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Originally Posted by thehammerdog
(Post 20726890)
love the frame
Today I finished with the polishing. It looks good but admittedly I messed up on the sanding. No going back now though. I have lost my motivation as this work is grueling. https://i.postimg.cc/hv1wRZyx/20190101-143152-HDR.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/wvJZ0jDw/20190101-143227-HDR.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/D0TDD3gn/20190101-143234-HDR.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/28CM7myx/20190101-143255.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/fWc1dkzL/20190101-143301.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/k52kRcG3/20190101-143309.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/d0gg2yZ7/20190101-143315.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/4xLD3MJQ/20190101-143346.jpg The plan is to hand it over to the chroming firm and have them finish up the details before chroming. The last chroming company did not make such a good impression so I am getting quotes from a couple of reputable German companies. |
Looks pretty incredible.
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Realizing my mistake with sanding, I went back and removed many of the fine scratches. Went over the whole frame with up to 1000 grit and started buffing today. Should be done and ready for chroming some time soon.
The photos don't say much but here they are: https://i.postimg.cc/VsjzzL4Q/20190104-192659.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/zvSN703X/20190105-155251.jpg @koolerb, I love my defy 1 disc. Just built up a new wheelset for it. Can't wait until the snow melts to see how they handle. https://i.postimg.cc/1nLDfs6s/20181216-185954.jpg Link to wheel-build gallery. |
Not sure which Defy disc you got but mine was in serious need for wheel upgrade right out of the box. PR-2's, boat anchors. I din't go too crazy, got some Ksyrsuim Pro's week 1. I would trade mine for yours any day. Very nice.
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Right, those PR-2's were real heavy. I weighed them in at 2200 grams. Their freehub was pretty bad too imo. All in all, i saved 550g whilst adding wheel width for comfort and depth for better aero performance.
Other than the wheel-set, the only weight reducing upgrades would be stem/handlebar and groupset. But a DA 9100 groupset would only save me about 300g. So price/benifit ratio is in the ridiculous category. |
Finished with the sanding and polishing. Frame and unpolished rims going to a German firm for a final polishing for both and chroming for the frame. The rims will be left as naked aluminum and I will treat them with metal polish / protectant from time to time.
https://i.postimg.cc/bN50wxps/20190111-211913.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/L8ZtYJ8v/20190111-211928.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/vHTLyqRJ/20190111-211937.jpg |
So, brought the rims and frame to Germany today. Estimated return in 6 weeks.
Took advantage of the trip and also picked up an Sram XG-1099 cassette that I bought cheap and used from ebay-kleinanzeigen.de. Further maximized utility by jogging back to Switzerland to take train back home (only 5km but was nice). I wanted to jog a good 20km's today but it ended up being windy and therefore too cold for what I was wearing. https://i.postimg.cc/z3m2RXf4/20190112-110805-HDR.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/J7y1J6nQ/20190112-113519-HDR.jpg |
Received the hubs/spokes/nipples this week. Can't build the wheels up yet without the polished rims..
https://i.postimg.cc/qMP7Zc49/20190123-230048.jpg |
This looks freaking amazing. You're effort has paid off. Love it.
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Originally Posted by AdventureManCO
(Post 20873091)
This looks freaking amazing. You're effort has paid off. Love it.
https://i.postimg.cc/vTyLHPH0/20190406-100341.jpg In a week I have vacation and plan to begin piecing things together starting with the wheels. The fork is still black which needs to change but only after I can ride the bike and give it a real good banging around to ensure that the frame and rims don't have weak spots from the polishing. If all goes well, I will try to get the carbon fork foiled or somehow painted to match that mirror finish of the frame. |
Can't wait to see it.
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That is gonna be a very pretty bike.
Now sell it and do another fun project for us to watch. Need the finished photos ASAP |
Finished the wheels today. The rest of the build should hopefully be pretty straight forward.
https://i.postimg.cc/G2h283JW/20190414-105725.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/2y1SGHtT/20190414-123333.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/cJW6WBK4/20190414-173746.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/85KCh8Zj/20190414-173755.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/DfNZ0TWN/20190414-173856.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/zGK34cGc/20190414-173911.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/d093VZdR/20190414-173925.jpg |
Originally Posted by thehammerdog
(Post 20879478)
Now sell it and do another fun project for us to watch.
