# Gravel bike project



## JhnBssll (16 Nov 2022)

I've been using my Pilot ti roadbike as a part time gravel bike with some 650b wheels but its getting knocked about more than I'd anticipated. With this in mind I've been scouring the interweb for a suitable frame to build up a purpose built gravel machine and tomorrow I will be picking up the result - a Boardman ADV 8.9 frameset which I picked up for £185 on eBay...







It's an aluminium frame and carbon fork. I'm still working on a cunning plan but the basic idea will likely be as follows:

- Check if my Crankbrothers dropper post fits. It should, the frame spec says it takes a 31.6mm seatpost but I'm not 100% sure about the length until I test fit it.

- If seatpost fits I'll need to work out the cable routing - the frame has no internal routing currently so I'll need to get creative (aka make some strategic holes).

- Once I've brutalised the frame I'll need to re-prettify it so a paint job will likely be on the cards. I'm thinking a dark/camo green and purple type scheme but nothing finalised yet.

- I'll get some Hope 15mm QR adaptors so the 650b gravel wheels I've already got will fit on for now. Longer term I'll rebuild the Hope hubs onto 700c rims and sell on the carbon 650b's.

- I'm looking at 1x drivetrains; SRAM Rival1 is my preferred option currently, but I've seen a mod you can make to the left hand mechanism of a Rival22 lever which allows the shift lever to activate the dropper post. If it works this would be pretty nifty and something I'm very keen to try but it does rely on the dropper post actually fitting first 

- Brakes - obvious choice for me, they have to be Hope RX4's 

- Cranks, stem, bars, saddle etc are all still unknowns. I'll get the frame serviceable first and worry about that later 

As with the frame I'll be buying what I can secondhand to keep costs to a minimum. This should be a fun little project


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## chriswoody (16 Nov 2022)

Sounds like a great plan, looking forward to seeing that come together. 

I'm just curious about the internal cable routing? I know you'll need to route the dropper post cable internally at the seatpost, but the other cables as well? I've personally not experienced any loss of performance or longevity issues with the external cables on my bike and I much prefer external cables, sadly the bike industry doesn't!

Personally speaking, SRAM Rival 1 is a great groupset, if you go that route are you also planning on fitting an XD driver to the hub? worth it in my view to get the 10 tooth cog, so you can fit the 10 - 42 cassette. Not the widest of ranges, but the best you'll get without going for a mullet drivetrain. 

On the tinkering front, Ratio Technology in the Lake District offer some great upgrade kits for these drivetrains, so you could upgrade Rival 1 to 12 speed if you so wished, I'm very tempted myself. 

Last one and a minor one, but just a recommendation on some gravel bike handlebars, I fitted some Salsa Cowchipper bars to mine, 500mm wide with 24 degrees of flare, brilliant bars, super comfy and really improve the slow speed handling of the bike. They come in a range of widths and are quite reasonably priced as well.

Good luck with the build though and I'll look forward to seeing the end result.


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## JhnBssll (16 Nov 2022)

Some great info for me to look in to there Chris, much appreciated!

Regarding the internal routing I'm hoping to only need one hole to route the dropper cable in to the seat tube - I'm more than happy to leave everything else external, especially on a bike thats likely to live a muddy existence and require regular cable changes 

I'll definitely look in to the 12 speed option, I actually have an XD driver body sitting in the garage so I'm halfway there!


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## JhnBssll (16 Nov 2022)

Decided to buy some bits to experiment with so I've got a used GX Eagle mech and a pair of used Rival 22 brifters on the way from eBay. I've also ordered the Ratio Technology 1x12 Wide Upgrade Kit so will strip both levers when they arrive and rebuild the right hand one with the new 12speed parts and the left hand one with no ratchet for the dropper post  This is already sounding like fun


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## JhnBssll (16 Nov 2022)

Just done some quick calcs using the geometry geeks website and measuring a couple of my current bikes to see if the dropper post will fit. Seems I'm currently running 755mm between the centre of the bottom bracket to the saddle rails; given that the ADV 8.9 has an actual seat tube length of 555mm this leaves exactly 200mm of seatpost. Reading through the Crankbrothers sizing guide, the minimum insertion depth for the 150mm travel post I have in the garage is 197mm, so on paper it'll fit but only just 

