No one likes to makes the walk of shame at the bike park, that head down trudge back to the base area with your DH bike in tow simply because you couldn't be bothered to pack a spare tube and a pump. As liberating as it is to ride without a pack, carrying at least the bare essentials can make a day of downhilling go that much smoother. There are a few low profile options currently on the market, but two in particular caught my eye at last year's Interbike trade show. The first is Race Face's soon-to-be-released Stash Tank ($59.99), a light, breathable tank top that has pockets for a small hydration bladder and three separate pockets to hold the rest of the items you mentioned. The second possibility is Alpinestars' new Evolution jacket ($159.95), which offers back, chest, and removable shoulder protection, along with room for a hydration bladder on top of the back protector. Plus, there are a couple of smaller pockets in the kidney area that will accommodate your tube and tools. Both options will ensure you're not stuck by the side of the trail begging passing riders for tubes, and more than likely you'll end up being the one saving the day. - Mike Kazimer |
Alpinestars' Evolution jacket and Race Face's Stash Tank are both low profile alternatives to a traditional hydration pack.
At least two of us at Pinkbike are running a OneUp 11 x 42 one-by drivetrain and with good success, both in the shifting and durability departments. I started with the basic kit, like you are planning, with a 42-tooth cassette cog and a 34-tooth narrow-wide chainring. I have since upgraded to the optional 16-tooth cog, which neatly spans the big jump from the 15 to the 19 that is created by the need to remove the cassette's 17-tooth cog to make room for the addition of OneUp's 42. OneUp also makes a replacement cage plate that offsets the upper pulley, so that the standard rear mech' will more easily clear and shift to the larger, 42-tooth cog. Both the addition of the 16-tooth replacement cog, and the Rad cage are not essential to your conversion, but they make it operate more smoothly throughout the range. OneUp sells the 42 and 16 as a pair for around 80 USD and the Rad cage runs between 55 and 35 USD, depending upon your mech. I assume that your Race Face chainring is a narrow-wide type, which should be considered an essential component to any one-by conversion. Conversion kits like OneUp's make it practical for riders to enjoy the simplicity and lighter weight of a one-by drivetrain without shouldering the substantial expense of replacing every drivetrain component (including the freehub mech') with a SRAM 11-speed option. The only drawback of an 11 x 42 ten speed conversion is that you will not enjoy the extra top speed that is facilitated by SRAM's ten-tooth cog. - RC |
OneUp's Rad Cage and 16-tooth replacement cog were the missing links for riders who wished to convert to a one-by drivetrain by adding a 42-tooth cog to their existing ten-speed cassettes. We highly recommend them.
There are plenty of different clear tapes and vinyl's on the market, but as you mentioned further down the forum thread, you want to wrap a brand new frame entirely. I think InvisiFRAME could be your best option. UK residents can post their frames directly to Invisi and they will wrap your frame for you, or you can take it to a registered dealer and they will supply the kit and do it for you. If you reside elsewhere you can order the pre-cut frame kit for your bike direct from the InvisiFRAME website. There are plenty of kits for most bikes, but if they don't have the one you need they can supply a generic kit or design one specifically for you. They also do gloss or matte to keep your frame honest, depending on the original finish. I have had two frames covered previously with great success, the only place it can be visible is on the edges of the vinyl or around excessively awkward areas where there will be many cuts and angles. I never had any issues with discolorations or peeling, over time the matte vinyl will start to show up small scuffs and marks, but at least you know your frame is fresh underneath, the gloss vinyl can even be polished out to keep your steed sparkling. I can't comment on how difficult it is to apply the vinyl yourself, but I imagine with a clean workspace, patience and some spare time, achieving a decent finish should be easy. - Paul Aston |
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Even so I can tell you there might be difficulties depending on your setup: I ran a 34T chainring in the front before I got the 32 and the shifting performance to the big 42 just straight up sucked, if it even worked. So obviously the safe call is to go with 40T with a short cage if you are not 100% your setup works with a 42. Back when I first tried this, there were no 40T options so I went on a limb and got lucky. As I already said: I love my setup as is and it works without any failures.
the setup i saw with a 42T with zee was on a ironhorse 7.7 or something or maybe less travel than that. so DW suspension. it worked like a charm for im but i guess it would heavily depend on chain length, growth and suspension movement. withthat in mind, anyone used the same on a single pivot or any mod of a the single pivot set up?
There's always outliers when you're working with something like this, so yes, testing is a must. The vast majority of frames will work fine with a 40t & a ZEE, however. I've seen it in person quite a bit, as well as numerous examples online.
