Thanks for the sultry Chris King shot Yacks.

I pulled the cranks out and found a curly fingernail sized piece of crabon just kind of poking into the drive shaft area. I snapped it off, I hope it's just a piece left over from the frame build. Then I'm tapping on the cranks and I notice one of the chain ring bolts is loose, makes total sense. Removed and regreased them all. Spider side bearing definitely has more stiction, we'll see tomorrow if I fixed anything. 

Success! Thanks for advice Bruce.

A loose chainring bolt is just plain sloppy wrenching. If that's what I get for a "premium" overhaul, I won't be going back to that LBS. Luckily we are sponsored by the best repair shop in town  Redbeard

Well done.  Ah, the chainring bolt.  Good call on that.  I raced with a guy who couldn't find a squeak for weeks, went back to the store a couple of times.  It was a cracked chainring bolt.  I forgot about that.  It's one of the last things to look at - glad you caught it.

Ammo? Who let the blind guy with the hot glue gun build your Spooky? 

john your bearings should be replaced if they have any stiction...they might be contributing to noise/play in the BB.  lovely word btw

bearing presses are stupid expensive.  (this one's only $35) i use a threaded rod from the hardware store, a bunch of washers, and for the bb30 bearings themselves i use the bushings that came with the Park Tool BB30.3.  using this method it is possible to drive the bearings in at the wrong angle, so you must exercise caution, and there have been times when I've started pressing one in at a weird angle.  because i was pressed for time.  for folks considering doing a bb30 bottom bracket overhaul, here's my experience FWIW

the primary issues you'll face doing this repair on your own without $300 laser-gyroscope-stabilized bearing presses are

1. bearings going in at the wrong angle either as to the frame or as to one another--they need to be exactly aligned to hold the spindle; and
2. if your frame has no circlips/molded retainer that the bearings press against, stupidly pressing your bearings too far into the frame.  it can be hard to tell when to stop pressing them into the frame because you're using a big wonky metal device so there isn't much feedback.  no satisfying snap or click or anything.  sort of just by feel/experience, and that's why it was something that i took to the shop the first time i needed it done.
3. don't put old bearings back in once you hammer them out.  generally you hammer them out but rocking the socks off of the inner race.  that's not how they're designed to bear a load, so you might throw off the bearings slightly on some level just by removing them.  i have violated this rule with no discernible consequences.

i will say i'm much more confident in redbeard's wrenching than our previous sponsor.  i had a good experience with Wilson helping me troubleshoot a strange frame vibration issue (primary cause: shitty skewers on a disc brake hub).

if you're feeling like taking on another bike project, pressfit bottom brackets are incredibly straightforward, you just have to be willing to feel a little awkward as you wonder whether you did it right.

as an aside, paying $40 to SRAM for bb30 bearings is a grave insult to the intelligence of cyclists everywhere.  as we've discussed before in this thread, bearings have standard sizes and you can get them for 8x cheaper from a bearing vendor.  bb30 bearings that have been humming along in my bike for a year.  but of course, those don't come with the other hardware (tensioning leaf springy things and random little pieces) that some bottom brackets need to dial in the preload.  so if you need to replace those too, then buy the $40 kit.

having said all that, i had my bike in the stand all last saturday and overhauled everything BUT the bottom bracket because it can be such a pain.

oh man i was about to go to bed but then i saw a pressfit bottom bracket maintenance post and just couldn't stop myself

Brendan Rigby said:

oh man i was about to go to bed but then i saw a pressfit bottom bracket maintenance post and just couldn't stop myself

A sentence that never has, and never will cross my lips.

I have had decent luck with pressfit bearings; the trick I learned was a super thing coat of grease on them, and if you press in slowly you'll see the grease squirt out when it's time to stop pressing.

JohnMalcolmson said:

Ammo? Who let the blind guy with the hot glue gun build your Spooky? 

Well John...I can tell you my water bottle bosses are both aligned correctly and have yet to cause me any warranty issues....This pic makes me think of one of your frames

Oh wouldn't you know...I found a pic of the lady who did the finishing work on that plastic bike...here she is celebrating a job well done


Great news about bottom bracket situation...there's a special kit for fixing that...



If you get tired...have a seat in my chair....



If you get hungry...you can borrow my fork...


If all this is making you sick...you can throw up in my bucket

SACRE BLEU !!!! Yacks is in danger  !!!!!  If this is an April Fools joke by one of you's guys trying to keep me from the Computrainer...you've failed miserably....tell your legs they are shit out of luck as I'm gonna throw caution to the wind and keep pounding that fly wheel till the new one arrives...

twoyacks said:
Well John...I can tell you my water bottle bosses are both aligned correctly and have yet to cause me any warranty issues....This pic makes me think of one of your frames

Mr Yacks, I admit I may have been experiencing a few *ahem* quality issues with my Taiwanese dream machine. But I'll see your questioning the integrity of my frame, and raise you 20 free watts and a comfortable taint.  

Just put your aluminium walkman on pause...



