Introducing Nomad...Finally!

There's not much more I can add - this is a fantastic bike to ride, and I'm having a blast on it. I'm riding quicker and more confidently every time I go out and hit bigger drops at every opportunity. All in all, well worth it!

Mowa, Mowa on the floor

Its another small part update today. I felt it was criminal to build this amazing bike and then simply zip tie the cables on. Mowa a create some really nice aluminium cable guides that are anodised in any number of colours. Whilst I agonised over the gold or black decision for a few seconds, I surmised that the last thing you want to do is bring too much attention to the cables so black it was.

As usual with Chain Reaction Cycles, the order arrived the next day with two boxes of clips. Obviously is straight out to the bike to fit them but was sorely disappointed to find they were loose and didn't clamp the cables tightly. The solution took a few moments to surface but turned out to be super simple. I raided the children's playroom for black play foam and found a couple of pieces that had fallen under their toy boxes. Then I grabbed some double sided tape from the "man drawer" where all useless items reside. By cutting off small rectangles and putting tape on them, I was able to stick them to the frame with the cables on top. The cable guides now grab the cables tightly.

Time will tell how reliable this fix is, but for now they look mint! I'll post photos when I'm home next!

It's the small things...

So, the breaking news is the bike was finished about a month ago and rides brilliantly...but more to come later!

What I wanted to talk about is something I'm very proud of, but no one would ever notice unless prompted! The KS Lev dropper seat post has been fantastic after an initial hiccup where I snapped the internal actuating cable - oops. The Lev comes with a nice outer cable which I assume is about 4mm in diameter. Now, being a perfectionist, I couldn't very well have different colour outers for gears, brakes and seat post, so the whole bike uses Jagwire Carbon Silver outers which (annoyingly) are 4.5mm in diameter. Admittedly, 0.5mm difference doesn't sound like a lot, but the outer has a special plastic cable end on it which, in addition to it's normal job, also holds the KS Lev aluminium cap in, so you don't lose it whilst chattering down the trail. The problem, which should be evident by now, is that the Jagwire outer doesn't fit in the cable end.

My first solution was to simple drill out cable end, which would have worked nicely had I not been hamfisted and drilled right through it - so I decided to make a new one...out of metal! Below is the process:

The Jagwire Carbon Silver kits come with a number of aluminium cable ends which complement the outers perfectly. I took one of those and flattened off a thin strip along its length so I had a good gluing surface.

Next, I took some old SPD cleats and used the countersunk bolt plate (the small one on the outside, not the metal plate under your foot) and used a Dremel style rotary tool to grind and sand a suitable lug.

Araldite Precision was the glue of choice (actually, the only suitable glue I had) and after a fiddle few minutes positioning the pieces, I left it to dry over night.

I checked it out this morning and gave the whole thing a once over with a sander to remove any glue, and it was done...

Trying the new cable end out in the Lev confirms a perfect fit and I'd be surprised if anyone could spot the difference, but I know...

Good things come to those who wait!

I'm still waiting for the frame to arrive at the not-so-local bike shop and the suspense is killing me! I must have built this bike a hundred times over every time I close my eyes so waiting for shipments from the U.S. is inconvenient at best!

All other parts arrived at the bike shop a couple of weeks ago, but it's about a 2-3hr round trip so it's not worth making unneccesarily and the frame is due the first week in February. To support the build, I have had to invest in certain tools. I thought it might be interesting to publish what is required:

• Lezyne Cassette & Bottom Bracket Tool
• Huge 38mm adjustable wrench
• 1/4" Torque wrench
• Magnetic hex bit to 1/4" socket adapter
• Teflon Grease
• Copper Grease
• Chain whip
• Shimano Hollowtech II Pretension Tool
• Spoke Tool
• IceToolz Headset Press
• Park Tool Crown Race Setting Tool (1.5")
• Birzmann Tube Cutter
• Superstar 3rd Hand Tool
• Superstar P-handled Allen Key Set

As you can see, there are alot of tools that I've had to add to my arsenal to actually be able to build this bike. I've been using these new tools to strip and deep clean my Cube Hardtail.

February can't come soon enough!

It's All Go!

So it's been a long time since I last updated this blog, but don't be fooled into thinking there has been a lack of progress. On the contrary, I am very nearly ready to start building. Here is the final build spec...

• Santa Cruz Nomad Carbon
• Fox 36 TALAS 160 RC2 QR20 1.5 Taper 2013 Forks
• Shimano XTR M986 Shadow+ 10sp Rear Mech
• Shimano XTR M985 Top Swing 2x10 Front Mech (Low Clamp, 34.9mm)
• Shimano XTR Shifters 10sp Direct Attach M980
• Shimano XT M771 10 Speed Cassette
• Shimano SLX M665 Double Chainset (175mm - 36.22t - 68/73mm)
• SRAM PC1091 10 Speed Hollow Pin Chain
• Fizik Gobi XM MTB Saddle 2012
• ODI Rogue MTB Lock-On Bonus Pack
• Easton Havoc DH Bar - Black Mid Rise 750mm
• Hope FR Stem - 50mm 0 Deg Gold
• Hope Head Doctor Headset Adjusters Gold
• Hope M4 Evo Brakes with Hope Matchmakers for XTR Shifters
• Hope Hoops Pro2 EVO Wheelset - Front & Rear - Stans Flow EX No Tubes - 2012
• Hope Tech Lever Shifter Mount Clamp Shimano XTR Pair Black
• Hope Ceramic Bottom Bracket in Gold (73mm)
• Superstar 180mm/203mm Floating Rotor Discs in Black
• Superstar Sintered Pads for Hope M4
• Cane Creek 110 Headset
• KS LEV 430mm Adjustable Seatpost (150mm travel)
• Jagwire Hose Kit Hyflo MTB Carbon Silver 3M
• Jagwire Ripcord MTB Gear Cable Kit - Carbon Silver
• Jagwire Hydraulic Fitting Kit (Formula & Hope)
• 2 x Continental Mountain King II Protection Folding MTB Tyre - 26 x 2.4

Interestingly enough, my timescales set out in my very first post have been spot on. I now have the majority of parts on my work bench and the final pieces are due for delivery shortly. The remaining parts are the frame which will be on it's way to the UK in the next few days, the fork and most of the Hope gear. They're all going to the same shop so will be picked up in early February.

If you've read my previous posts, you'll know that I had my heart set on a black/gold theme. Unfortunately the 2013 frame is no longer available in that configuration and Santa Cruz were unable to do anything such as provide a blank frame or produce a frame with old colours (believe me, I tried!). Also, removing the top clear coat to remove the decals voids warranty so that's that then. So, rather than swap to a black/blue theme, I am going to stick my head in the sand and march on regardless.

Finally, I'd like to share the detail I'm going to on this build. As you may have seen in my Hope M4 write up, I got the special edition team variants which are all black with green accents (bore caps and adjustment screws). I wanted the get the matchmakers for the XTR shifters to clean up the bars but I had to go to great lengths to find those in black to match! Additionally, at great effort and cost, I found a supplier to replace the adjustment screws with gold ones. I say supplier, it was actually two because neither had enough stock to replace all four! However, how amazing do they look?!

Hope Tech Evo levers with gold adjustment screws