Soody

also what the hell did i do to those poor splines

Positron400

Thanks for the photo - I tought (thru resarch from other sources), that it was impossible to run a GRX Crankset (2x10) in a 73 mm BB shell, because the spindle is too short. For reference, I used a BB MT800 and even If iI omit all 2.5 mm spacers, the spindle was still not quite long enough.

Soody

Interesting. Have you tried measuring the bb shell? What size is it actually?
A bike shop could remove several mm by facing it. Facing the frame is actually a good idea anyway because making the faces of the shell flat and aligned will give you better bearing life.

I found it quite tricky just then to measure the width of those bottom brackets because as you can see, the inner part that the crank spins on, with the road bb, protrudes out from the edges which is where a caliper can easily go. But I'm curious what the bb you have measures? Maybe you can eyeball if it's flat so if that's a factor.

Soody

Also are you sure your crank is actually seated correctly on the ds? Sometimes you have to really whack them in with a mallet

Positron400

I have measured the bb shell with a caliper after I removed the original square taper, and it was 73 mm. (likely +/- 0.1 mm) - I really dont want to face (or remove) width from the BB, despite the fact that, facing would surely be a good idea. I think I might just need to go with a different crankset (Deore, XT, whathaveyou)

Yes, it was seated correctly - and I whacked it good with a hammer. There was still a considerable amount of spindle "missing" for the non-drive side crank arm to properly be fixed

Soody

im sure you'll suss it either way
im mostly just rambling
good luck

merziac

Excellent!

Its all about the elbow grease.

Positron400

Quick update:

Not much build progress, but cleaned up the rims and testfit the Maxxis tyres. Riding mostly 28 - 33 mm on my other bikes, looking at 54 mm takes some getting used too
Also, I picked up a spare rim with a 10speed casette which I plan on swapping over to these rims to keep the silver hubs. Finally my other parts have been posted (after some "serious" delay) and should be arriving this week - so proper build progess should be incoming.
Additionally, I found out that my the cantis that were on the frame orignally, dont play nice (read: work) with the pads I ordered - So either i get some new brakes or just stick with the old breakpads for, likely, sub par performance.

Nvmd the twisted bars - storage is just easier that way

Does anyone know how to refurb the seatpost? I dont really like the scratched up look (was considering sharpie/permanent marker)

Peace!

Positron400

Proper Update this time:

Shifters and "Groupset" arrived today, so I was finally able to put some things other than wheels on the frame

Fun/Annoying things I ran in during the build:
- GRX front mech will not play nice with a 36/26 Deore crankset (kinda expected that). due to the bottle cage bosses I cannot put the clamp low enough for it to get the proper distance to the lager chainring. I hope this will be alleviated with the incoming Deore or GX FD. Otherwise I will revert back to a 1x
- Cable hanger for the front canti had to be put at a weird angle because the quill stem adapter doesnt allow for it to be low enough (also somewhat expected this one). I ordered a fork-crown mount, which should take care of that.
- The Deore XT rear mech didn't have a barrel adjuster attached. Weird. But apparently that's dependent on the model you order. (I sincerly wonder who knows all that.. , apparently it would be redundant, since the thumb shifters come with barrel adjusters). Other than a suprise on my end, not really an issue, since I am going friction.
- Switching the freehub body from the original 7 speed to a 10 (11?) speed, was quite straightforward, and seems to work.
- Friction shifting is awesome and just works



Deore and GRX :/

Cables at the front, cable hanger is not what i was hoping for but w/e

Build as it stands currently - looking rather fetching.

Peace!

Korina

Looking sweet!

Rule 1 of bike restomods; it won’t fit. 😕

Positron400

Yep, pretty much - The FD does shift, but pooooooorly. Still a very enjoyable process.

Minion1

I've done a couple of these conversions, and there is definitely a reason you see so many bikes with 1x advent groups - it's suuuuper annoying trying to get post ten speed front shifting to work. I've found the best bodge is to use the installed fd and use either bar end shifters or thumb shifters, because by the time you get a band on, dual swing, or top pull, front derailleur that has the right slope and is for the right tooth combination, there's no way it's going to work with whatever STI shifters I have. That GRX shifter looks like it'll work with the cranks, but the lower edge of the cage looks like it'll hit the chain stay when you get it close enough to shift the chain properly.

Edit; read your above post saying you were using friction: regardless, my rant stands. I was annoyed a long time ago and I'm annoyed now that I haven't ever perfectly fluked front shifting for a drop bar mob set up.

