Poetry In Motion....

Well, the heckler is poetry in motion. So I thought to myself, what better way to celebrate this than blatantly plagiarising the lyrics of <what I think is> a well known song. A shiny new 50 cent piece to the first person to identify it. And a pineapple after for admitting to the world you know what the song is....

Ridin' like a boss
Hitting jumps like a hammer
Just a juvenille but a winner
It'll never be a quitter
Tasty like a raindrop
The Heckler's got the look

Heavenly bound
Cause heaven's got a number
When the wheels are spinning round
Sky blue is the colour
Rides like a wild dog
The Heckler's got the look

Heckler's got the look (It's got the look) Heckler's got the look (It's got the look)
What in the world can make a green-eyed guy turn blue
When everything I'll ever do I'll do for it
And I go la la la la la Hecklers got the look

Fire in it's shocks
Sexy to it's frame
It's a tiger in disguise
Banging on the head set
Shaking like a mad bull
The Heckler's got the look

Swaying on the berms
Moving like a cheetah
It's a miracle of man
Loving is a great track
Kissing it with fat tyres
The Heckler's got the look

Heckler's got the look (It's got the look) Heckler's got the look (It's got the look)
What in the world can make a green-eyed guy turn blue
When everything I'll ever do I'll do for it
And I go la la la la la Hecklers got the look!

....Look up awesome in the dictionary and there is a picture of me.
Justin.

The Maiden Voyage

Crowds of people waited in anticipation. The countdown was on. The crowd was buzzing. The week had finally arrived. Some paid a hefty price to get the best seats. Pre-event entertainment kept them from loosing their cool at the excitement of the spectacle that awaited them....

...That was the night before the maiden voyage. The Rugby League double-header, first round of finals - The Sharks v Cowboys and (my) Roosters v Manly, which I am happy to say, the Roosters were victors.

Alas, the maiden voyage of the Heckler was a somewhat more subdued affair the next day. A lazy Sunday afternoon ride at Old Man's Valley, Hornsby. Being the smart cookie I am, I was not foolish enough to commit to a morning ride - knowing post match celebrations may leave the mind and body somewhat resistant to a birds fart ride - gotta love my commitment now, don't you?

I did however remember to bring my trusty artsy-fartsy photographer, who proved yet again that an iPhone & an artsy-fartsy photo editor is all this connoisseur of mountain bike p0rnography needs.

Behold yours truly on his trusty <new> steed...

I will use only two word to describe how it rode. Fucking Awesomely.

I am so happy with the result. The Giant served me well for many years. But bless it, with age came the creaks and squeaks. The Heckler makes only the noises I expect:

- The ZZZZZZZZZZZ of that Hope Pro 2 rear hub when free wheeling (yes world, Justin is approaching).
- The Tss Tss Tss of that front RockShox Revelation Fork going about it's business.
- And the sweet sweet sound of a new set of Nobby Nic's crunching their way across the dirty and rock.

....And NOTHING else. Silence from all those new parts working harmoniously together.

What impressed me most is how well it "rolls" (I mistimed a few obstacles from seemingly arriving at them earlier than expected). It climbs FAR better than expected as well. I also felt the stability of the 15mm thru-axle up front (rather than the traditional 9mm skewer I had on the Giant).

There is very little I need to change other than possibly lowering the handle-bars by removing a spacer (note in a previous blog I purposely left length in the steerer so I can shorten if I want) as well as a few squirts of air in the rear shock.

It seems also my concerns over the width of the cranks can be put to bed. The chain apparently changes chain-rings up front without hitting the frame, nor do the cranks hit the swing arms.

I must admit to one small issue on the maiden voyage - more an ID 10 t error from its creator. New cables stretch - a lot. So much so that from the time of build to just before the first ride, the gears were already skipping. The day before I tightened the cables, but alas did not tighten the rear one enough, and well, a lap into the ride was left with no gears. 2 minute on-track fix.

For just a moment, I declare there are only 6 deadly sins. Feel envious. Desire what I have, I know it cannot be stopped.

Are you done? I now re-instate the 7th deadly sin.

Carry on. Ride on.

Justin.

Always wear protection....

