride so 16.5″ chainstays, slightly longer top tube and managed to squeeze two water bottle mounts in there but still maintain maximum top tube clearance. I’ll also add a water bottle mount to my primary ride. It will be nice to have an all day ride and a more aggressive short day ride in the stable but also develop a situation where clients can experience an aggressive setup vs. an all day setup mountain bike wise.