Rebuilding my AM / trail rig

[wesley_r]

And a lekker plug for your mate's store...

 

I'm so glad there's finally a local source for this stuff though, Wes...

 

Yip, Andrew is a mate, and other Andrew (it's 2 Andrews, true story) is a nice bloke as well - we hung out on Friday night after the Strength in Numbers screening. Mate or not though, they're doing good work, and I'll plug them every chance I get, because our local industry needs guys like them - their vision being to service the "niche" of SA's MTB market - DH, DJ, AM, etc

 

They've got some even greater brands than what they already have coming on board, but I've been sworn to secrecy

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Yeah. 661! 661!

 

Love it.

 

Prices seem very reasonable as well though. And as for selection, that will come with time!

[Iwan Kemp]

I had a Commencal Meta 5.5 too and manged to bend several of the axles that run through the lower eyelet of the shock. I was told by Absolute biking it was due to me running too much SAG (30%). The Commencal data sheet suggests that you run only 20% SAG for optimum and a max SAG of 25%. To achieve the 20% SAG I had to run the Fox Float R at 210 - 215psi. Unfortunately the frame cracked at the headtube and has since been replaced. So, if you ever need the rear triangle, linkage or hangers (I have 2 derailleur hangers), drop me a PM.

 

There's mo way a shock bolt bend due to sag. If you're running too much sag (within reason) there are lots of other parts and pieces that'll bite the dust before a bolt will or should bend.

[DubbelBuys]

I'm with Crow on this 1. Doesn't make sense-I mean you drive throught the whole shock & still if it bottoms out it shouldn't bend the bolts. You dont do 8 foot drops with it by any chance

[Hairy]

There's mo way a shock bolt bend due to sag. If you're running too much sag (within reason) there are lots of other parts and pieces that'll bite the dust before a bolt will or should bend.

 

I know of another rider who had a spaz Enduro and he had similar issues.

[wesley_r]

Also bear in mind it's a 5 year old bike - and the previous shock was 10mm too short, maybe that played a part?

 

Anyway, enough jibber jabber! To go with my new bars, I decided I needed a nicer stem. I've been running a 55mm no-name brand stem that seems to have a rise a little steeper than your run of the mill 5 degrees. Truvativ's AKA stem is pretty nice, and '09 stock is going for +- R200 a pop so it was a no brainer. Initially I ordered a 70mm as I wanted a bit more of a stretched out feel, but I eventually decided against it and Geco Cycles were kind enough to swap it out - just got a mail from them that the 60mm replacement has arrived at the shop. Lekker.

[Iwan Kemp]

Also bear in mind it's a 5 year old bike - and the previous shock was 10mm too short, maybe that played a part?

Yip.

 

Back to the build...

[wesley_r]

I'm a fiddler, I'm never happy. This is evident when it comes to my saddle choice.

 

Long before I even bought the Commencal (when I had the Mongoose Tyax hardtail), I picked up a Fizik Zeak (yeah, I know there's supposed to be a couple of :s and 's in there) saddle 2nd hand off the hub. I bought it for 3 reasons - it looked cool, it had a shape that intrigued me, and it's pretty unique. I'd ridden it before, on a Giant Reign I tested out. I tossed the stock Mongoose saddle in favour of it, but after a while I found it too hard overall and then switched to a WTB pure V comp, which I never got along with. When I got the Commencal it came with a beat up Specialized seat, and after trying the Fizik again I switched to the Specialized, and was happy for a while, until I ended up with numb junk on a ride!

 

So when I built up the hardtail again to get well / fit, I switched back to the Fizik for a third time, and suddenly I'm finding it perfect. More comfy than I remember (maybe my ass is getting more numb) and pretty nice saddle for technical riding too. So that's what's going back on the Commencal for this build I'll be running it on the Ritchey seat post that I scored for R80, that's been serving me well so far!

Edited May 28, 2012 by the_wes

[wesley_r]

Ding dong, look what just arrived... thanks Absolut Biking!

[NotSoBigBen]

A bit off topic but interesting what you say about seats ..... I have used Gobi's on my 2 'long ride' bikes for a while and they have been fine but having recently lost 'loads' of weight I am not comfortable on them anymore. Bought a Selle Italia SL something or other from my SiL last week put it on my Epic and went and did nearly 5 hours on it at the Magalies Monster Saturday, man I had no issues with it .....

 

So it would seem saddle preference can even change based on ones 'body composition' then

[wesley_r]

Tyres: when I got the Commencal, it had a set of Maxxis High Roller 2.5 USTs on. Grippy like mad, but heavy! Shortly after I converted to tubeless and swopped the rear for a slightly narrower Kenda Nevegal (or Nevagrip, or Neva-again if you prefer) I still found the High Roller too heavy and overkill, so I replaced it with a Continental Mountain King II, the "Protection" model. So far I've been extremely happy with it, so I've ordered another one for the back so that I can ditch the Nevegal. It should be here tomorrow from buycycle.co.za Tyres are 2.4 front and rear.

 

The wheels I am running are AlexRims SupraBH rims on Giant (front) and Formula (rear) hubs. I've had these wheels since before I initially bought the Commencal, as I taco'ed one of my Mongoose wheels, and wanted something uber-burly. To be honest, my ass has been itching for a while now for newer rims (and a better rear hub) but that's not on the cards for a while, due to budget. When the time comes, I may look at a few options, including the ZTR Flow, DT Swiss EX500 and, my favourite, the Spank Subrosa I'll look at a new rear hub then as well. Currently my wheelset is where I make one of those tradeoffs - choosing longevity and burliness over low weight.

[Iwan Kemp]

I've ordered wheels from www.superstarcomponents.com. They always get great reviews on Bikeradar. Cost me a fraction of what it would cost to buy here and I could custom build. They have all the Stans rims as options and their hubs can be adapted to run any configuration or "standard"! Definitely worth a look. They have a Flow / CX-Ray / SSC Hub special at the moment. Service is top notch, delivery is fast.

 

I went with CX-Ray, Arch EX, SSC Swith Fr and Trizoid Rear = R3900 exclu delivery. The spokes alone will set you back close to R3k locally. The ARCH EX rims are R800 ea online so this was a killer deal. Their Trizoid hub has 120point engagement which puts it up there with I9. But it can run Stans end caps or adapters so spares won't be an issue.

 

Worth a look. They have Spank rims as an option as well.

 

Tires: HR 2.5 weigh close to 1.3kg! Grip like nothing else, but I won't run them again on a bike I have to pedal! Nevegals are out for me as they are too heavy and slow for the amount of grip. 2.35 High roller I like. Trying Schwalbe's on my bike. Not enough miles to report back.

 

Not a Conti fan.

[Guest Omega Man]

I went with CX-Ray, Arch EX, SSC Swith Fr and Trizoid Rear = R3900 exclu delivery. The spokes alone will set you back close to R3k locally. The ARCH EX rims are R800 ea online so this was a killer deal. Their Trizoid hub has 120point engagement which puts it up there with I9. But it can run Stans end caps or adapters so spares won't be an issue.

 

 

I've been told that their Trizoid hub is actually just an Industry 9 hub that's been rebranded which would make them a gigantic bargain. Do you know if there's any truth in what I've been told?

[CAAD4]

Crow are those Superstar hubs loud?

[Hairy]

Sounds great for a SS wheelset!

[Hairy]

Superstar Components look to have a nice range of products on their site!

 

The hubs are great, but so too are the other little gems such as the Angle Tec BB, Anodized Floating rotors and many other rather nicely looking and priced goods ..... I am developing a fondness for the Techno Lime anodized bits they have. Might have to pimp the SS soon!