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View Full Version : growing up...chap's journey




seand
08-03-2005, 05:33 PM
Somwhere back in feb of '04, I became the proud owner of my very own special banshee chaparral. I built him up in a way I thought would work great for us both....

fork: slider
bars: planet X
stem: onone retard
headset: pig dh
wheelset: 24/24 trailpimps front diatech swinger, rear w00dman bill extreme
tires: highrollers
brakes: 8" fr/rear avid mechs
cranks: raceface nsdh
bb: rf sig fr
guide: none...used front lx derailleur
bash: evil supercharger
shifting: lx shifters w/105 derailleur
shock: fox vanRC
post: stock praxis
saddle: azonic
grips: odi lockons intense
pedals: aframes

http://gallery.autisticpig.com/albums/old_gallery/bike%20shots%20misc/normal_banshee_5.jpg

wow, i cant believe I remember all that.


Over the year and a half I have had Chap; everything but the frame and rear triangle, saddle, odi's, and post has broken; including the rockerplates. I meticulously replaced everything as it broke learning what was better and what was worse for him and how he rides.

The shock was my biggest issue. I kept blowing it up. It was suggested a handful of times to look into getting it pushed. This was a viable option, but not one I felt like taking. I grew really tired of sending it back to fox on a regular schedule. It was not fox's fault, but man did it suck.

The fork was another issue. I had 3 rebuilds and eventually got it right. Lessons learned with a first year fork. I replaced it with something I planned on only riding for this season, affording me the resources to get the fork I wanted for Chap this winter.

The brakes were wonderful; for mechs. I needed to go back to hydros. I had sworn off hayes (for reasons not worth mentioning in this post) as well as hopes (same thing goes here as well). The juicys were supposed to be amazing, but did I dare play with a new technology again? *sigh*

We went to whistler and I realized just how bad having 24" wheels were on that bike. Those had to go as well. While at whistler, my der blew up...another item to replace!

Kamloops brought the need for a new bar/stem after folding my bar in half over my stem and cracking the stem :)

I take it back..the pigDH never broke either...

I thought I had a solid build underway and chain-suck started to happen and happen bad. So I went with an SRS and cracked the boomerang at seymour. Another option was needed.

Long story short, this brings me to today...

I just got back from the shop after getting my steer tube cut down a bit and having some brake work done....I am beyond pleased with how 1.5 years of trial and error has turned out.

http://gallery.autisticpig.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_chap_side_05.jpg

Frame: small banshee chap
no reason to replace it :)

fork: jrT
temporary for the season, and thus far has out performed my slider

cranks: rf nsdh
fresh warrenty brought me new ones. i do enjoy these cranks

bb: fsa platinum
so far so good; lasted much long than my sig fr bb

guide: envy doubleE - 34/22
long story here. so far, no chain loss, no guide to worry about, and I get a granny gear. Well worth the 22 bucks.

pedals: wellgos; sealed
Light, sturdy, and the pins can be taken out from the bottom

rear wheel: 26" mag30 laced to red Ti 108 hadley
best rear wheel I have ever ridden

front wheel: 26" mag30 laced to red hadley
best front wheel I have ever ridden

tires: 26x2.35 nevegals - folding
mr mulletron was onto something with his kenda review.

shifting: sram x9
my only complaint is that one piece on the bottom of the der that cant be replaced. I have cracked two of them forcing me to get new derailleurs. Worth the cost though for how these perform.


brakes: juicy7s
I had 5s a week ago and look forward to the 7s enhancements

headset: red king
it matches the bike, was a gift, and its a king :)

bars: tioga oversized
so far so good.

stem: serial killa
heavier than I would like, but I dont worry about it failing on me

grips: same ole' odi lockons-intense
tried and true

post: same ole' stock praxis
I thought that would be the first thing to break...guess not?

saddle: same ole' azonic
ugly as hell, but functional all the same. I will toss it when it breaks

Shock: avalanche chubie w/Ti spring
Hands down the best shock I have ridden. I love it to death!

