Xtracycle build experience
05-25-07 | 12:45 AM
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95% gasoline-free
Joined: Sep 2006
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From: North Seattle, WA
Xtracycle build experience
I just got through building my first bike, an Xtracycle no less, and wanted to share the experience.
Background: In 1999, I bought a pricey-for-me $400 MTB. I rode it a bunch, it sat a bunch. September last year, I was going to get it fitted out with a new disc brake front end for yuks, and discovered the frame was cracked. Months later, I finally sorted everything out and sent it back to Norco for warranty replacement. Now, I have this nice Norco Bigfoot frame, but I bought a new bike in September. What to do with this one? I know, I'll make an Xtracycle!
So I did a bunch of research, and talked to a few people. I started gathering components. For the impatient, here's the component list:
Norco Bigfoot frame
used Axiom handlebar
used SRAM 7-speed grip shifters
Rock Shox Dart 3 suspension fork
FSA "The Pig" headset
Shimano XT Disc 36h front hub
DT double-butted spokes front and rear
Sun Rhyno Lite rims front and rear
Shimano HF-08 145mm tandem rear hub, 48h
Alligator Round 203mm discs front and rear
Avid BB5 calipers front and rear (take-offs from my commuter)
used Shimano cranks
used Shimano front chainrings
used Shimano Altus front derailleur (cheap as hell, I think)
used no-name bottom bracket
used seatpost and QR clamp
combined SRAM and Xtracycle-supplied chain
Shimano 34-13 (or so) 7-speed cassette
Xtracycle FreeRadical kit
The build itself was pretty straight-forward, and much like building any other bike. I decided to build my own wheels, figuring that'd be cheaper than buying well-made 48 spoke wheels -- I was right, sort of. For more information on the wheel build, see this thread. Turns out building wheels is a lot of fun. It also turns out that for about as much as I spent on hubs, rims and spokes, PricePoint would have sold me a set of DH 48 spoke wheels. I justify myself by thinking that my hand-trued wheels will probably last longer. Right? Right?
Probably the greatest frustration of building the thing was waiting for parts. I used so many weird or out-of-the-ordinary parts that many of them had to be ordered in, either via the LBS, or from places like PricePoint. In particular the disc brake parts and the tandem hub presented the greatest problems for finding pieces. The total build time was about 3 weeks for that reason.
Despite Xtracycle's claim, they don't really supply everything necessary to convert a bike. In particular, I think anyone would have to run out and get more cable housing in order to finish a conversion.
To deal with the 145mm spacing on the rear hub, Aaron's Cycle Repair in Seattle stretched out the Xtracycle frame for me. This involved two people, four hands, and two feet; counting down, pulling/pushing hard, and swearing. Took about 4 passes to go from the stock 132.5mm to 145. Apparently the other way to do it is to take spacers off the hub (which would be a good way to go if you can't bend the frame), but that increases the dish of the rear wheel so it's quite dramatic. It also means you have to chop down the axle, and get a different QR skewer.
Speaking of axles, I will soon be converting to 10mm solid axles, which offers the benefits of greater load tolerance, resistance to pulling out of the dropouts in front under disc brake loads, and greater peace-of-mind when locking the bike up.
In order to get the 7-speed cassette to fit on the 9-speed hub, I used a 3mm spacer, and removed the pins which hold the gears together when they're off the hub. In order to use the 165mm BB5 caliper on the front, I had to get a new caliper mount from Avid (which I would have needed anyway, to go from IS mount to post mount).
It's only been done for a few days, so I don't really have any mileage on the bike yet. What riding I have done suggests that there are gremlins in the drivetrain to figure out -- it seems to be self-shifting. The chain is rubbing against the X frame, due to a weird orientation issue, so I need to strategically install some protective thingies (probably zipties, actually).
I have a really fabulous horn, which is a hand-operated high volume pump, which directly operates a pair of car-type airhorns. It's loud as hell. Aaron's has them for $20, but I don't think they have many left. I'll post a video and pictures of it in the next few days. It's a Chinese (like, purchased in China, not exported) tractor horn. Did I mention it was loud as hell? I have the pump mounted near my steering head. I haven't had an opportunity to use it in anger yet. The airhorns mounted on the fork legs look either badass or ridiculous, depending on your view of such things.