Pain in the bum putting protection on. It doesn't look as good, and sometimes may not necessarily feel the same.

But we all know it is necessary to stop all those dings and scratches from messing up the frame.

WHAT DID YOU THINK I WAS TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE?!

Protection. One of the final instalments in this epic tail that is the great bike build of 2013 (yes only taken me 8 freakin' months!).

So, a nice shiny new frame, and given the damage the Giant sustained over its innings, I thought I would put on some protection to try and keep the Heckler looking half decent. Additionally, the Giant had an anodized frame, this is just a gloss colour coat - so I think will show the scratches more than the Giant.

Believe it or not, the core ingredient to this frame protection is contact. Yes, good old simple, newsagent $4.95 contact. You will forgive me for not adding this to the progressive total. Additional to the contact, I got some specific bike protection stickers for the higher traffic areas.

Of main concern in bike protection is the points on the frame that are likely to cop stones kicked up from the tyres and rub points with you legs, shoes and most importantly, the cables.

Putting on the protection was probably the longest, most tedious job with many hours spent in the garage while I carefully applied the protection, bubble free (the pile of rejects on the floor testament to this not always going to plan).

Here is a collection of photos showing how I have applied it in various places. You may need to look more closely at some as the protection is clear. Now most importantly this is all removable/replaceable.

It is fair to say that (like most things) the protection has taken away from the aesthetic look (and feel) of the bike. But knowing it comes easily after serving its purpose, I am a happy man.

Keeping "up" the good work,
Justin.

The first p0rno shoot

No airbrushing this baby....

NOTE: Photos are pre gravity dropper, so sorry again for the rather average looking seat post.

I will let the photos do the talking.

Justin.

Trouble brewing? The cranks

Greetings bike lovers and infidels,

So a potential issue with the bike is the width of the cranks compared to the width of the pivot point and "swing arm" on the Heckler. There is very little room for the chain to move between the small and large chain ring up front. It's all too hard to convey in writing so check out this photo. The point of concern is in the red box for those who are a beer short of a six pack.

A trial run proved my fear with some paint coming off just below the pivot point bolt, indicating the chain scratching on the frame.

The bottom bracket came with two spacers to push the cranks out further from the frame. I thought about putting both on the chain ring side, however, I have a similar issue on the other side where the back of the crank "may" hit the swing arm (I anticipate their being some sideways flex in the swing arm.

So, a spacer each side:

Additionally, to at least try and protect the swing arm's, I have put on chain protectors on each size (fabric/velco black wrap in the above photos).

 

I'll keep you posted on how it goes. I think after my handy work it will be ok - it had better be. I can't really widen the cranks anymore, which may mean, gulp, new wider cranks.

 

Justin.

Empty Boxes & a DOH! Moment

So it seems I am well and truly on the final stretch. All my boxes are empty. Which means all the contents are on the bike. Yahooooo!

But before I get too much ahead of myself, and you. Much to the disappointment of some of my riding brethren, it is not quite yet ready to Heckle the trails of Sydney and beyond. I need to do the following still:

• File down the steerer
• Tune the gears
• Affix cable caps to stop fraying
• Apply protection
• Relocate the Gravity Dropper from the Giant to the Heckler
• Shorten Cables (not necessary pre-ride)
• Final once over and tightening

So, the steerer. A fairly straight forward job. Upon consultation with a few mates, not 100% necessary, but I thought I would do it anyway, and I am sure what I am about to tell you is punishment for making that decision.

I removed the headset, took out the fork and filed down. Remember in a previous post I mentioned the cut I did was not completely straight. Being careful not to get the iron filings in all the workings of the bike, about 10minutes of filing did the job. Fork back on, headset on, tighten,

tighten,

tighten,

SNAP!

Dohhhhh! I applied too much pressure to the headset bolt - meant more for bringing the headset together before tightening the stem - I pushed my luck and snapped it. I thought I would need a new head doctor. However, I managed to get the head doctor out of the steerer and remove the broken bit of bolt.

Would you believe that in what I consider not a particularly complete supply of spare bits and pieces I found a bolt, with the correct thread size as a replacement. Being VERY careful not to snap this one I screwed it back together.