I've now ordered some paint too - I'll be repurposing some purple Hope parts for this build so want to blend them in with the frame colour. I've gone with a candy midnight emerald for the main colour and I'll do some bits in candy rich aubergine. I'll work out the actual scheme once the frame is here and cleaned up 











I think they should look rather nice next to each other but we shall see 😄


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## tom73 (16 Nov 2022)

Radioactive blackberry humbug look


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## JhnBssll (18 Nov 2022)

The Rival 22 levers arrived this morning  I didn't waste any time opening the left hand lever up to see how easy the ratchet pawl was going to be to remove in order to convert it to a dropper lever. Heres the lever with the cover removed and the pawl circled:






It sits on a shaft which is lightly pressed in to the lever body and held in place with a small C clip - with the C clip removed you can simply push the shaft out of the housing and the pawl drops out...






I've popped the cover back on and it's now basically ready to go as a dropper post lever, simple as that 😊 The bits from Ratio Technology are due to arrive tomorrow so I'll try and get the right hand shifter upgraded over the weekend. This afternoon I'm off to collect the frameset


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## Grant Fondo (18 Nov 2022)

Great project!


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## chriswoody (18 Nov 2022)

Just a thought, SRAM Rival levers can have a problem with the master cylinder gumming up, I've had it a couple of times on my bike. It might be worth a quick check now whilst the levers are dry and off the bike. Whilst a little fiddly, It's quite a straight forward job to do, even more so if the levers are empty of fluid. The SRAM Hydro R service manual, details the process quite nicely along with some clear pictures.


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## JhnBssll (18 Nov 2022)

I've got the frameset home now, it looks very nicely put together so once I've addressed a few cosmetic issues it should be good as new 

I have popped the dropper post in and am pleased to report it fits perfectly 😄 I have also noticed that the frame already has bosses and an opening in the seat tube for the dropper post cable so minimal work required there! I might open the hole up slightly and epoxy a nice grommet in before I paint it just for maximum neatness and to minimise water ingress but the fact there's already a factory hole in the tube is a great start


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## Gunk (18 Nov 2022)

Looking forward to following this one John, I see you can’t resist some of your signature purple!


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## JhnBssll (18 Nov 2022)

Some further work this evening on figuring out the dropper workings. The problem I have to overcome is that both the dropper and the lever want to have the 'pip' end of the cable and neither are designed to clamp the cut end. I knew this was the case and ordered a stainless cable clamp to play with but until I had the bits in my hands I couldn't do much more... So, here's the clamp I bought...






It's pretty small, 8mm diameter with a 3mm bore and 15mm long. The idea is to use two cables - one pip in the dropper, one pip in the lever, and join them with this clamp somewhere in between. Now I've test fitted the dropper and seen how much space there is below it I am comfortable that I can fit the join inside the seat tube, so I've done a quick bit of CAD to design a little housing.






So the idea is the cable outer will go in either end, and the clamp will slide up and down the middle. I measured the cable pull from the lever at 12mm so I've left enough for that plus some extra in case of cable stretch, and will add an inline barrel adjuster up near the bars. The part will be in compression but the loads are small so I'm hoping a 3d printed resin part will be more than up to the task - only one way to find out! To the printer...


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## JhnBssll (19 Nov 2022)

I had some goodies arrive today 😄






£75 for the kit seems expensive when you look at what you get, but knowing that the replacement ratchet is 3D printed in stainless steel goes a long way to explain that cost. The parts are all very good quality too, they've not cheaped out on any of the parts which is reassuring from a reliability stand point. As usual I didn't waste any time...












The internals come apart really easily and they provide an instructional video on their website detailing exactly how to do it. Once its apart like this though you just have to pull the old ratchet off the cable reel then push the new one on and reassemble... I cleaned everything up first of course, the original grease was pretty crusty  Here's the new ratchet assembled with the shaft pushed halfway in...






