|   CALLING ALL CONSULTANTS.... A Racer X rebuild is in order | the_apking
Oct 30, 2002 3:10 PM | | Just purchased a new fully-built Racer X off a guy from EBay. Should be here sometime next week. Seems it was built as a trail bike. Time to lighten it up a bit. Please suggest which parts need to go -- I got the idea from a feed below. My planned swaps are in parenthesis.
Frame - 2001 Racer X Medium, Polished front and rear (ti bolt kit?)
Shock - 2003 Fox Float RLT
Wheelset - King ISO,Mavic X3.1,14/15, alloy nipples
(AM Classic UL Disc,Valiant Fronts, 14/15, brass nipples, stans)
Tires - Conti Explorer / Escape
Headset - King
Stem - Thomson (FSA XC 120)
Bar - Easton Monkeylite (Ritchy WCS & Onza CTW bar-ends)
Brakes - XT Disc ('03 Marta)
Grips - ?
Shifters - XTR
Cables - XTR
Post - Thompson
Saddle - Selle Italia Flite TT (WTB Rocket Lazer V)
BB - XTR (RF Signature ISIS 113mm)
Crank - XTR 24/34/44 (RF Next LP ISIS w/ black spire rings 24/34/46)
Pedals - Time ATAC
Rear Der. - XTR
Front Der. - XTR
Chain - XTR
Carbon spacers
Skewers - Salsa Ti (Airborne Ti)
The parts in parenthesis are comming off of my hardtail w/ the exception of the wheels and brakes. Ideally, I'd like to get in the 23.5 lb range. Please help. Thanks |
| re: CALLING ALL CONSULTANTS.... A Racer X rebuild is in order | SG
Oct 30, 2002 3:24 PM | | Drop me an E-mail if you are going to sell those parts. Thanks. sgbike@hotmail.com |
| Ahhh, polished. Looks like mine! | pedalAZ
Oct 30, 2002 3:55 PM | | Cool fork.
An Extralite headset will save you some weight.
There are lighter stems around. Extralite Ultra stem?
If you want a riser bar, get a Maxm.
Titec Pork Rind grips.
There are lighter posts. Again, Maxm is pretty interesting.
Go for the SLR saddle. Not as uncomfortable as they say!
You sound pretty convinced on the BB/CRankset, but you can go lighter.
(also, the rings spec'd are bigger, so heavier; why not 22/32/44?)
Speedplay Ti Frogs, Corratec Ti, or Stealth pedals
Cassette?
Extralite The Clamp for the seatpost, 15 grams.
Enjoy the bike! |
| Thanks AZ! A question for you or KMan.. | the_apking
Oct 30, 2002 4:43 PM | | What made you go up to the large frame? I'm an in-betweener and i went for the medium because I could get a deal on it. I'm 6' with a 35" to 35.5" inseam (short torso'd). Spoke with Charles at Hammerhead who recommended the medium.
Thanks PedalAZ! I think I'll take your suggestion on the stem and seat post. I might even keep the crankset if it shifts as good as they say it does.
I'm stuck on the flat bar with Onza's. It really sucks because the bar ends weigh 232g, but I just can't live without them after 8 years. I'm pretty set on the saddle, too. Tried at least 4 others with painful results-- incl SLR. I have a really boney ass. Time pedals are great because they give a pretty good platform for when you pedal through the technical stuff clipped out, as I often do.
Can't hardly wait to give this beauty a ride. It'll be my first FS rig. Since I splurged so much, I had to promise myself a top-four finish in sport class next season. That'll be a huge jump from my best 3rd place finish in beginner class. |
| You're in sacramento? | Zonic Man
Oct 30, 2002 4:52 PM | | I raced against you in the "beginner" class out at prairie city. I was on a jericho hardtail and MTBR jersey....I did like 5 or 6 of the xc races, and my best finish was 3rd too....
PS: Check your email. |
| Answers | pedalAZ
Oct 30, 2002 4:54 PM | | I'm 6' 1 1/2" with long arms (36) and 34 inseam. Large seems to fit well. I went over the sizing in the shop at Titus before the buy.
I use Singletrack Solutions bar ends, 63 grams. They don't reach out way over the handlebar, but they don't weigh much, give you an alternate position to relieve fatigue, are decent for climbing, and protect your bar and lever ends.
Compared to the Times, the Corratecs and Stealths aren't bad as platforms when clipped out. If you are racing, you should have some real light pedals that you don't care about the platform on, as most courses aren't that technical. You could switch to something else for monster rides when you expect a lot of technical stuff. |
| Pedals/Bars | pedalAZ
Oct 30, 2002 4:56 PM | | If you are going to ride a lot of technical stuff, as opposed to a racing orientaiton, yuo should consider the riser bar. All the strong tech riders I've been out with have migrated to the wider, higher risers. |
| Why I use huge bar ends | the_apking
Oct 30, 2002 5:08 PM | | I tried a Monkeylite for a few weeks and couldn't get used to it. On the really long rides I definantely pays to have the huge L-bend bar ends. Not only does it help my hands feel better, but it also elevates my back and neck. Maybe I'll pop them off come race season for something lighter. Thanks again. |
| apking, shoot me a line | Green Giant
Oct 30, 2002 7:58 PM | | should be hotlinked from this post. I might be able to help on parts and suggestions.