 

Time cost of this little mishap was around ~45mins, but I was just super glad I didn't need to go an order a new head doctor.

 

Justin.

The next bit...

Dear o dear o dear me. 17 piss weak days without a blog update. This also means 17 days since any attention has been paid to the bike build. And to think, keeping all of my loyal readers out there, hanging on a thread. I am so sorry, I know it must have been indescribably painful....

Alas, I am back. Well, I never really went anywhere. Life just got a bit busy, again, there for a while. So what have I been up to on the bike?

At the end of the last blog I made mention of the "fiddly" bit of the build I would be doing next - the cabling. Well I can fairly say that while it was fiddly, it actually wasn't as hard as expected. I was perhaps exacerbating the complexity of the task. I needed to cable the front and rear gears & put the chain on.

Another small expense incurred ($35). I didn't have cable housing. The gears only came with the gear cable. Rather than wait for online deliveries, I went to the local bike shop and grabbed 3 meters PLUS importantly, the little nipples that attach to the housing for the bare cable to enter and exit from. Most modern bikes do not have cable housing for the full run of the cable. I "think" this is so there is less friction for cable movement, but housing to keep the cable taught - shitty explanation, I will let the photos do the talking.

Importantly also, I looked up many Google images of the Heckler to make sure I was getting the runs correct and using the correct mounts.

So, first bit, run of the front derailleur cable from the shifter to frame. Note where the cable re-exits the housing at the frame mount:
 


I was careful to measure the cable several times before making the cut to length. You can see above only about 20cm of housing is needed until it reaches the first mount, at which point the cable exits the housing again. The mounts are designed so the nipples sit snug in place and once the cable is taught, everything will tighten up.

Here are the special cutters to cut the housing. You cannot see in this picture, but they have a spike on the back to insert back into the housing to re-form the housing after the cut (the housing has a metal sheath). This is important to reduce any drag when changing gears (so the gears don't feel too tight).

Here is the run re-entering the housing (left of the picture, just above the shock), and then angling back down towards the derailleur:

And finally, the cable re-exiting the housing again to attach to the front derailleur (just in front of the rear wheel). So you can see, fiddly to run a cable with all the cuts.

Next was the rear derailleur cable and housing. A longer run to get to the back of the bike, but same concept of cable cuts, measuring, mounting etc....

So here is a progression of photos to give you an idea of the task. In these we have 1. Housing being slid onto the cable, 2. Pulling/measuring cable to rear of bike 3. Mounting the housing where the cable re-enters the housing on the bottom of the frame, 4. Completed run to rear derailleur and 5. example of the completed run showing both the gear and brake cable runs to the rear of the bike:

 

Next was putting on the chain. Pretty straight forward. To get the chain the right size, you place it on the largest chain rings at the front and back of the bike pull it tight and leave about 1 inch extra. Chain breaker needed to snap off the 3 or 4 chain links I do not need (the chain breaker is an essential tool to take on rides - I have broken chains many times and a breaker on track allows you to remove the broken link and re-link the chain). This is a SRAM chain with quick lock links to re-attach. The rear derailleur is always a pain as it is spring loaded, so one of my ye 'ol faithful decommissioned from primary life duty socks were used to hold the derailleur so I wasn't fighting the spring when trying to link the chain. I was quite surprised that with a quick test ride the gears were changing oddly well - odd because they still need to be tuned!

 And while I now find myself with something that looks, feels and smells like a completed bike, more work awaits.

 

Keep it real,

Justin.

The Circumcision

...well it is all about a catchy title, isn't it?

So, part 2 of last Sunday's bike built effort was the more, "meaty" part of the afternoons antics and did, quite literally, see the Heckler receive a circumcision.

This:

Became this:

 

Using this:

Yes boys, I instil in your minds the cringe-worthy thought of a circumcision being performed with a metal saw...