And here it is fully reassembled and working. The only things I did after this were apply a thin coat of grease to the ratchet assembly and reassmbled the cover 






All working, and 12 indexed gears available. Job's a goodun  Now waiting on the mech to arrive so I can assemble the other bits of the kit - the cable fin needs replacing to achieve the correct cable pull ratio and a barrel adjuster needs adding to the mech - the mtb groups have the barrel adjuster at the shifter whereas the road groups have it at the mech, so using a road shifter with a mtb mech eliminates the barrel adjuster at both ends otherwise 

My paint should be arriving today and the 3d printed dropper adapter is awaiting post processing so with the tidying that also needs doing I've got a busy day ahead in the garage


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## JhnBssll (19 Nov 2022)

The dropper adapter is done and I've just finished assembling it on a short run of cable to test it out - seems to work a treat 






There's a little video of it in action here if you're super bored  https://photos.app.goo.gl/q4hjfZD4TWi8jrRZ9

More tidying to do now that's finished 😄


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## JhnBssll (19 Nov 2022)

I spent a few hours cleaning the frame this afternoon, it came up pretty well...






If it weren't for the numerous deep chips and the fact I've got some purple parts to use I'd have been tempted to use it like this to be honest, but there you go... Once I'd got it looking nice I got the sandpaper out and made it look rubbish again 

Once it was keyed I put down a base coat of grey primer and I'm now building up the damaged areas with orange filler primer. I've been putting it on pretty thick with lots of run in the knowledge that I'll be sanding it all back again anyway so its not a pretty sight at the moment 






Once that's had a chance to cure (hopefully tomorrow evening) I'll sand it back and see how much of the damage has been covered. I suspect it'll take a few goes to get it right but once I'm happy with it I'll do another full coat of grey primer before I put the base coat of coarse metallic silver down.






I'm not sure how to mask off for the candy coats yet but I'll work it out as I go along I'm sure  Or I won't and I'll end up having to strip it all off again


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## JhnBssll (20 Nov 2022)

I managed to keep out of the garage most of the day so the filler primer had gone off nicely when I went to sand it back. Its done a pretty good job of filling all but the biggest chips, here's the back of the chainstay after a quick sand...







I've just put another few coats on, I'll probably sneak out a few more times over the course of the evening and layer it up a bit more so I can sand it back again tomorrow evening 😊 Hopefully I'll be in a position then to go over the whole thing again with the grey primer and see how we're looking 😄


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## JhnBssll (20 Nov 2022)

I've put a few more coats of high build primer on the frame and brought it inside to the warm to let it go off for 24hrs before I flat it back again tomorrow evening.

I've also cleaned, lightly sanded and masked up the forks ready for some primer tomorrow.


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## JhnBssll (21 Nov 2022)

The chips are nicely filled now after flatting the filler primer back so I went over the whole frame again in grey primer.






Once I'd done that I realised I'd forgotten to open up the hole in the seat tube before priming so I waited for it to go off slightly then got the dremel out. The hole needed to be both lengthened and widened but only by a few mm so I'm not worried about strength. Once that was done I epoxied around the edge of the hole and glued the new grommet in to place, then once that was all cured I primered the seat tube again.






Part of me wants to get some filler out and just go round the edges to get rid of the step, but a much larger part of me can't be bothered so it'll likely stay like this 

I also got a couple of coats of primer on the forks which are looking great, nearly ready for the base coat now 😄


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## JhnBssll (21 Nov 2022)

So the primer went off nicely and has allowed me to put the base coat on this evening 😊 I went for the recommended base coat for the Candy colours I'd chosen which is 'coarse metallic silver'. The paint seems really good and went on smoothly and evenly which is always a relief 

I can certainly see why they refer to it as 'coarse', should make a lovely base to build the Candy up over though 
















Next job is to work out what my scheme is going to look like and mask up - I suspect thats a job for tomorrow evening 😊


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## ColinJ (21 Nov 2022)

Nice work.

(It was particularly you whom I had in mind when I mentioned meticulous CycleChat members yesterday in the fettling thread! )


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## EltonFrog (22 Nov 2022)

@JhnBssll I think you need to fill the edges of the step, its feckin annoying me.


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## JhnBssll (22 Nov 2022)

EltonFrog said:


> @JhnBssll I think you need to fill the edges of the step, its feckin annoying me.



