Incoming! The blue bouncer. Whyte G-170

[weeksy]

It's not a 2020

compare170s by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

I'm sure you'll think/say "still not that significant, however honestly they're chalk and cheese, they ride completely differently and i feel so so much more at home on the G-170 after 1 ride than i ever did on the Bird. It was just a couple of runs at the jump, which is essentially a big bomb-hole with what feels like a bloody vertical exit and then up the top and over... first 2-3 i didn't attack it... but then yup, just up and over.... Cased a few slightly, but then was nailing pretty much all of them. Sure it's not MASSIVE, but it's enough of a jump to know you're in the air.

Todays job is to clean it and then if my tool for setting the B screw turns up, see if i can get the indexing better... It was a bit shit yesterday but i also think it may need a new mech hanger, luckily i have 2 spare from the G-160 But i'd like to get the shifting crisp and then i can work out if it need a bottom bracket or not, again, luckily i have one spare here from the seller, so no biggy there.

I won't be riding it outdoors now until after the weekend as it will be left in clean and sorted trim as a spare race bike for the lad for Caersws race.

[weeksy]

Today sees a few things being done.

Step 1
2021-09-09_11-51-17 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr
New spring from https://j-techsuspension.co.uk/
This one is 550lbs instead of the 450lbs i have on that i was bottoming out. Should sort that out nicely i think.

Weirdly though, i won't be fitting it today.... mostly because i have another one arriving tomorrow lol. That one is 350lbs... Which is the closest i could find at short notice for my lads weight. As well as taking 3000 spare bits this weekend for his DH race at Caersws i'm also taking the G-170 and will spring it to his weight, just in case he has a mechanical we can't sort, can't repair, he's then got a spare bike... it's a bit big for him, but it's better than a DNF.


Step 2 is new crankset... probably. There's a reason behind this. The G-170 came with a DUB crankset. This uses a preload adjuster to tension the cranks correctly and stop play. Now, partly potentially because my preload ring is cracked and partly because it's apparently a completely shit system, i can't get it 'right'. If i tension it, i either get it where the cranks don't spin (with no chain fitted) or they do spin but they've got a wiggle of free play.
In my spares box is a set of Truvativ Descendant cranks which run GXP, i've run GXP plenty and have a spare bottom bracket as well as 2 used BBs, so plenty in the repair setup. The only minor downside is that they're 175mm cranks and my usual cranks have been 170mm. I don't much care about that from a pedalling context, but it obviously gives fractionally less clearance for pedal strikes... But as the BB is higher than both the Bird and the G-160, shouldn't be a massive problem.

[Mr Moofo]

It's not a 2020

compare170s by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

I'm sure you'll think/say "still not that significant, however honestly they're chalk and cheese, they ride completely differently and i feel so so much more at home on the G-170 after 1 ride than i ever did on the Bird. It was just a couple of runs at the jump, which is essentially a big bomb-hole with what feels like a bloody vertical exit and then up the top and over... first 2-3 i didn't attack it... but then yup, just up and over.... Cased a few slightly, but then was nailing pretty much all of them. Sure it's not MASSIVE, but it's enough of a jump to know you're in the air.

Todays job is to clean it and then if my tool for setting the B screw turns up, see if i can get the indexing better... It was a bit shit yesterday but i also think it may need a new mech hanger, luckily i have 2 spare from the G-160 But i'd like to get the shifting crisp and then i can work out if it need a bottom bracket or not, again, luckily i have one spare here from the seller, so no biggy there.

I won't be riding it outdoors now until after the weekend as it will be left in clean and sorted trim as a spare race bike for the lad for Caersws race.

but what does Strava say ...

[weeksy]

Dunno mate. Funnily enough i was chatting with Couchie earlier, what Strava ends up saying really doesn't come into play for me these days, sure it's nice to go faster but the pleasure comes from enjoying the bike and the ride, enjoying how it handles and rides etc. Which is where the G170 comes into it's own. It just feels 'better' or 'nicer' or in simple terms, it feels right.
From the first second i sat on it, to the end of the ride it felt better.

As i was out with the small boys, we did some waiting for one of them, so i don't actually have any Strava for the ride that was useful.

I've not ridden it today as the crankset is on the floor awaiting a tool.

[weeksy]

As always with my bikes when buying used, i do my best to make sure they're 100%

As i had the cranks off i thought it made sense to do the pivot bearings too
2021-09-09_03-02-59 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

2021-09-09_03-02-50 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

2021-09-09_03-02-34 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

[weeksy]

Cranks swapped, no wiggle or play and smooth spinning with the gxp setup. Sweet.

[weeksy]

I know i'm pretty much talking to myself here, but anyway.

I bought a tool for setting the B screw on the rear mech. As some of you may know the 12sp stuff is a different setting to 10sp/11sp, basically you move the rear mech cage higher or lower to set it in the right place. Now considering the guy who sold me the bike worked in a bicycle shop, i thought it may be somewhere in the right ball park..... Nah, not even close... So i've set it now and the gears seem lovely and smooth.