- GG (hammerhead 100x owner...) |
| Thanks AZ! A question for you or KMan.. | KMan
Oct 31, 2002 5:25 AM | | I'm 6'2" with a 34" inseam. When I bought my X both Hammerhead and Titus thought I should be on a large, but the medium matched up size wise with my current bike at that time which I thought fit me well. After 2 seasons on my bike and some back problems I really think I should be on a large, so that is why I am moving up in size. Not a whole lot of difference between the 2, but I really think I need to be stretched out a little bit more.
KMan |
| Thanks for the reply | the_apking
Oct 31, 2002 9:21 AM | | I'm a lot more confident that the medium is the correct size for me now. I just wanted to make sure you weren't the same size as me. Sounds like you have a 3" longer torso than myself and probably the arms to match. |
| Una mas preguna for AZ... | the_apking
Oct 30, 2002 7:59 PM | | One more question: I read about the xlink on Titus' website. Can you tell if this frame has it or is it Pre-xlink? I'm not trying to strike up the conversation that we got in the ellsworth feed. Thanks. |
| That's "pregunta" | pedalAZ
Oct 31, 2002 4:50 AM | | You have the x link. It's the moving pice from the brace on the seat tube to the top of the seat stays. In the earlier pure mac strut design, the seat stays clear the seat tube (no contact at all), ending in a joint at the shock.
Because the x link adds stiffness to the top of the rear triangle assembly, they offset the weight of the x link and its mounts by reducing the size of the seatstay tubing.
The net result is a tiny bit more travel and a a tiny bit less weight, but more stiffness. PLUS, it makes all the old ones obsolete so we'll want to buy new ones!!!!! |
| if that really is a flite TT and you want to sell it... | wayndar
Oct 30, 2002 7:59 PM | | let me know. It looks more like a regular flite Ti in the photo though. Looks like it will be a sweet ride- I'm thinking about making the jump to FS finally too. Be sure to post the weight when you're done. |
| It'll be tough to get down to 23.5.... | Zonic Man
Oct 30, 2002 8:38 PM | | But here are some suggestions. Remember, you don't want the bike to be non-functional in terms of performance, etc...so keep that in mind.
For reference, Cruizy's (Suzy, who raced up at folsom for her first 3 races ever and took first in the last 2...sandbagger...) Racer X w/ ti bolts is 24.1 as pictured:
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Only present mod is XTR rear mech. She's running the usual suspects of am classic/mavic 317/supercomps/stans, etc. etc. NOTE: She has a SID carbon on hers too, and the ti bolt kit (minus 1/4 lbs. for $100?) and amclassic BB/Stylo team cranks, etc.
For you, perhaps an '03 XTR crank over the raceface? I would. I was not a fan of the ISIS interfaces (creak creak creak) personally in terms of the creak OR the shifting. The XTR should change that, plus, it's lighter.
You can get a bunch of aluminum bolts to tune equipment too, such as bottle cage bolts, various pinch bolts, etc. Try www.racebolts.com.
WTB tires work great in NORCAL (plus you're supporting a local company) conditions....Suzy and I run Mutanoraptor front tires and Nanoraptor rear tires. I recently got some prototype 2.1 mutanoraptors that are going on the front of the bike. For wintertime, we go with weirwolf 2.1 (again, prototype, sorry!) or Mutanoraptor 2.24 in the race casing. All tires are well below 600 grams, and are tough to beat for our riding!
Err...I'd keep that wheelset, and run regular tires w/ latex to seal them. Again, the WTBs seal up really well, IMHO (I used to run the same setup for about 5 months).
Go with the '03 Marta SLs too...I have a buddy selling them by the set brand new in the box for WAY cheap...I'll tell you about it in my email.
Pedals...959 or eggbeaters...I'm running the 959s now, and eggs coming up here pretty quick.
Email back atcha, nice ride, can't wait to take it for a spin. :) |
| slap that fork up on ebay for big bucks.. | ncj01
Oct 31, 2002 9:08 AM | | you'll get tons for it. I'd offer you cash right now if the steerer wasn't cut so short.
I am flat amazed at how small of frames most posters above have on thier RX's. The tt slopes, so standover is a non-issue......it comes down to TT length......do you guys not like long TT's? its a racer, after all......the XL TT, at about 24.4 (a tape measure horizontally on my XL frame) is still a little smaller than the size L on fisher's.....there's a guy about who's over 6' on a size med???? wow!!!! I can't imagine how much faster he might be if on a correctly fitting bike....... |
| Suzy's fork or "the_apking"'s fork? | Zonic Man
Oct 31, 2002 9:31 AM | | That RLT is siiiiiicck....