That ship has sailed now the base coat is on, it'll be covered in mud in no time anyway haha


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## Grant Fondo (22 Nov 2022)

JhnBssll said:


> That ship has sailed now the base coat is on, it'll be covered in mud in no time anyway haha



Too true! Ride it like it's stolen, not meticulously fettled


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## JhnBssll (22 Nov 2022)

I'm trying to replicate a colour scheme I've seen in a few places with the inside of the forks and rear triangle in one colour and the rest of the frame another with an added embelishment on the head/top tube... I masked up and sprayed the green this evening, it's gone fairly well overall but it turns out Candy paint jobs ain't easy 

Anyway, the midnight green is almost black in some lights but really lights up when you catch it right, it should look rather nice once it's got some lacquer on it  I've now got to wait another 24 hours to mask up againand spray the purple where the silver basecoat is still showing...











I'm not aiming for perfection with this one, it'll be nice to get it as close as possible though before I throw rocks at it


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## JhnBssll (23 Nov 2022)

I stayed up and did some more painting - the green went off nice and quickly so after about 3 hours I masked it up and sprayed the purple 😄











Tomorrow evening I'll try and give it a clean then get some 2k lacquer on it, then it'll be time to think about building it up  That reminds me, I need to source a headset...


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## JhnBssll (23 Nov 2022)

and lacquered 😊






This was taken about half an hour after I applied the last coat so still slightly tacky but I'm hopeful the shine will stay - I'm looking forward to seeing it in the sunlight tomorrow


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## T4tomo (23 Nov 2022)

good job, I bet getting the purple on and masked properly was tricky. It looks smart


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## JhnBssll (23 Nov 2022)

T4tomo said:


> good job, I bet getting the purple on and masked properly was tricky. It looks smart



Yeah it was fiddly, and the cheap amazon vinyl tape I used didn't do me any favours. It's not perfect, there are some big runs in the lacquer down the seat tube for example, but it's definitely good enough to get dirty  I've brought it inside now to sit by a radiator for a few days


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## Jenkins (23 Nov 2022)

JhnBssll said:


> and lacquered 😊
> 
> View attachment 668911
> 
> ...



Good luck with finding some sunlight round here today!


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## avsd (23 Nov 2022)

Like the inside of the stays and forks. Not so sure of the headtube but I suspect it will improve with wheels and handlebars etc. Amazing progress as ever. Well done.


what precautions are needed when spraying with 'rattle can' paint. Face mask and door/window open or do you move the bike outside?


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## JhnBssll (23 Nov 2022)

avsd said:


> Like the inside of the stays and forks. Not so sure of the headtube but I suspect it will improve with wheels and handlebars etc. Amazing progress as ever. Well done.
> 
> 
> what precautions are needed when spraying with 'rattle can' paint. Face mask and door/window open or do you move the bike outside?



I'm not so sure on the head tube either, but will reserve judgement until my mint sauce decal is in place 

I use a portable workstand and ideally spray outside under floodlight. If that's not possible I open the big garage door and spray outwards. It's nasty stuff so worth taking precautions. To be honest the 1k stuff (everything except the lacquer) isn't too bad and you can get away with a bit of exposure but the 2k lacquer isn't something you want to be breathing in too often...


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## jowwy (23 Nov 2022)

Another cracking project build john......will this one get finished though lol

Shed, hallway, toilet, drive, van, living room, kitchen, mtb.........im awaiting updates on them all, had to take prozac to calm me down and await updates lol


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## JhnBssll (23 Nov 2022)

jowwy said:


> Another cracking project build john......will this one get finished though lol
> 
> Shed, hallway, toilet, drive, van, living room, kitchen, mtb.........im awaiting updates on them all, had to take prozac to calm me down and await updates lol



My bicycle projects always get finished, its those pesky other ones that are the problem


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## jowwy (23 Nov 2022)

JhnBssll said:


> My bicycle projects always get finished, its those pesky other ones that are the problem



Bikes first……the rest can wait, i think lol


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## andy0001 (24 Nov 2022)

the hardest part of a bike build is 100% the wait for the deliveries of parts. and to stop buying more bits whilst waiting


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## Jody (24 Nov 2022)

Home respray looks top drawer @JhnBssll !