I'll post more as things occur to me. Please ask questions, I'll be happy to provide any answers I can.
Background: In 1999, I bought a pricey-for-me $400 MTB. I rode it a bunch, it sat a bunch. September last year, I was going to get it fitted out with a new disc brake front end for yuks, and discovered the frame was cracked. Months later, I finally sorted everything out and sent it back to Norco for warranty replacement. Now, I have this nice Norco Bigfoot frame, but I bought a new bike in September. What to do with this one? I know, I'll make an Xtracycle!
So I did a bunch of research, and talked to a few people. I started gathering components. For the impatient, here's the component list:
Norco Bigfoot frame
used Axiom handlebar
used SRAM 7-speed grip shifters
Rock Shox Dart 3 suspension fork
FSA "The Pig" headset
Shimano XT Disc 36h front hub
DT double-butted spokes front and rear
Sun Rhyno Lite rims front and rear
Shimano HF-08 145mm tandem rear hub, 48h
Alligator Round 203mm discs front and rear
Avid BB5 calipers front and rear (take-offs from my commuter)
used Shimano cranks
used Shimano front chainrings
used Shimano Altus front derailleur (cheap as hell, I think)
used no-name bottom bracket
used seatpost and QR clamp
combined SRAM and Xtracycle-supplied chain
Shimano 34-13 (or so) 7-speed cassette
Xtracycle FreeRadical kit
The build itself was pretty straight-forward, and much like building any other bike. I decided to build my own wheels, figuring that'd be cheaper than buying well-made 48 spoke wheels -- I was right, sort of. For more information on the wheel build, see this thread. Turns out building wheels is a lot of fun. It also turns out that for about as much as I spent on hubs, rims and spokes, PricePoint would have sold me a set of DH 48 spoke wheels. I justify myself by thinking that my hand-trued wheels will probably last longer. Right? Right?
Probably the greatest frustration of building the thing was waiting for parts. I used so many weird or out-of-the-ordinary parts that many of them had to be ordered in, either via the LBS, or from places like PricePoint. In particular the disc brake parts and the tandem hub presented the greatest problems for finding pieces. The total build time was about 3 weeks for that reason.
Despite Xtracycle's claim, they don't really supply everything necessary to convert a bike. In particular, I think anyone would have to run out and get more cable housing in order to finish a conversion.
To deal with the 145mm spacing on the rear hub, Aaron's Cycle Repair in Seattle stretched out the Xtracycle frame for me. This involved two people, four hands, and two feet; counting down, pulling/pushing hard, and swearing. Took about 4 passes to go from the stock 132.5mm to 145. Apparently the other way to do it is to take spacers off the hub (which would be a good way to go if you can't bend the frame), but that increases the dish of the rear wheel so it's quite dramatic. It also means you have to chop down the axle, and get a different QR skewer.
Speaking of axles, I will soon be converting to 10mm solid axles, which offers the benefits of greater load tolerance, resistance to pulling out of the dropouts in front under disc brake loads, and greater peace-of-mind when locking the bike up.
In order to get the 7-speed cassette to fit on the 9-speed hub, I used a 3mm spacer, and removed the pins which hold the gears together when they're off the hub. In order to use the 165mm BB5 caliper on the front, I had to get a new caliper mount from Avid (which I would have needed anyway, to go from IS mount to post mount).
It's only been done for a few days, so I don't really have any mileage on the bike yet. What riding I have done suggests that there are gremlins in the drivetrain to figure out -- it seems to be self-shifting. The chain is rubbing against the X frame, due to a weird orientation issue, so I need to strategically install some protective thingies (probably zipties, actually).
I have a really fabulous horn, which is a hand-operated high volume pump, which directly operates a pair of car-type airhorns. It's loud as hell. Aaron's has them for $20, but I don't think they have many left. I'll post a video and pictures of it in the next few days. It's a Chinese (like, purchased in China, not exported) tractor horn. Did I mention it was loud as hell? I have the pump mounted near my steering head. I haven't had an opportunity to use it in anger yet. The airhorns mounted on the fork legs look either badass or ridiculous, depending on your view of such things.
I'll post more as things occur to me. Please ask questions, I'll be happy to provide any answers I can.