I have two more bikes waiting in line after this one. 1) 1994 Marin Team, Tange Ultimate steel with XTR 900: frame needs repair and will be finished in some manner or another. Not yet decided. 2) Sancineto low-pro, Columbus aluminum frame and genius steel fork, with 26" front and 28"rear, needs lots of love and a complete rebuild. |
So I have gotten this far before needing a couple other small parts which should arrive tomorrow:
https://i.postimg.cc/NFFymWJb/20190416-102424.jpg |
Originally Posted by pressed001
(Post 20887440)
So I have gotten this far before needing a couple other small parts which should arrive tomorrow:
https://i.postimg.cc/NFFymWJb/20190416-102424.jpg Good stuff. :thumb: |
Small steps. Dialed the shifting in, installed the SFN and cut the steerer tube. With that I am being safe and leaving plenty of room for adjustment. Hence the ridiculous stack and stem.
I don't trust the seatpost from AliExpress. It reminds me of the mono link from Ritchey which when properly or even over torqued would move on you during a ride. https://i.postimg.cc/rFdb0131/20190417-211725.jpg |
Originally Posted by ColonelSanders
(Post 20888006)
What an incredible project you have undertaken. Good stuff. :thumb:
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So, like I said, took my time today on the brakes. I knew there was a reason why I saved this for last.
This was my first time cutting brake lines and setting them up 100%. All went well, just slowly. Bleeding the rear brake was super easy and without a hitch. It was the front brake that ended up leaking after the first bleed. That was caused by a barb that was not completely seated. I may have to consider getting some real caliper screws. The hardware store here (European hardware stores! What a joke!) had only 30 and 16mm M6 stainless allen screws. For the longer front caliper screw, I had to use a standard bolt and cut it down from 40 to 35mm because of the +20mm disc adapter. I'm running 180's on both front and back. Speaking of which, I love how the Timby has a flat mount 180 in back. The brakes are really great. Loads of modulation and effortless braking. I picked up some organic BBB pads which are always smooth. Coincidentally the blue matches perfectly. There is one issue with the brakes and I wonder if this is a known issue for the Magura's. The clearance between one of the caliper bolts and the spokes is beyond close. In fact, when braking hard the spokes started kissing it: https://i.postimg.cc/tgL0K8QM/20190418-203025.jpg Most likely I will file down the head slightly. Other options? Remove the washers? So here are some photos from the maiden voyage today. It was a quick 5km around the block: https://i.postimg.cc/3JbGQZNv/20190418-193529-HDR.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/HnkrfJCz/20190418-193509-HDR.jpg The bike's geometry is nearly perfect. The handlebars need to be lowered and the stem shortened slightly. The stem right now is a 120mm which I had laying around. I had installed it to mirror the geometry of my other hard tail which is a size L. I think though, that on the Timby the long stem is a bad idea as it was very squirrely. When I decided to purchase the frame, it was a toss up between M and L which I had thought about for a while. I had compared the reach and stack of my current bike and knew the Timby's were a bit short but nothing extreme. I am 175cm (5'9"). I decided on the M with a 100mm stem which is correct and OK. But this ride right now is too nervous to enjoy and makes me think that it could be a combination of factors and not just the stem length. Perhaps the headset preload is too tight. Maybe the fork's dimensions don't fit the bike right? I will have to figure this out if I want to be enjoying this bike any time soon. |
Today I installed the silver 100mm stem again. Also re-adjusted the stack pre-load to just about zero without play. Now the ride is much less twitchy. It is still slightly nervous and I'm going to give the fork credit for that.
This bike's geometry is very different than the 1995 GT Tempest that I usually ride. So the ride will take some kilometers to get used to. That said, I took it out for a 40km ride today with 900m of elevation gain (and then loss!) and I must say that this bike is almost nearly impressive. I honestly can't say that I'm too impressed with the frame, but it aint bad. The build is but top notch and exactly what I needed as an upgrade to the GT. First off, the disc brakes make downhill an absolute breeze. With 1 finger I got all the power I needed. The wide(er) wheels allowed me also to run less tire pressure on my tubeless setup which allowed better handling and grip. The steel frame put together with the low tire pressure makes this ride feel like it has a suspension. With the front tire at 1.8bar and rear at 2.0, I took some seriously rocky terrain at speed and didn't feel a thing. This is where I was impressed. The frame itself is just okay. Nothing special. But damn it looks good. :) Note: chainsuck 3 times on the ride today gave the chain-stay it's first scars. Plans: My wife was right, this bike would look great in all-silver. I will sand the fork and seatpost before bringing them to my favorite auto shop for a professional paint-job of the most metallic, chrome-like paint they can do. https://i.postimg.cc/jjHQp17q/Screen...ide-Strava.png https://i.postimg.cc/9X8tHZr9/20190419-161323-HDR.jpg Most importantly, before (and after) the ride today I spent some quality time with the fam: https://i.postimg.cc/yxbFh4wj/20190419-191422.jpg |
Additionally, I took another look at the front wheel regarding the spoke rubbing against the caliper's banjo bolt and the wheel was about 3mm too far left of center. I corrected this and now there is no more rubbing. The spokes are still uncomfortably close to that bolt, but no rubbing, no problem. I tested this today specifically by braking hard on the downhills with the front brake only. No rubbing.