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## JhnBssll (25 Nov 2022)

I've gone with some Ritchey flared drop bars and an 80mm Deda stem for now - both were relatively cheap so if they need swapping out later its not a major expense. The dropper post is fitted and working, although it'll need to come out again when the seat clamp arrives as the original was damaged, looks like it had been overtightened in the past. Things are starting to come together 😊







I might have a play with the wheels later - try and get the XD driver and new cassette fitted, then install the axle adaptors and test fit them. I'm waiting on various bits and bobs that have been sent via Royal Mail, their strike this week has delayed a bunch of my parcels  I guess if it didnt cause disruption there'd be no point in striking, but it is a pain


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## jowwy (25 Nov 2022)

JhnBssll said:


> I've gone with some Ritchey flared drop bars and an 80mm Deda stem for now - both were relatively cheap so if they need swapping out later its not a major expense. The dropper post is fitted and working, although it'll need to come out again when the seat clamp arrives as the original was damaged, looks like it had been overtightened in the past. Things are starting to come together 😊
> 
> View attachment 669083
> 
> ...



Good job and enjoy the 6 pack


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## Grant Fondo (25 Nov 2022)

JhnBssll said:


> Things are starting to come together



Looks great 
Are the Boardman decals delayed in the post too?


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## fossyant (25 Nov 2022)

Looks good - you'll have to let us know how hard the paint sets. Took a while for my Ribble to harden fully, but I wasn't using 2k ! It did have alot of coats as I was using perlescent white, so the base coat of white had to be perfect as the top coat was virtually see through, and that's before the lacquer went on. It's coming upto two years now and the bike is still looking good, but it doesn't get a hard life.

I fancy respraying my commuter MTB in possibly a candy blue, but it will need to be tough.


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## JhnBssll (25 Nov 2022)

I chose the 2k for exactly that reason, I wanted the durability. It's still a little soft but takes a week or two to fully cure at room temperature I think. I have another can of it in case I need to flat it back and put some more on but I'm hoping I don't need to 

I've got the wheels on now minus disc rotors - I found some used purple Hope RX4 calipers and rotors on eBay so am waiting for them to arrive 😄 I did manage to find the spare XD driver off a Hope Pro4 MTB hub - fortunately the only difference between the Pro4 and RS4 freehubs is the number of pawls so it'll just be a bit noisier now 











I've just ordered a bottom bracket and SRAM Rival1 12speed 40t chainset - combined with the 10-50t cassette this should give a nice wide range of usable ratio's  I've had to order a new gear hanger as the original is slightly bent and looks like it's been previously straightened. For the sake of 15 quid I'd rather not risk putting the mech in to the spokes 

I'm going to need to order new brake hoses front and rear which is going to add some cost, it always surprises me how much you can pay for the odds and sods like that... Sram original hoses are about £40 each  Suffice to say I will be buying non OEM hoses


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## Grant Fondo (25 Nov 2022)

JhnBssll said:


> I chose the 2k for exactly that reason, I wanted the durability. It's still a little soft but takes a week or two to fully cure at room temperature I think. I have another can of it in case I need to flat it back and put some more on but I'm hoping I don't need to
> 
> I've got the wheels on now minus disc rotors - I found some used purple Hope RX4 calipers and rotors on eBay so am waiting for them to arrive 😄 I did manage to find the spare XD driver off a Hope Pro4 MTB hub - fortunately the only difference between the Pro4 and RS4 freehubs is the number of pawls so it'll just be a bit noisier now
> 
> ...



It's gonna be a mean looking graveler!


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## bikingdad90 (26 Nov 2022)

Happy 40th. Ha ha!!! 😂 should have hid the cards.


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## JhnBssll (26 Nov 2022)

I really should take those cards down, my birthday was two weeks ago 

I had a couple of bits arrive today - firstly the replacement seat clamp. Obviously I went for a purple Hope one, but you guys will have guessed that already 






Also to arrive was a Prime out-front computer mount...






As usual I've done some quick CAD work and modified one of my mount designs to fit so these bits are currently printing in the garage:






That will allow me to run the Karoo 2 and my Ion 200 front light as I do on a couple of other bikes already.