Your friend is pretty lucky, like hella lucky. Compressed air in the blood will kill you, like one bubble. Apparently it screws thing up once is circulates round to the brain.
It's also why junkies in films always turn the needle upside down and tap it out
yes i think it did not go into any major blood vessel but just into the connective tissue. it took like 12 hours for the hand to return to its normal size and we were joking that he should not smoke with that hand as the gas in the airsoft canisters is flammable.
For my DH pack, I have a Dakine Drafter that I bought from the Trek Dirt Series. It's a few years old now, and small (I'd guess 10-12L) but that thing's amazing. I can ride technical and fly off jumps all day, and never notice it's there.
Idk if it's due to racing or riding road (just did a 106mile/12k ft of gain ride last week on 10 sp) other disciplines but 36 works perfectly for me on the mtb.
spin faster !
Kite jumping, your statement above could not be more wrong/misguided. Lee at Invisiframe used to do what he is doing now but on high end super cars in the Automotive industry. His skill set and attention to detail is on another level when it comes to frame protection. Every single frame that comes through the door has its kit made to measure and is sculpted around every tube. If he has worked on a frame before it is a case of pulling the kit off the computer and plotter and then about an hour to fit, however if it is a new frame or a different size the labour required to make the kit usually ranges between 8-12 hours.
Once fitted it never peels like 3M tape and never discolours. People travel hundreds of miles to see him as the product is that good and he is such a stand up guy. Take a look at the website, see some of the many examples of his work and maybe try and see it for what it is which is a class, innovative product that massively protects your investment and aids resale. I am be a little biased as Lee has been one of my best mates for many years, but his 16hr days/7 days a week work ethic and many orders must mean that the product is being well received.
The peace of mind you get (when shuttling, travelling etc) and the protected value of your precious frame quickly cover the initial investment.
Plus, application turned into a fun project for me and the wife to do together one evening, instead of vegging on the couch!
Not disputing the amount of work that can go into custom cutting for weird frame shapes though, & his pricing seems quite reasonable taking that into account.
www.chainreactioncycles.com/fox-racing-xc-race-hydration-pack/rp-prod60840
www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-unzen-2l-volume-hydration-pack/rp-prod128713
www.chainreactioncycles.com/camelbak-classic-2-0-litre-hydration-pack/rp-prod117289
I have 2013 Fox one, much less restrictive as body armour but like body armour your forget its there after the first run.
You don't need it for SRAM as they already offset the pulley from the cage pivot. the RAD cage essentially makes a Shimano derailleur function like a SRAM one.
XT 11-36 weighs within 5 grams of XTR 11-40 and SRAMs 10-42 cassettes are LIGHT, even with that extra big cog.
It's supposed to be even easier with glossy paint jobs.
Overall, I'm very satisfied with the final result, it's durability, and the owner Lee's commitment to customer service and the quality of his product.
That plus the time it takes to layout the shapes and make the stencils.
My time is worth more than that, but hey it's Pinkbike, everyone here is poor and makes $5 an hour so it is probably cheaper for you to make it yourself.
Also worth watching are the comparison videos of different protective films on YouTube.
Apparently I for one don't want to protect my investment properly because I want the best film and don't want to pay for something that I can easily do myself.
Headtube: www.pinkbike.com/photo/11899858
Downtube: www.pinkbike.com/photo/11899856
rear cs: www.pinkbike.com/photo/11899853
cranks: www.pinkbike.com/photo/11899845
Really the only reason I bothered with it was to protect the sixc cranks with a full wrap snice crankskins at the time only covered the sides and was a thinner 12mil. After seeing how easy the stuff was to work with I did my frame with the extras.
It comes in lots of colors too.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/11740476
www.pinkbike.com/photo/11740477
Tried lots of different methods of protection in the past and this is by far the best.
The kits are good value for money. If you have a £3000+ bike a £100 kit to keep it looking sweet is great value.
Big thumbs up from me!!
Does the narrow-wide setup work at all without a clutch?
It worked well enough, that the new bike I'm building next week will get my old clutchless drivetrain, & a narrow-wide just to get up & running.
My issue was shifting in the smaller cogs and lack of adequate chain wrap in same cogs. RAD cage fixed all that plus I can run the B tension screw about half way now. It shifts perfectly now.
Overall after around 1500 km on it, shifting is a little bit less smooth than stock shim 10sp, but still very good and dependable.