Positron400

Haha, yea - the most annoying issue rn is the fact that the bottle cage mounts interfere with the band on. It would be smooth sailing if I "just filed down" the lower one and used the FD I have atm. I have "commited" to a 2x10 / 2x11 setup in buying the bar-end shifters and dont want them go to waste - and 1x is not an option atm, esp since I only have a 11-34 cassette to work with. Also I don't want to ruin a perfectly good frame with some dodgy filing

Minion1

If you're using friction, why would you not use the current FD? There's no reason it shouldn't work, so long as the difference in tooth count that you're using isn't drastically different. A 3x fd will work on 2x, the number of the gears on the rear is immaterial.

Positron400

Fair point, but it was a 3x orignally, and on my "recent" retro mod the shifting performance was really poor. (granted it was a 2x5). Don't really like the look of the original FD either, that was on there, but many thanks for the tip! In case the incoming FDs wont work, I will revert to the original

Minion1

One other issue is if the FD swings out far enough to shift onto the outer ring, that's another fun one to deal with! I've had issues with this using older front mechs and hollow tech cranks, but that may also be down to my incompetence. Using a double you should be ok!

Positron400

Imma try and stay "optimistic" for the original FD to swing out far enough .. (fingerscrossed) - Amazing what incompatibilites one runs into.
Doubt that it would be down to your "incompetence" If it doesnt swing out far enough, not much one could do

(sidebar: oh cool, I am no longer a "newbie" )

Positron400

Alright - Build pretty much finalized at this point:

more or less finalized build

For those who are interested, these are the new parts I put on:

- Ritchey Comp Venture Max 460 mm
- Hollowtech II BB
- Deore 36/26 crankset 170 mm
- Deore Side Swing 2x11 FD
- KMC 10speed chain
- 11-34 HG 10speed cassette Shimano
- Jagwire shift/brake cables
- Shimano Cantilever brakes
- Shimano XT RD
- 10speed freehub
- 26'' x 2.1'' Maxxis tyres
- Fabric saddle
- Microshift bar end shifters (2x11)

So that's about it, I will likely change the bar tape in the near future. I have to see how i get on with the bars and stem in terms of fit.

Hope you guys enjoyed the build progress!
BR

RB1-luvr

that looks great. What sort of riding will it be used for?

Positron400

I'mma try and do some easy off-road riding, to get started with MTBiking Nothing too crazy, since i have zero experience in the MTB world.

J_Chickles

Why cant you put it at the bottom of the shim stack?

Positron400

Because I have to use a quill-stem adapter, and the diameter doesnt fit that cable hanger.

Korina

Great build. Make sure to show us some ride pics!

Positron400

Will do!

Positron400

As promised, here a are a few pics from my first trail outing with the Rockhopper. I have never ridden a trail before and am a complete novice when it comes to MTBking. I found a local trail nearby which was advertised with the difficulty "green". Seemed fairly innocent enough, so out I went. While the first few meters were fairly tame, I quickly came across rather steep sections with rocks popping out where there was no traction to be had. Almost went over the bars several times. The parts where there was mostly dirt track, were quite enjoable, but the steep rocky, twist ones with trees in between, were definitely not .
Now I know why "proper" MTBs use hydraulic brakes and whatnot. Also, the seatpost turned out to be a massive issue when going downhill. Since there is no dropper post installed, I couldnt shift my weight back enough to safely go downhill. Will definitely look for one of them saddle-grip-actuated dropper posts for the next one (feel free to reccomend one for a 27.2 seatpost). Furthermore, I don't even wanna imagine what a "black" difficulty trail must have in store, when such "tame" (which to me it ABSOLUTELY was not) trails are that nerve wrecking.

Moral of the story: Offroad is fun, steep rocky sections without hydraulic brakes are not. run-of-the-mill flat pedals are awesome if you wanna properly ding your shin bones. Not giving up on MTB yet, but will try'n find more flowy (that's a word i learned from the MTB lads) and waaaaaay less technical trails in the "easier than green" difficulty. - And install a dropper post.

Peace and see you on the trail/road

Some pics below:


Rockhopper in it's natural habitat. Propped up by a stick, close to a tree, looking cool

Same tree - different angle

More different angles

Innocently looking "trailhead" :E

Same trailhead - different angle. No pics from the actual trail riding, because I was busy trying not to go OTB and die