hifiandmtb
Sphincter beanie
Enduro-BMX-MTB-FTW.
What do you think of the P321 hubs?@The Duckmeister got the front wheel built up for me (Nextie Premium 40 - 36mm int. 32 hole onto P321 hub) a while back,
Now, I really like them.What do you think of the P321 hubs?
Is that the white seal rather than the orange?With the updated seal, I'd buy again. They're light, quiet, and high-engagement. I like them.
Good to hear. I'm in research mode for some new hoops and they're available on every wheel building site I've seen so far. Plus they come in orangeNow, I really like them.
Originally the rear hub used to gradually lose all it's oil, but when I got the new Microspline driver it had an improved seal fitted and so-far so good.
With the updated seal, I'd buy again. They're light, quiet, and high-engagement. I like them.
That's the one.Is that the white seal rather than the orange?
Good to know. Still have to install mine. I'm guessing the old just rips off and stretch the new one over?That's the one.
Presume so, it was already installed on the new driver.Good to know. Still have to install mine. I'm guessing the old just rips off and stretch the new one over?
Still much cheaper than a locally built frame (not begrudging local prices though). Frame looks good, keen to see a PYR when complete - just call it a gravel bike so as to not enrage the natives!Thanks @beeb. helpful advice and I'd second your experience.
Frame arrived and getting the goods on now. As per my other post in another thread. AUD/USD screwed me a bit and so did covid with shipping, so ended up being $1600 landed.
View attachment 362451
I reckon 5 x 700ml would be possible.Plenty of room for water bottles.
Yeah a very relaxed light gravel bike!My what a big shiny head tube you have...
I did my looksy around as usual. in the end a lot of factors came into play. My choices were:Still much cheaper than a locally built frame
We should form the the N+1 support group.Righto, so obviously the whole COVID situation has really put a bit of a crimp on getting out riding this thing. But I have managed to do some urban (exercise) rides, and more recently have set the frame with a rigid fork on a smart trainer to keep the legs turning over during winter/lockdown. So not as many MTB km's as I'd like, but have still been spending a bit of time in the saddle.
So why does this lead to an update? Well, not going to lie (and it's probably pretty obvious by now anyway...) my brain isn't very good at switching off or being contented with the good of what I have. So I have been pondering, "What if I was to design this again? What would I have done differently?" Well, I'm sure you can see where this is heading so safe to say my little MTB family will be expecting a new sibling in the not too distant future.
So what's the plan with this frame? Well, firstly, this baby ain't getting sold... It's a comfy cruiser, and will probably just get a lighter build put together on it sometime in the future so I can go and do some solo ride XC-ish km's without having to swap out tyres and crap to keep it enjoyable (I'm a bit of a weight weenie, so hauling around the heavyish DHF/Aggressor tyres on smooth trails isn't fun IMO).
Mostly I'm happy with it, but I did stuff up a couple of things with it in the design phase. First and foremost - the curvy top-tube. Yep, it looks purdy, but no it isn't really practical if trying to ride Blue or "Black Diamond" (sic) trails. On flat ground if I stand over the bike the family jewels will be lightly resting on the top tube. Now I'm pretty sure we can all work out why that's not a good scenario if you happen to slip off the pedals on rocky terrain, or hang up on a step-up or any similar type scenario! So new design criteria #1, loooooow top tube!
Second item on the list is - Flex. Safe to say the ride quality of this frame is super, super supple. I wouldn't describe it as "noodly", but it really has quite a bit of flex in it (It is also worth mentioning that I am roughly 93kg kitted up and 6'2" so am no featherweight rider). For flatter, fairly smooth trails it actually works really well as you don't need to be all that precise so you get a real magic carpet ride feel that actually feels a lot more like riding a short travel dually than a hardtail. The downside is there's a lot of lateral flex, which makes the steering quite unresponsive and a little vague when trying to do quick changes of direction or really rip round a good berm. So design criteria #2 is, less lateral flex. I plan to use a much wider but ovalised (thinner vertically) top-tube, and thicker wall-thickness tube in the downtube (possibly with a more angular tube profile) to provide a bit more front-end lateral stiffness, but try to keep the vertical compliance this frame has.
Third item on the list is a range of geo tweaks. I experimented with this frame with bringing the BB up quite a bit (up ~10mm from my previous 29er hardtail), and while it's great for avoiding potential pedal strikes (I now have what feels like heaps of clearance compared to what felt like constant near misses and breaks in pedalling to avoid rocks on the previous bike) it unfortunately doesn't make for a great handling feel on descents as you feel higher up than the 10mm difference would suggest. Turns out the marketing was right on that one. Fortunately I've had some improvement in fitness and technique (who'd have thought I'd ever get to say that!), so pedal strikes are less of an issue for me now and the new frame will end up with its BB somewhere between the drop of this frame and the bike that preceded it (but nearer the latter). Another seemingly insignificant thing that I have noticed with this frame is with the super-steep seat angle, but surprisingly not with the seat post extended. Post extended seated pedalling mostly feels fine (and is handy for steep fireroad climbs), but I have noticed repeatedly when the post is dropped the seat feels more 'in the way' when trying to hang off the back of the bike. So part of the design tweaks will be to keep the steep effective STA, but use a forward offset slacker actual STA to help move the seat forward when the seat post is set in the lowered position. Steep but slack - got it? I also plan to slack the front out about -0.5 degree as things get a bit nervous on the handling front when hitting G-outs and high-load berms and the head angle steepens as the fork dives under load.
I haven't sorted out every last millimeter and degree yet, but I did get a feel for what I'm planning aesthetically. Did a bit of a bodge up from the previous plan in Photoshop and this is what I'm feeling will be the go: (I also plan to change to full internal routing for the dropper cable, but didn't bother drawing that in...)
View attachment 362967
I'll sort my dimensions out over the weekend then let the intercontinental e-mails commence!
Funnily enough, I have always on-sold my dual suspension frames. It seems to be hardtail I end up collecting. This will be #3 and no plans of getting rid of any. The things are so bloody versatile, these Waltlys are just fine-tuning the geometry I get the most fun from.We should form the the N+1 support group.
Haha, e-mails are bouncing back and forth at the moment. Couldn't get the wider top-tube as it was confusing them (or at least my description/drawing was) how to weld it at the seat-tube end, so they just said it was "unworkable". I also can't get the subtle double-bend in the top-tube I had hoped for due to "mould restriction", which is fine. Internal routing for the dropper is nearly sorted, but I will put up an update when the design is complete.I'd be really keen to see your updated design. I'm getting the N+1 itch again and I keep coming back to these things.
Haha, e-mails are bouncing back and forth at the moment. Couldn't get the wider top-tube as it was confusing them (or at least my description/drawing was) how to weld it at the seat-tube end, so they just said it was "unworkable". I also can't get the subtle double-bend in the top-tube I had hoped for due to "mould restrictions", which is fine. Internal routing for the dropper is nearly sorted, but I will put up an update when the design is complete.I'd be really keen to see your updated design. I'm getting the N+1 itch again and I keep coming back to these things.