Also the front pads rub slightly against the rotor and I can't get it to stop. Played with it for over 2 hours this morning and couldn't achieve zero rub. So what I will be doing is opening the reservoir cap, pushing the calipers slightly in and then closing the system off again. What this should do is make the calipers retract further after braking. It will also introduce more "squish" to the braking up front, but it is right now very solid, so a little play is OK. |
https://i.postimg.cc/rptFXQ2s/DSC3751.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/x1ZT4B7B/DSC3757.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/htvtMKC9/DSC3760.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/k43MnK7c/DSC3761.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/J4PhbsQr/DSC3764.jpg In summation: this is my new favorite mountain bike. Reasons: Wheels and brakes. Wheels: the wider Crest mk3 rims allow lower tire pressure which gives me more grip in the climbs and more cushion for the downhills. With reduced tire pressure I could effectively attack out of the saddle in the climbs without sacrificing much grip. I broke my old records for some local climbs already. The rocky and semi-technical downhills were much easier due to the superb braking power offered by the Magura's. The carbon fork, handlebars and lower tire pressure sufficiently damped the vibrations so that I could move with speed. The frame itself took me some getting used to. Initially I was very disappointed but found that most of the nervous feel was caused by an over-tightened headset. Once that was solved, the bike handles and steers well. I found myself attacking the hills successfully out of the saddle much more often than usual. Some of this can be attributed to the frame, but mostly the wheel/tire/pressure combo. Frame: Ritchey Timberwolf size M (purchased for $300 due to defective paint), stripped, polished and chromed Fork: Carbon AliExpress 27.5 15mm Thru-Axle Rims: NoTubes Crest MK3's, stripped and polished, tubeless Hubs: White Industries XMR 15x110 and 12x142 Spokes: Sapim CX Ray Nipples: Sapim Polyax Alu 14mm Tires: Schwalbe Thunder Burt Liteskin Tubeless Crankset: XTR M980, 28x44 Cassette: SRAM XX1099, 11x36 (purchased used) Chain: Shimano XT CN HG-95 Shifters: XTR M980, 2-3x10 Stem: Ritchey classic C220 100mm Handlebars: AliExpress Carbon EC90 Brakes: Magura MT Trail SL with extra double caliper for rear Discs: Hope 180mm silver Brake-levers: Magura HC3 (purchased used) Brake-lines: Uberbike stainless kit Pedals: Crankbrothers Eggbeater 11 Ti (purchased used) Saddle: Ritchey WCS carbon streem Weight: 9.3kg with pedals Cost: ~$4200 At a later time I will sand the seatpost and fork before having them painted to match the chrome frame. But for now, this build is finished. |
So after 6 months of riding I am deciding to ditch the frame. Already have one on the way from China:
https://i.postimg.cc/T3jpF8j1/F1.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/CKFzVvJN/F2.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/vZw408VC/F3.jpg In size 18, the geometry is perfect for me. Will swap all components out and eventually build a new (29er) wheelset. I also need to order a 490mm rigid fork. Kinda sad really, with all the work that went in to the Timby. But the frame can hang nicely as deco until the kids are older. Or maybe I would sell it. Hell, it would fit my wife pretty well too... |
I built the new frame up. Used all components from the Timby that I could but had to purchase a new stem, 29er rims, spokes and tires. Optionally I went with new Magura MT5 brakes and black Hope 2 piece rotors.
So the weather is really crap here and I have only ridden the bike in the parking garage. It was steering like a gravel bike with the 460mm ATC fork but that also made the seat-tube angle very steep so decided to get a proper 490mm ATC fork which seems to be a good in-between even though I like the steep HTA of the gravel bikes. So the bike is pretty much done.This whole project was a big lesson in bike geometry for me. I spent a lot of hours researching nearly every frame on the market and comparing them to the 1995 GT Zaskar. In the end I was torn between this one and the Mondraker Podium Carbon RR. The Timby is hanging beautifully on the wall and is for sale on ebay-kleinanzeigen.de https://i.postimg.cc/nrQXRKxj/DSC5220.jpg Happy riding. |
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