I've also just ordered some bar tape - since I'll be putting a Mint Sauce sheep head decal on the head tube it made sense to go with the Jo Burt inspired Kinesis special edition bar tape 😄






I also spotted some chunkier used tyres on eBay so got them ordered... Should be a nice parcel haul incoming next week


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## JhnBssll (27 Nov 2022)

Someone somewhere must have heard me moaning about parcels as I had a delivery this afternoon from Chain Reaction, a lovely purple bottom bracket 






My printed parts finished overnight so I cleaned them up and cured them this morning. They fit nicely so thats another job ticked off 











I glimpsed a break in the rain so decided to take her ouside for the first time and take some photos - I really like the way this build is shaping up


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## Grant Fondo (27 Nov 2022)

JhnBssll said:


> Someone somewhere must have heard me moaning about parcels as I had a delivery this afternoon from Chain Reaction, a lovely purple bottom bracket
> 
> View attachment 669323
> 
> ...



That 3D printing is awesome


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## ColinJ (27 Nov 2022)

I _DO_ like your work! (Not just on this project; on all of them.)


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## AndyRM (27 Nov 2022)

Shaping up to be another belter, chapeau!


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## avsd (27 Nov 2022)

The Mint Sauce sheep head decal on the head looks well. Breaks up the purple.


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## JhnBssll (2 Dec 2022)

My eBay 'bargain' RX4 calipers arrived earlier in the week. They were advertised as non-functional and priced to suit so I'd already ordered new pistons and seals which arrived yesterday. The seller suggested the kept seizing and after many bleeds he'd given up on them and gone back to SRAM red calipers - being an avid RX4 fan I thought this was unusual so was interested to take a look at them 

Here they are out of the box...







There are a few marks and scratches but nothing significant, so far so good... The pistons are chipped and seized as described by the seller so no surprises here...






Then I turned them over and noticed a minor problem...






The eagle eyed amongst you might have noticed the two small letters laser etched under the '4'... The SR on the rear caliper (bottom of the picture) denotes SRAM but the SH on the front caliper above it denotes Shimano SRAM use dot fluid and shimano use mineral oil so the donut has been using the wrong fluid in the front caliper. No doubt the seals are all swollen and perished which goes a long way to explaining the poor function... Still, I'd ordered new seals so I can just rebuild it, right? Not quite  The early RX4 calipers have different diameter pistons between shimano and SRAM version, as well as different size pads. Fortunately the more recent RX4+ calipers share a common piston size so all the necessary seals are available for Dot fluid so I've just ordered the bits I'm missing and will start stripping the calipers down shortly for a clean and rebuild. Nothing is ever easy  Here's my pile of rebuild bits so far...






Also to arrive today were the cranks and some gear cable. I've popped the cranks on for a test fit, all looking good so I'll tighten them up later and pop the pedals on 😄


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## JhnBssll (2 Dec 2022)

I've just finished stripping and cleaning the calipers  The pistons were nicely seized in both - the sides with the piston caps were easy to pop out but the other 4 needed some persuasion  I ended up carefully drilling a 2.5mm hole all the way through the centre of each piston and tapping an M3 thread. This then allowed me to wind in an M3 screw until it bottomed out at the end of the cylinder then carefully keep winding to pull the piston out.











The red seals in the picture below are meant for mineral oil and, as predicted, they're feeling pretty sorry for themselves after being filled with dot fluid. They were swollen, cracked and deformed so its really no wonder the caliper wasn't working 






Before long I had both calipers stripped...






Time for a bath 😊






They spent about 30 minutes in the ultrasonic cleaner in the end - longer than I had anticipated as I forgot about them for a while  Suffice to say they were nice and shiny when they came out, so I rinsed them out and popped them on a radiator to dry out 😊











I'm waiting on the additional seals and pistons for the front caliper before I can rebuild but I'm in no hurry, plenty of other bits to be getting on with


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## JhnBssll (3 Dec 2022)

The GX rear mech finally arrived today so I was able to fit the Ratio Technology cable fin. I can't fit it to the bike yet because I noticed the gear hanged was bent and ordered a new one which is yet to arrive, but I've taken a photo of the two cable fins next to each other to demonstrate the difference. The original, longer fin is on the right and the new Ratio Technology fin is fitted:






I also realised I had enough new bits to rebuild the rear caliper, and make a start on the front...