Right, so this was probably the most nerve-racking job I have done on the Heckler so far. So the steerer, which is the top tube on the fork, which connect through the frame steerer tube and ultimately have the handlebars firmly attached to them, by default ship longer than most would require. The idea being you cut to size. Reasons for cutting to size could be size of your stem, size of the bike or ride angle you want. For example, a lower "cross country" style bike could have a shorter steerer to bring you more over the handlebars and front wheel. A more downhill/AC bike could have a longer one to sit you more upright. Now notice in the first picture above the stem is sitting right down on the frame, in picture two there are several rings or "spacers" between the stem and frame. These spacers allow you to lift the handlebars above the frame. Similarly, I could remove the spacers to lower the bars. The latter would either mean another cut, or putting a spacer above the stem but below the locking cap.

I have purposely put 3 spacers in for now. I tested with just the one large spacer and it felt fine, but just in case, I threw 2 small ones on, just in-case I want an adjustment in future.

Why is it nerve-racking? Well if you fuck it up and cut it too short, by by forks! (unless you a. manage to sell them to someone who wants low handlebars or b. you relegate them to strictly ornamental purposes).

So the cut. Per recommendation from the trusty bike maintenance book, in the absence of a vice, I removed the fork from the bike and mounted it in my bike work stand like so:

Before removing the fork from the frame I had all required spacers in place and marked a line on the steerer where it protrudes from the stem. According the bikers bible, I needed to cut 3mm below this line so the steerer sits just inside the stem.

Unfortunately, when I made the cut, I cut it at a slight angle (any of you fellas have that issue?!). I will need to get a metal file and flatten it out. However, for reasons I really can't be bothered going into, I don't think it will ultimately matter. As you can see in the above picture, the top of the steerer is hidden under the locking cap, and I do not think (though I am sure I will be proven wrong) the top of the steerer is critical in the locking of the whole system.

The head set is quite a fascinating collection of bits. In a previous post, I showed you this photo:

 I am actually carefully holding together a collection of "bits'. Below is a picture that gives you a better idea of the bits involved. There are actually about 15 components if you separate out all the washers and bearing runs!

 The bit in the top right corner of the image above is an interesting one. It is called the "head doctor" by Hope and I think is a really cool way to lock everything together. Now as every rider knows, any slight movement in the head set as you hold the brakes and rock the bike back and forward (indicating everything is not tightly locked together) sucks! Basically with this system what you do is insert that silver cylinder into the hollow steerer tube. This "head doctor" basically expands in its place by inserting and turning an allen key. This holds the head doctor firmly in place. You then insert the bolt/locking cap and as you turn the bolt (which attaches to the head doctor) it pulls the steerer up and tightens everything together, leaving the only movement being that provided by the bearing races in the top and bottom headset - ie: left and right steering!

SOOO, I find myself with something that is looking very much like the finished product. There is one very fiddly task to do yet, which I will tackle next - cabling the shifters to the front and rear derailleurs.

Some photographic evidence that this is finally nearing completion (excuse the shabby looking seat post - it is temporary - so I could sit on the bike and get a feel for the setup).

 

My resident artsy-pharty photographer was in da house as well to bring you this piece of photographic prowess....

 

Remember children, word of the day, circumcision!

Justin.



So it continues...

Another big push today to get the build complete - it was needed after 2 weeks off the job, and a random blog in between to fill the void for you blog happy lot.

I went for a ride today. Ourimbah. Damn that is one great track. They have done a large amount of work on it - 3 laps and 25kms later, I was one very happy little vegemite. Irony seems to strike in "ironic" ways... It seems ye ol' faithful Giant is injured, and bleeding - literally. What was a small oil leak in one of the front fork stanchion has turned into a something that I really should do something about - a worn rubber seal I assume. On top of that, there is a lot of movement on the rear shock - which I think is the bolt and wear around the eye of the shock. Mr Giant needs fixing, badly. The heckler needs to make its debut, quickly...

So today saw a rapid reduction in the boxes of "bits" as they all find there way onto the heckler. Short of the chain and cabling for the gears (which alas I need to get cable housing for to complete) I have something that looks like the final product.

Job 1 - Remote lock out cable for the front forks attached.
Lesson 893 - Never throw out instructions.

I had to find an online manual to double check how it attached. Here it is attached, cable yet to be cut.

