Old Riders....But not "Old School"

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Old Riders....But not "Old School"
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flag sterlingmagnum
Posted: Jun 14, 2019 at 11:21 Quote
Interesting about the bearings.... I have a Koozer hub set and Spank rims I’m lacing up asap... the one thing I could find on the koozers is the bearings suck. For 72 P.O.E. @ 117$ a set I figure I’ll give them a shot and just throw some enduro bearings in. If all works out it will be a 310$ wheelset that theoretically should be more responsive than a hope set.

If the hubs last me a year I’ll be happy at that price.

And yeah Lever... you were right. Rootdown for the win
flag leverfingers
O+
Posted: Jun 14, 2019 at 12:16 Quote
Ooooh. Chris King. I've trashed a few headsets and a hub. That should absolutely not happen for the money. Those things were a long time ago. When everyone had gone to a split wedge, Aheadset type setup, Chris King stuck by his guns and just had an O-ring in the top bearing cap. I toasted 2 or 3 head sets, each in just a few rides. In those days the warranty did not apply to customers from BC Canada. I had a rear hub for one summer, and it did not work in cold weather. So no spring or fall, no morning or night rides. There was cold weather lube available from King, but it still would not work in the cold. On top of that, it was the beginning of disk brakes, so there was a separate disk adapter for the hub, which fit poorly and made a lot of noise. I also had the stainless freehub body, and the solid, not QR, axle with titanium "Fun Bolts". The bolt heads were too big to fit past the derailleur when removing the wheel. The fun bolts were 12mm thread. In a 10mm drop out. They necked down to 10mm under the head, to fit the drop outs. So you could not take them out with the wheel in the frame. So to remove the wheel you had to take off the derailleur. This hub cost over $1000.- in the early 2000's. It worked properly, but noisily, for 2 months. I gave it away for free. I was glad to be rid of it.

In my opinion, Shimano hubs are the best I can get. And that's what is on all my bikes. For headsets, I have had the best luck with FSA and Cane Creek. I ran a NSB front hub back in the day of 20mm axles.
flag badbadleroybrown
Posted: Jun 14, 2019 at 12:23 Quote
Never been a huge fan of Kings but man, Shimano hubs!?!?!? They're honestly the worst hubs I've ever owned... been quite impressed with the e thirteen hubs, and the trsr wheelset overall. For standalone hubs, I9 are super nice but honestly, pretty damn tough to go wrong with DT Swiss for way less cash than I9. Upgrade the ratchet and swap in some ceramic bearings and you're still way under I9 prices and outperforming them.
flag mysticmountainadventures
O+
Posted: Jun 14, 2019 at 14:00 Quote
numbers from 2002

the crash section has some cringe moments

JIB - 2002

by czar-so-far
Views: 30,994    Faves: 201    Comments: 14
flag shredb4dead
Posted: Jun 14, 2019 at 14:53 Quote
Crash section = Just riding along...
flag husstler
O+
Posted: Jun 14, 2019 at 15:03 Quote
badbadleroybrown wrote:
Never been a huge fan of Kings but man, Shimano hubs!?!?!? They're honestly the worst hubs I've ever owned... been quite impressed with the e thirteen hubs, and the trsr wheelset overall. For standalone hubs, I9 are super nice but honestly, pretty damn tough to go wrong with DT Swiss for way less cash than I9. Upgrade the ratchet and swap in some ceramic bearings and you're still way under I9 prices and outperforming them.

I do have a DT 240 rear hub now and it's been pretty good so far. I just kind of forget about it because it seems almost invisible because of no drama. Also good axle interchangeability.

On the other hand I have had many issues with Hope hubs. The current Pro 4 seems better but the last one I had before this was a Pro 2 Evo and it ate bearings on a monthly basis.

Maybe DT is the way to fly.
flag mtbman1980
O+
Posted: Jun 14, 2019 at 15:24 Quote
I have been running a X-9 rear hub for 4 years now. It needed new bearings last year but it has been pretty good to me so I cant complain.

I love Shimano for how long a set of hubs will last if you take care of them. I did get tired of greasing and adjusting cones so not my favorite that's for sure. My commuter has a set of hubs that are at least 10years old.

I am a numbers guy when looking at bikes and will know exactly what each bike has when I jump on but I will also wont let that make my decision it's all about how it feels. I think this comes from building my own bikes frame up in the past and not getting a chance to ride them before I built them.
flag d-man
O+
Posted: Jun 14, 2019 at 16:32 Quote
The only numbers I usually worry about are the ones leaving my bank account, maybe weight for sure but I'm more into the feel.
It is do dry here, last night we had a full on sand storm for almost an hour. Was
flag leverfingers
O+
Posted: Jun 14, 2019 at 17:15 Quote
Park tool tech Tuesday #121. When your hubs are in need of adjustment BUT THERE IS NO ADJUSTMENT. Just hammer on those f*ckers.

I won't stand for that sort of shit, so the hubs MUST have some actual bearing pre-load adjustment. Or they don't go on my bike. I know, you can shim them into adjustment, but cup and cone, or pinch screw type pre load collars are preferred.