New black rockerplates - I cracked my silver ones badly:
http://gallery.autisticpig.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_avy_black_plates.jpg


I hope this summer never ends; many more trails to be ridden :)

-sean

ps - this thread serves another purpose too! if, during my next trip to whistler, my bike gets stolen, I have recent shots to post up and a thread I can easily sticky :P




The_Titan
08-03-2005, 06:12 PM
looks like a sweet ride 8)
too bad the slider had so many problems :(

umbullit
08-03-2005, 06:40 PM
mmmmmm
thats gonna be fun here in a few weeks eh sean?
you most definatly have made that thing into a serious beast.
just hope you dont go searching for a tranny once again..

seand
08-03-2005, 07:45 PM
mmmmmm
thats gonna be fun here in a few weeks eh sean?
you most definatly have made that thing into a serious beast.
just hope you dont go searching for a tranny once again..


bwahaha!

if only you saw my attempt last time up at whistler where i thought gapping a particular rockface on joyride was a good idea. never have i had a tube go flat so fast!

yeah chap is a beast alright. i cant wait to put a 888 ( 7" ) w/flat crowns on him this winter!

see you on the 16th!

C.C.
08-03-2005, 11:59 PM
Sean, how are you liking your 108pt Hadley? Maitenance/Durability? Engagement compared to other high end hubs?

Can you post a close up of your wheelset?

seand
08-04-2005, 09:22 AM
Sean, how are you liking your 108pt Hadley? Maitenance/Durability? Engagement compared to other high end hubs?

Can you post a close up of your wheelset?


Some say a front is a front is a front. I thought the same until I tossed this wheel on. It rolls much better than any other front hub I have ridden.

The rear. For the cost, its a no brainer. The maintenance is beyond minimal. If you want a quiet hub, toss more lube in there...want it louder? let the lube wear out. I have had to pull my the rear hadley apart only once; and that was due to some strange noise i was hearing...never found out what it was, but it went away when the hub was put back together.

Engagement is a dream. I have never once wished for better eng with this hub; cant say that about any other hub i have ridden. I loved kings..but love hadleys more :)


a close-up of the wheels? sure.

front:
http://gallery.autisticpig.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_hadley_juicy.jpg


rear:
http://gallery.autisticpig.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_rear_hadley.jpg

Party-Pants and Paul
08-04-2005, 04:22 PM
killer setup man

Sgt. Pepper
08-04-2005, 05:13 PM
sick bike

Chief
08-04-2005, 06:31 PM
what spacings do the hadleys come in im looking for a new 130mm reg qr

C.C.
08-05-2005, 12:48 AM
Good to hear some feedback on the new 108pt hub....your wheel set looks killer. You should see what I'm about to brew.


Some say a front is a front is a front. I thought the same until I tossed this wheel on. It rolls much better than any other front hub I have ridden.

The rear. For the cost, its a no brainer. The maintenance is beyond minimal. If you want a quiet hub, toss more lube in there...want it louder? let the lube wear out. I have had to pull my the rear hadley apart only once; and that was due to some strange noise i was hearing...never found out what it was, but it went away when the hub was put back together.

Engagement is a dream. I have never once wished for better eng with this hub; cant say that about any other hub i have ridden. I loved kings..but love hadleys more :)

Shredded
08-05-2005, 03:30 AM
that is one seriously sweet bike u have there, cant wait to see it with the 888 on there.

definately an improvement over the original setup.

Robot
08-05-2005, 08:24 AM
If I see a 888 on that bike I will take it off and beat you with it. :)

But I didn't realize you're running the folding bead Nevegals. Were they on your bike when you were up at Whistler?

Loopie
08-05-2005, 02:00 PM
Nice stuff Sean:)
Avy = gooder eh!

seand
08-05-2005, 02:38 PM
If I see a 888 on that bike I will take it off and beat you with it. :)

But I didn't realize you're running the folding bead Nevegals. Were they on your bike when you were up at Whistler?

a 7" 888 w/flat crowns will do little->no difference to my bikes ride/weight compared to the jrT on there now. besides, you'd have to catch me fir...wait...nevermind :)

you know i plan on riding the hardtail everywhere except where the pig bike is NEEDED.

yeah the folding beads have been on there for a very long time; including whistler. only two flats at whistler with them and both were my fault.

loopie - yes-in-deedy!