3lbs, 6 oz. uncut weight. Ooooh la la. |
| How do you like the Fox RLT???? | Biker4
Oct 31, 2002 7:56 PM | | I've just ordered a '03 Kona King Kikapu and it has a RLT too...How du you like your fork?
I've never ridden a Fox fork, and I wonder if I will like it with only 80mm of travel.(My old bike has a 100mm X-Fly, but it was a hardtail) |
| I won't have it until next week. | the_apking
Nov 1, 2002 7:11 AM | | I won't have it until next week. I'll be sure to weigh it and post my impressions in the comming weeks. |
| I waited a bit to weigh in on this, but here goes... | AZ-X
Nov 3, 2002 8:08 AM | | As you probably know, my bike is over a pound lighter than your target weight (and it will be lighter still by the end of the month...), so it is not really that hard to get to where you want to go. I just made less orthodox choices than you seem to be planning...
Wheels==> Talk to Mike Garcia at www.oddsandendos.com about a new wheelset that will have stronger rims for abuse than the Valiants you are planning and use Ti spokes. You'll probably be shocked at how much weight you'll save and it won't be as expensive as you think! ;-) My disc wheelset weighs less than 1500g and has at LEAST the same strength and stiffness as what you're planning and easily beats any Revolution spoke combo for those attributes.
Bars/Grips==> As much as I admire Ritchey components, I would actually recommend a carbon bar such as the superlight Easton C2, FRM or Extralite bars rather than the Ritchey WCS. Ritchey himself does not recommend that bar for longer than a season, so why not go lighter and potentially get more use out of it? As far as grips go, I love my Titec Porkrinds. Not everybody does. You'll have to try for yourself. Extralite also makes a similar product (with less edges?). For the money, it would be the most effective way possible to save upward of 60g.
Stem==> I wouldn't bother going with an FSA stem over a Thompson. From what I've seen so far, the loss of quality is not worth the weight loss. You might think of going with an Extralite stem instead (Extralite parts are available in the US through www.light-bikes.com currently--don't know about other US based dealers anymore) if you really want to save weight.
Brakes==> Before you decide, check out the Formula B4 SLs instead of the '03 Marta--or go with the older Marta or older rotors. The new B4 SL has many improvements (like lever design) to go with the lighter weight and are definitly worth a look now. Many have reported problems with the new rotor design. When you conact Mike Garcia about your wheels {;-)}, ask him about some great prices on those B4 SLs as well...
Saddle==> The jury is still out on this. Keep watching for reviews in the next week or so...
Cranks and BB==> Cranks are a good choice, but I would go with the new Truvativ Gigapipe Ti BB if you are willing to go that heavy (190g range) on the BB. It will undoubtedly be stiffer than the RaceFace model. I would recommend the American Classic, but they are not back in stock yet (unless oddsandendos.com has a couple still in stock). Not sure on the rings that you chose...
The Ti bolt kit for the Racer X will cost you anywhere from $60-100 and it will only save you around 50-65g. You decide. I got mine as part of the deal I made on my frame (partially because it was late in arriving).
Everything else looks cool to me! Nice bike! |
| Rotor design of the Marta... | AZ-X
Nov 3, 2002 8:13 AM | | is the one with the reported problems--warping and such--not the B4 SL.
If you go with an Extralite stem, make sure you grease up the bolts well before installation and install them according to the enclosed sepcs!
Enjoy the new ride! |
| Thanks AZ. Can I tell... | 4ced2work
Nov 3, 2002 11:24 AM | | Can I tell Mike at Oddsandends.com who sent me? Your suggestions are good and I will take them to heart. However, for now I'm stuck with the saddle, cranks and BB. Most of the parts I'm swaping are coming off my current ride. Might even be best to sell it all and fund some new parts. Wouldn't go very far on the Extralite stuff. Talk about breaking the bank. Thanks. |
| Yep... | AZ-X
Nov 3, 2002 1:52 PM | | He will do whatever he can for you. You may want to check out Ebay for Easton ultralight bars. You could even ask Mike about those, but I'm not sure what he's able to do on parts other than those related to wheels because he may have to order several items to make it worth his while and he really doesn't want to become a higher level parts supplier at this point.
If B4Me can't help you with some parts, you could also contact Bill Larsen (wlarson@inetarena.com) or try light-bikes.com.
Yeah, a lot of the Extralite stuff can be expensive. It depends on how far you are willing to go and where your priorities lie. You're very lucky that your new bike came with such an nice (and extremely expensive!) fork. I only paid around $100 for my used Mars Elite when I built up mine, so I had money to spend on other things...
Good luck! |
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