I thought I'd catch way more shit for that Chris King rant. For some, King is the Holy Grail, and they are beautiful, and beautifully made, but they are not for me.
flag bkchef2000
O+
Posted: Jun 14, 2019 at 17:51 Quote
I never noticed how important good bearings were until recently when my bb seized... raceface 30mm pf bearings are the worst! I finally made the swap to hope bb so hopefully they last. Right after install I could sense the difference. Raceface bearings were super finicky... so hard to find the middle ground between cranks falling out and cranks not turning freely. I literally gave up and Dealt with the friction that was created; cranks would only spin with force. The hope Bb went in so smooth, and with the cranks installed and torqued to the correct lbs they spin freely and no friction... time will tell how long these will last but I get the sense that if they last in the U.K., they will last here...
flag mysticmountainadventures
O+
Posted: Jun 14, 2019 at 18:22 Quote
so i just picked my bike up from a service (i asked for a chain, cassette, and fork lube and seals)... bunch of other stuff that I didn't ask for got done that amounted to other really but came to $880 for sweet ef all!!! Putting this complete cluster f*ck aside it got me thinking about alternatives.

I've had my bike since Fall 2017. Here's what I figure I've spent...
- $600 four sets of rubber
- $120 two sets of pads
- $160 two fork services
- $160 new bar (carbon one had taken a few hits)
- $880 the joke of a bill i just got
I know my rear shock needs to be sent in for service
My dropper post is getting a little slow and sloppy

So i've already got a couple thousand of maintenance into the bike and I could spend more. Or I can buy a brand spankin new NS Nerd HD for $2800. Maybe I should ride disposable bikes until they crater instead of trying to have nice things???
flag badbadleroybrown
Posted: Jun 14, 2019 at 18:26 Quote
leverfingers wrote:
Park tool tech Tuesday #121. When your hubs are in need of adjustment BUT THERE IS NO ADJUSTMENT. Just hammer on those f*ckers.

I won't stand for that sort of shit, so the hubs MUST have some actual bearing pre-load adjustment. Or they don't go on my bike. I know, you can shim them into adjustment, but cup and cone, or pinch screw type pre load collars are preferred.

I thought I'd catch way more shit for that Chris King rant. For some, King is the Holy Grail, and they are beautiful, and beautifully made, but they are not for me.
King was only something special back when everyone else had shitty bearings and bad anodizing... they're just overpriced and living on old cred now.
flag badbadleroybrown
Posted: Jun 14, 2019 at 18:28 Quote
mtnmanjake wrote:
so i just picked my bike up from a service (i asked for a chain, cassette, and fork lube and seals)... bunch of other stuff that I didn't ask for got done that amounted to other really but came to $880 for sweet ef all!!! Putting this complete cluster f*ck aside it got me thinking about alternatives.

I've had my bike since Fall 2017. Here's what I figure I've spent...
- $600 four sets of rubber
- $120 two sets of pads
- $160 two fork services
- $160 new bar (carbon one had taken a few hits)
- $880 the joke of a bill i just got
I know my rear shock needs to be sent in for service
My dropper post is getting a little slow and sloppy

So i've already got a couple thousand of maintenance into the bike and I could spend more. Or I can buy a brand spankin new NS Nerd HD for $2800. Maybe I should ride disposable bikes until they crater instead of trying to have nice things???
You gotta stop paying full retail and learn how to service your suspension my man... you can get good tires on sale for half what you're paying, just stock up when they're cheap. Pads should only run like $40 a set... my Easton carbon bar and stem was under $160... and modern suspension is really pretty easy to tear down and service as long as you don't completely grenade it.
flag bkchef2000
O+
Posted: Jun 14, 2019 at 18:32 Quote
Holy hell! $880!!!!! Did they at least give you a happy ending with extra lube? Beyond the new new parts and easy fork service what did they do? I cannot imagine that there was $880 done even with 4-500 in parts and services requested..
flag mysticmountainadventures
O+
Posted: Jun 14, 2019 at 18:32 Quote
badbadleroybrown wrote:
mtnmanjake wrote:
so i just picked my bike up from a service (i asked for a chain, cassette, and fork lube and seals)... bunch of other stuff that I didn't ask for got done that amounted to other really but came to $880 for sweet ef all!!! Putting this complete cluster f*ck aside it got me thinking about alternatives.

I've had my bike since Fall 2017. Here's what I figure I've spent...
- $600 four sets of rubber
- $120 two sets of pads
- $160 two fork services
- $160 new bar (carbon one had taken a few hits)
- $880 the joke of a bill i just got
I know my rear shock needs to be sent in for service
My dropper post is getting a little slow and sloppy

So i've already got a couple thousand of maintenance into the bike and I could spend more. Or I can buy a brand spankin new NS Nerd HD for $2800. Maybe I should ride disposable bikes until they crater instead of trying to have nice things???
You gotta stop paying full retail and learn how to service your suspension my man... you can get good tires on sale for half what you're paying, just stock up when they're cheap. Pads should only run like $40 a set... my Easton carbon bar and stem was under $160... and modern suspension is really pretty easy to tear down and service as long as you don't completely grenade it.
You has Ameribucks... them is like fourthousandsixhundredninetyseven precent more valuable than Canadian peso
I had earned some credit with a shop so I thought I'd try it out and see how it went. Results are in!

 


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