The lock out button attaches of course to the handlebar. Small real estate problem pending - the remote lockout for the forks is left handed, as is my gravity dropper. I am fairly sure it will all fit on. Though I am worried about my cranial capacity to steer, brake, change gears, lock and unlock the front forks AND operate the seat gravity dropper with my left hand. I'm not even left handed!

Lock out button, with grip, brake & shifter attached....

Now I bought the blue grips to go with blue steel. It is slightly lighter than the blue of the bike but still looks ok. I mainly bought them for the gold locks on either end (oh and yes, I actually do like the peaty grips - currently on the Giant and I am super happy with them).

 

And here is the cockpit of the rig, looking decidedly more bike-like....

 

 As you can see, I have put both shifters on. This was about all I could do with the shifters, notice the rolled up cables? Alas, the shifters did not come with cable housing, so I will have to pop into the shops to get some housing (a small addition to the total cost). The cabling is also slightly, "busy" as one of the brake cables is too long - alas I do not know how to bleed a SRAM braking system so will sneak it into the shop to sort it. I am liking how the front is looking with the gold, silver and decals on the handlebars.

Job 2 - Affix derailleurs. Very little to say here. Pick up said derailleurs, screw on. Jobs done. Front and rear derailleurs attached....

Pedals were also installed so I could roll around on the bike and get a feel for the ride height.

 

 

Final job of the day was cutting the steering and putting the rest of the head set together. Alas though, the Formula 1 starts in about 20mins, and every man needs priorities.

 

Stay tuned, if you know what is good for you...

Justin.

Like A Boss!

Was cleaning up my desktop and oh hay, I just happened to find these pictures of me on a bike, being all awesome.

Down-hilling off the Skyline Gondola chairlift, Queenstown NZ, March 2013. Bike was a Giant Glory Comp with Boxxer forks. Sweetest fun ever.

Now on first glance these may look like sub-standard photos, but they are actually stills taken from the Go-Pro (action video camera for those not up with the times). They are actually frames from a movie being filmed by the Go-Pro attached to the side of a mates helmet. Not bad hu?

Me in a photo with Sean, him being photographed with me makes the awesomeness rub off on him as well...

 No progress on the bike build this week I'm afraid. The weekend filled up far quicker than expected.....

 

Have a good week my loyal followers...

Justin.

Come Together...

....Riiiiiight now,

.....Heckle Me.

Well after today's antics, the Heckler is now looking like, well, a bike. After being side tracked for a few hours getting the commuter sorted (new bottom bracket and kevlar lined rear tyre to prevent punctures) it was a productive afternoon building.

Today I had Forman Sean helping me, hence yours truly is in a few of the photos (sorry about that). Lots of snaps for today's blog as well.

Right, firstly, the shims for the stem & handlebar. Attached, pain free. I wanted to get the handlebars on as a total of 6 different controls need to be mounted on them and cabled to the bike; 2x brakes, 2x gears, a gravity dropper and front fork remote lockout.

 

 

 

Main job of the day were the brakes. A bit fiddly to get on, I loosely mounted the levers to the handlebar to keep them from getting in the way while I mounted the callipers and loosely cable tied the cables to the frame mounts to keep it all together. Here I am at my bogun looking best.
 

The callipers have spacer washers with them to get the calliper to sit properly on the rotor. If the calliper is too close the rotor will hit the back of it, too far and there won't be enough "bite" of the pad on the rotor.

The silver callipers are "the" shit as well. They look magic! Now a little trick to get the calliper lined up flush on the disc is to loosen the calliper, apply the brake then tighten. I love this shot, brand new calliper, rotor, hub and cassette. Saucy!

 And here is a token shot of stormin' formin' Sean pretending to help, I guess he had to try and look busy since he drunk all my beer! ;-)

 

Finally, not having a spacer between the stem and frame was bugging the shit out of me so I popped one in. I also put the gold seat clamp on (temporary seat post as the Giant will be donating it's gravity dropper soon).

 

 And the progress score... (note the writing on the tyre lined up with the writing on the rim - a little tip from Sean).

I'm really stoked with how it is starting to look. Still a way to go (gears will be the next job I'd say).

Oh, and artsy fartsy stormin' formin' Sean gave it some mood...

Justin.