Won't be long until I can assemble it all and go for a ride now  The saddle has also arrive, I'll try and pop that on later along with the pedals 😊


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## Grant Fondo (3 Dec 2022)

JhnBssll said:


> The GX rear mech finally arrived today so I was able to fit the Ratio Technology cable fin. I can't fit it to the bike yet because I noticed the gear hanged was bent and ordered a new one which is yet to arrive, but I've taken a photo of the two cable fins next to each other to demonstrate the difference. The original, longer fin is on the right and the new Ratio Technology fin is fitted:
> 
> View attachment 669927
> 
> ...



Hey! Just watch that lovely paint job


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## chriswoody (3 Dec 2022)

JhnBssll said:


> The GX rear mech finally arrived today so I was able to fit the Ratio Technology cable fin. I can't fit it to the bike yet because I noticed the gear hanged was bent and ordered a new one which is yet to arrive, but I've taken a photo of the two cable fins next to each other to demonstrate the difference. The original, longer fin is on the right and the new Ratio Technology fin is fitted:



That's the bit that frustrates me the most, in order to make a SRAM MTB derailleur play nicely with drop bar shifters, you just need to swap the cable fin from a Rival 1 Derailleur, which is essentially all the Ratio Parts one is. Yet SRAM refuses to make the part available as a spare part, or even offer a special wide range Derailleur for gravel bikes, It really makes no sense to me. 

Back on topic though, it's coming together lovely though. The serviceability of those Hope brakes is one of the reasons I love them, can't believe you had a mixed pair though, that's quite special.


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## JhnBssll (3 Dec 2022)

Getting there now 😄






I've put the bent hanger back on to allow me to cable up the mech and check its all working, which fortunately it is 😄 I couldn't resist spending a few more quid on the XX1 rainbow chain as I thought it would match the colourscheme nicely 











So the remaining jobs are:

- Tidy up the dropper cable and tighten slightly
- Finish rebuilding the front caliper when the new pistons and seals arrive
- Replace the rear brake hose
- Fit, bleed and adjust the calipers
- Replace the mech hanger when the new one arrives then tweak the indexing
- Wrap the bars
- Change the tyres
- Ride it like I stole it 



chriswoody said:


> That's the bit that frustrates me the most, in order to make a SRAM MTB derailleur play nicely with drop bar shifters, you just need to swap the cable fin from a Rival 1 Derailleur, which is essentially all the Ratio Parts one is.



As it happens I have a spare Rival1 rear mech if you'd like the cable fin off it


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## AndyRM (3 Dec 2022)

Very, very cool!


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## JhnBssll (3 Dec 2022)

I couldnt resist bolting the rear caliper on to see what it looks like...


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## tom73 (3 Dec 2022)

JhnBssll said:


> Getting there now 😄
> 
> View attachment 670017
> 
> ...



Complete with new cycling headwear I see


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## chriswoody (3 Dec 2022)

JhnBssll said:


> As it happens I have a spare Rival1 rear mech if you'd like the cable fin off it



That's the problem, I have a Rival 1 Mech already on the bike and I need a GX Eagle Mech. Unfortunately all the second hand GX Eagle mechs are just as pricey as the brand new ones.

That does look quite impressive though, hard to believe it's an old Boardman.


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## Grant Fondo (3 Dec 2022)

JhnBssll said:


> I couldnt resist bolting the rear caliper on to see what it looks like...
> 
> View attachment 670034



Fantastic! Don't forget to take it back to Halfords for some expert fine-tuning.


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## JhnBssll (3 Dec 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> Fantastic! Don't forget to take it back to Halfords for some expert fine-tuning.



See if they fancy doing some warranty work, the paint's changed colour!


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## JhnBssll (5 Dec 2022)

New tyres arrived today so I've popped them on. I've also fitted the new rear brake hose (at the lever end at least) and tidied up the cables. I'm missing one piston for the front brake rebuild as Wiggle let me down - they were showing in stock but they're only a few quid each and they have a £20 limit for next day delivery with their Wiggle+ subscription, so I chucked some other stuff in my basket to make it up and hit buy... The other stuff arrived but no pistons, they're now showing as on backorder  Very naughty of them so I've contacted them to vent... Anyway, I have a spare RX4 post mount caliper in the garage so I'll borrow a piston later and get it finished 

Until then, here's what it looks like now...












