DIY MTB

This is our latest test rig. Chosen because 1) singlespeeds are fun 2) they are quick and easy to build 3) it's much easier to notice small changes etc because of the lack of other distractions 4) singlespeeds are fun The previous N++ has been handed over to our new mechanic to play with and we built this one up to replace and and to check out some products that haven't got a good long term test elsewhere. Because I got Locky to build it under instruction I got to see how many things I am fussy about and also we got to toss around ideas about how things go together. You know the minutia that us bike owners dwell when we aren't riding. So over the next little while I'll be using this blog to discuss many of the processes and decisions (what products, colours, tunes etc) we went through.

Being a bit of tyre tragic it takes little prompting to try different treads. I don't think I've worn out a set of tyres in years, they get changed well before then. There are more tyres for 650b/27.5 around now than a year ago but still much more limited options than 26 or 29 inch. On the plus side there are a couple options from the makers of my favourite tubeless convertible tyres, Maxxis. (Their standard folding tyres, not the exception series, have been reliable conversion for me now for years) The Ardent and Crossmark have been proven performers in the 26 and 29 inch format so it was no surprise they were the first options in 27.5. Having run the Pacenti treads, Nevegals and Racing Ralphs the Maxxis tyres proved to be good performers straight out of the box (or straight off the hanger card really). The Ardent was definitely a strong performer up front, only the Neo-moto felt better overall, with the Nevegal just behind (after giving it the Peaty cut). The trails aro

Dodsun Explorer circa 1993. Purchased from the Tamworth Bicycle Company for approx $700. I did own a mountain bike before this, a heavy steel monster in technicolor paint job that got stolen. From memory this bike came fully equipped with Shimano Alivio gear. This was a definite improvemnt over the previous bike and way easier to climb. In this pic the only original gear is the seat, seatpost, rear wheel and rear brake. The rear brake lever was a combo unit so I had to cut off the shifter mount to leave only the brake lever. The front wheel is still good but when I went to a suspension fork (about 5 years ago) I went disk and that meant a different wheel. I finally removed the original gears and shifters earlier this year although they were stuck in one combo for about 3 years.

For many and varied reasons I now have a Merida 96. Not your blinged out carbon job,.just started with the basic aluminium frame although it does have carbon seatstays. I've had a lot of ideas I wanted to try and in building this bike a lot came together in the one place, hopefully more harmonious than the No 96 of aussie tv fame. So in this post(s) I hope to share some of my ideas and hopefully enlighten us all in some way. 2009 Merida 96 3000-D frame X-Fusion Velevet R Fork X-Fusion 02 RPV shock SRAM X-9 Shifters and front derailleur SRAM 2010 X-9 Rear derailluer medium cage Truvativ Stylo Team cranks Enduro BB Hygia Usagi brakes Maxxis Ardent 2.25 front Maxxis Aspen 2.0 rear TA Specialite chain rings 40 mid 28 granny The frame Apart from holding all the gear together the 96 frame has some interesting points. The main ones of interest to us are the rear end. The 96 is one of only a few bikes that use a 2:1 ratio for the rear shock.(most are like 2.6:1) it a

We finally have our shock bushing tool made as we want it. The previous tools worked fine but being the finicky type I am it wasn't 'exactly' as good as I thought it should be. Not saying this one is perfect but in many little ways it is a much better tool. A lot of the credit for the finished product goes to Mick Warren at Macquarie Precision Engineering who turning my thoughts into reality. Given my skills in design and drafting (none at all) Mick had the job of turning all ideas expressed into this tool. The final product looks great and is helped by the cool anodising but most of what I am happy out is the precision of the parts. As a backgrounder: The shock eye bushings (aka DU bush) used in mtb shocks is designed to be sacrificial, but unfortunately it is also one of the smallest and best hidden parts AND really hard to change without setting aside some shed time. I know this because I did a few of these the hard way before I found the CTS bushing tool which