[weeksy]

2021-09-10_10-38-52 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

Sprung with a 350 spring for my lad as a spare bike this weekend.

[Count Steer]

I know i'm pretty much talking to myself here, but anyway.

Nah mate. I'm sure there are lots of readers (many, like me, won't have a clue what you're doing or why but are fascinated all the same).

[weeksy]

I know i'm pretty much talking to myself here, but anyway.

Nah mate. I'm sure there are lots of readers (many, like me, won't have a clue what you're doing or why but are fascinated all the same).

HAlf of the stuff i write on bikes is mostly for my own reasons and thoughts...

I'll be writing up a weekend race thread though for the next 3 weekends which hopefully will be cool

[weeksy]

Finally getting to put some time in on the G-170.

Local stuff only at the moment, but it's riding sweetly and i'm most happy with it. I'm not picking anything massively techincal at the moment, mostly because with only an hour i can't get to it, ride it and get back in an hour. But it's 'trails' in a proper trail context. Today i had a couple of silver trophies, which considering i'm at one of my worst levels of fitness and weight in the past 10 years i'm pretty happy with. But more importantly, i'm at a level of happiness with the G170 i just never got to reach on the Aether7, i find myself coming into sections which are tight and nadgery, or very narrow ruts etc and well, i barely give them a moments consideration. When i was on the Bird, they 'troubled' me and i couldn't ride as i wanted as i had to think about the trails more than just riding them.
By the weekend i should be able to get out to something a little more tech and tricky at Forest of Dean, so we'll learn a bit more

[weeksy]

HAving a few minor niggles with the rear wheel, in the largest cogs on the cassette i get a noise that sounds like a loose spoke.

some are what i’d call a bit soft, some are proper firm… so i think first port of call next week is to drop it into LBS when i’m out on Tues for a tweak on the spokes and get them right. I’ll just ride it this weekend and put up with it
You know, 1 time per rotations and a ‘dink’ noise, but checking the rim, i can’t find anything particularly ‘loose’ that would lead me to think it’s the spokes.
It’s a brand new BB, pedals and i’ve swapped the main pivot bearings…

2021-09-17_09-12-51 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

[Mr Moofo]

HAving a few minor niggles with the rear wheel, in the largest cogs on the cassette i get a noise that sounds like a loose spoke.

some are what i’d call a bit soft, some are proper firm… so i think first port of call next week is to drop it into LBS when i’m out on Tues for a tweak on the spokes and get them right. I’ll just ride it this weekend and put up with it
You know, 1 time per rotations and a ‘dink’ noise, but checking the rim, i can’t find anything particularly ‘loose’ that would lead me to think it’s the spokes.
It’s a brand new BB, pedals and i’ve swapped the main pivot bearings…

2021-09-17_09-12-51 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

Any spokey dokeys on it ?

[weeksy]

LOL nah. But now you mention it i may buy some

I've tweaked a couple of spokes this morning along with checking the hub etc... i'd say the hub arguably needs a bearing or two, but not today as i've got 2 race weekends so need the bike, even if it makes a noise every now and again, taking it apart and it not being ready for tomorrow would be a lot more of an issue.

[Mr Moofo]

If you have looked at the normal stuff then wheel or freehub is worth looking at.
It’s not the cranks ?

[weeksy]

If you have looked at the normal stuff then wheel or freehub is worth looking at.
It’s not the cranks ?

brand new cranks and BB. So pretty sure i can rule them out.

Chain is a possible... but hard to test at the moment as i don't have a spare wheel/chain/cassette for a 12 speed setup. One of the lads has 12sp but is a 29er and i don't know if his wheel will fit. It's all a bit of a process of elimination.

Must admit, i'm debating just jumping on something like this

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224606762204 ... 1438.l2649

Which apart from the chain not being present, which i can get easily, is a full 11sp setup... That would then mean i can have 11sp on both mine and the Sworks, which i always find useful to have matching setups.

[weeksy]

Arrgghhhh.

it's a GXP BB, so no spacers apart from 1... So i can't move or affect it. The spacer is installed on the hub on the inside of cassette, so again, not a lot i can do there. Chainring specifies 3mm offset, 148mm boost compatible.


Oh jeepers... we may be onto something here... what a numpty !!!!



<blockquote>Each GXP bottom bracket comes with two spacers. For SRAM the following rule applies: 68mm bottom brackets need one spacer left and right, 73mm bottom brackets don't need any spacers.</blockquote>

Would you believe i've got a spacer installed !!!!!!

so in reality my chainline is out by 2.5mm which could be enough to pull it over too far so in the bigger cogs the chain is pulled sideways !

[weeksy]

Horrible horrible noises today from the rear end, so took it apart to check bearings, oh lordy they're bad bad bad. It's almost a miracle the wheel moves lol.

Need a plan there. Whether it's new bearings or a new wheel and new bearings I dunno yet. Bit a plan will be devised.

[weeksy]

To start with, I've just ordered one of these, for now it'll go on, then once I've sorted the Stans S1 wheel that one will end up as a spare wheel instead.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mob ... prod195303

[MingtheMerciless]

#squarings