Don't look at the driveside chainstay - I dropped the seatpost on it and took a bit chunk out of the paint  I'm now going to look at chainstay protectors to cover it up, after all that effort filling and sanding  Next time I'll bake the frame before I build it up to help the laquer harden quicker, I did this on my Brompton build and it made a big difference. Nevermind...

I'll wrap the bars with the Jo Burt bar tape once the brakes are bled and will have a Mint Sauce stem cap to fit soon 😊


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## JhnBssll (7 Dec 2022)

I robbed a piston out of the spare caliper this evening and popped it in the purple one, then got it bolted on and piped up.






I'm now only missing two bits - the new mech hanger, and the Mint Sauce stem cap 😄 The chainstay protector arrived this morning so I've stuck that on, seems nice and thick so should do the job nicely... Most importantly it covers the chip in the paint 






I couldn't resist wrapping the bars, I think it looks ace...











I've got the day off tomorrow so I aim to make the finishing touches; bleed and adjust the brakes, straighten the hanger or fit the new one (if it arrives), tweak the gears, tighten the disc rotors and do a final torque check on all the bolts. Then all that remains is a test ride and some finished photos


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## JhnBssll (8 Dec 2022)

I'm not entirely happy with the angle of the front light mount so I've just spent some time rebuilding the CAD model. I've built it from scratch with the light rotated 90 degree's to see how it looks, I'll get it printed tomorrow all being well


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## JhnBssll (17 Dec 2022)

She's finished and ready to ride 😄 The mech hanger arrived this afternoon so I swapped it on then went over the whole bike torquing up bolts and adjusting the indexing and brakes - all good for a test ride now!


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## tom73 (17 Dec 2022)

Not sure about the bottle cages


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## fossyant (17 Dec 2022)

Saddle is slack, and your danglies are dangling.

Like the colours mucho.


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## T4tomo (18 Dec 2022)

Awesome job. 
I once got one of scrotom lights from a secret santa. Surprising good for commuting as it moves around.


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## JhnBssll (18 Dec 2022)

T4tomo said:


> Awesome job.
> I once got one of scrotom lights from a secret santa. Surprising good for commuting as it moves around.



This was a 40th birthday present from some good friends so thought I'd put it to use


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## jowwy (18 Dec 2022)

What are the tyres john?? 650s or 700s


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## JhnBssll (18 Dec 2022)

jowwy said:


> What are the tyres john?? 650s or 700s



They're 650's mate. I used the 650b wheels I'd already built to save some cash. I might buy some 700c rims in future and rebuild the wheels but will see how I go with these for now


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## jowwy (18 Dec 2022)

JhnBssll said:


> They're 650's mate. I used the 650b wheels I'd already built to save some cash. I might buy some 700c rims in future and rebuild the wheels but will see how I go with these for now



But what tyres are they??? I can see they are halos but which ones and size


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## Jenkins (18 Dec 2022)

jowwy said:


> But what tyres are they??? I can see they are halos but which ones and size


They look like Halo GXRs which are 650 x 47 - Ribble have them on offer for £20 at the moment: https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/p/HAOETYRF100000065047/gxr-tyre-650x47-fd60-tan-wall

I've got the 700 x 38 GXCs on the ebike and am quite impressed with them.


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## jowwy (18 Dec 2022)

Jenkins said:


> They look like Halo GXRs which are 650 x 47 - Ribble have them on offer for £20 at the moment: https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/p/HAOETYRF100000065047/gxr-tyre-650x47-fd60-tan-wall
> 
> I've got the 700 x 38 GXCs on the ebike and am quite impressed with them.



I like the look of those……..will wait til spring and see what i can get then


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## JhnBssll (18 Dec 2022)

Yes they're Halo GXR, 650bx47 as Jenkins correctly deduced


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## fossyant (18 Dec 2022)

That's it, I've got two weeks to turn round my old Diamond Back. Nothing new will be going on other than new cables. You've got me motivated. Choice between a cherry blue or going more purposeful gunmetal metalic - also easier to obtain and touch up if needed. Oh and I'll need a tap to enlarge the threads on the pannier mount - one side has stripped.


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