...and join the future bro:


#notmadefromcokecans

John

#notmadefromcokecans

#MadeFromTheTearsOfDragons

John...if I have a concern about carbon vs aluminum frames...it ain't the taint....The trifecta of 320 tpi tires, latex tubes and wide rims have created a ride that's as smooth as chamois butter.
Those 20 watts you gained ain't free = your plastic frame has no soul.  If I yanked your bb (which I suspect happens often due to bearing alignment issues) I would be starring into a dark abyss

Yacks, It's true, it is very dark in there... OK, I'll switch to aluminium, as long as you promise me some more of those boss lead-outs for the L&C green jersey. Ah the good old days ;^)

speaking of alloy frames, take a peek at VYNL, cool looking no nonsense. #crush

http://www.vynlbikes.com/gallery/

Eloy I have my eye on those things...little pricey...but should the unthinkable happen to the Spooky...

anyone have tips on not getting charged bringing a bike on the airplanes?  I'm headed to Texas next week. The charges are $150 each way on United, and there is no way a bike bag falls under their linear dimensions (62 inches or less).  I guess I was pretty spoiled on my last trip, as I was charged zero dollars by EVA Air.

Ah yes, a much discussed topic. Generally non-us airlines do not charge for bikes, whereas US airlines charge exorbitant rates for international or domestic travel. I think the lowest I ever experienced was $50 on Frontier, but that was 10 years ago. My last flight to Tucson on US Airways was $200 each way. And that was also my last flight on US Airways - period.

However every cloud has a silver lining. If you want to fly with moose antlers (or other hunting trophies of your choice) and 5 lbs of ammunition then US carriers are the way to go.

Scott

I have heard the best way to get around the cost:

A) Don't have obvious bike stickers or branding on the case (no cardboard bike boxes). Nondescript is your friend
2. Dress like you're traveling for business - business casual usually works, avoid the sweatpants and UGGs (I'm looking at you Yacks)
iii. Tell the gate agent it is a tradeshow display, client presentation whatever it could be that doesn't have two wheels and is for fun.
> Don't be a jerk, smile like you're meeting your best friend.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2009/10/rider-diaries/j-pows-journal-the-way-of-the-airport-ninja_98887

awesome tips.

lots of new yorkers swear by the Gavilan case -- made by Gavi Epstein -- supposedly just under the oversize bag standards.

http://www.gavilanbff.com/store/p2/Gavilán_BFF_without_wheels..html

Scott Kuhlke said:

anyone have tips on not getting charged bringing a bike on the airplanes?  I'm headed to Texas next week. The charges are $150 each way on United, and there is no way a bike bag falls under their linear dimensions (62 inches or less).  I guess I was pretty spoiled on my last trip, as I was charged zero dollars by EVA Air.

I rent a Gavilan BFF (disclosure: Gavi is a friend).  $50 each time.  I think I rent about once a year.  Probably should buy one.  It's small enough that it gets treated as regular baggage.  I think your bike needs to be a 56 or smaller, not have a seat mast, and you have to pull the fork and remove the rear derailleur (I also removed the hanger last time) 

http://www.gavilanbff.com/

John Prolly, who obvs travels with bikes wrote a post about it -- gist: cardbox, bite the bullet, pay fees.
http://theradavist.com/2013/07/notes-on-air-travel-with-a-bicycle/

Last year, I shipped my bike Fedex, $100 each way.  It was worth not having to deal with my bike on a plane, I knew my bike got there ahead of me, and didn't have to deal with it on the flight back and getting it home.  I'd do this again for any domestic trip I make.  I wouldn't do this with a bag, though.  I borrowed a Trico Iron Case.

Bruce,

I tried to pull that mail ahead shenanigan and was promised it would be there several days ahead (mailed it a week before I was supposed to arrive). it didnt' get there until 2 days after I arrived, and left me scrambling to find a bike for several days and then breaking down and repacking my bike 2x in a very short window. 

Also FedEx is expensive and a crappy company (drivers are not employees they're "independent contractors" and therefore treated like crap).

I hear a lot of chatter about BikeFlights. 

https://www.bikeflights.com/

I've never used them but a quick check says that I could get my bike from here to Portland in 5 days for $45. They have a guarantee that pays you $100 per day if they miss the delivery window (enough to rent a bike I assume). 

Anyone ever use them?

I'm traveling to Seattle and planning to bring my bike on Alaska Air - as near as I can tell from the site, the baggage fee should only be $25 as long as the box is under 62" long. Are bike boxes usually bigger than that?

RileyHoonan said:

I'm traveling to Seattle and planning to bring my bike on Alaska Air - as near as I can tell from the site, the baggage fee should only be $25 as long as the box is under 62" long. Are bike boxes usually bigger than that?

Riley,
     62" is usually something referred to as the total length, which his length plus width plus depth.  Yes, most bike boxes are bigger than that.  You can customize, by cutting it down.

www.spinlister.com?  I recently put some bikes up on it...you might be able to find a bike worth racing/riding depending on where you're going

I'm a huge fan of my Pika Pack, and Virgin America which a) frequently doesn't charge and b) when they broke my bike they cut me a cheque for full replacement value within 2 weeks - no muss, no fuss.

Why do I like the Pika Pack?

"Why yes indeed. This *is* a massage table..."