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Prepping your biek for next year...

WhoRyder

Turbo Monkey
Nov 28, 2007
1,834
0
NYC
So my DH season's over... should i just leave my bike be until say February before i start the rebuild process or should i just take the thing apart now grease everything up and put away for hibernation?

also. i was planning on Anodizing my frame.

What are your inputs on:

Anadizing Vs. Powdercoat?

thanks and have a great holiday guys.. Thanksgiving & X-mas is upon us...
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
from what I've been led to believe, anodizing a frame is very difficult to get a good finish unless it's done from the factory. Powdercoating is just as durable but COVERS things instead of sticking to the metal.

As for disassembly, that's up to you...mine is two years old now and dirty as hell...i need to break it down and replace some things...but it shouldn't matter whether you do it now or then.
 

Jim Mac

MAKE ENDURO GREAT AGAIN
May 21, 2004
6,352
282
the middle east of NY
Well, if you're planning to paint or anodize I would think that you should tear it down now, get it in maybe right around or after the holidays, then re-grease, etc. when you rebuild.
 

ridefast

Monkey
Jan 25, 2006
432
0
Not where I'd like
First, Id powdercoat rather than anodizing.

Also, in my opinion, it would be better to service it now...couple of reasons.

One, you have had a season on it and know what is working and what isnt. The problems the bike is having are fresh in your mind and taking care of them now will be a good way to not over look anything.

Second, with the slow down rapidly approaching many (if not all) LBS, you are very likely to find someone running a service special. Might be a great chance to get some work done on the cheap. And dont skimp out and only do one or two service/repair duties. Go ahead and take care of everything at once, so you know that the bike is 100% ready to go for next year.

Also, getting it serviced now will put you ahead of the rush next spring. Think about it, wouldnt it be much better to have the bike out of service for a few days now, rather than possibly a week or more in the spring when everyone and their cousin is trying to get service work done?

Keep in mind that just because the "season" is over, doesnt mean you wont have any chances to ride during the winter. Why not get things fixed now so you can enjoy those mid winter rides on a bike that is working how it should.
 

WhoRyder

Turbo Monkey
Nov 28, 2007
1,834
0
NYC
sanwich. i have been in talks with these guys:

http://www.mastermetal.com/

They specialize in thin walled Aluminum anodizing, and are pretty inexpensive....

Also i wanted to polish my SAINT cranks... any ideas how i can do the Polishing myself instead of paying someone else to do it for me...

thanks again guys!
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=234760

XYnine had a thread on how he polished his boxxer lowers. I can't find it but if you search right you might. IIRC, it's airplane/paint stripper, then a shedload of fine grit sanding, then some polishing compound, then maybe clearcoat.

With the anodizing, it's not that other people won't do a good job, it's that you may not get a good result unless you have it professionally bead blasted then ano'd. Has more to do with not removing appropriate amounts of the previous finish then them not doing a good job.
 

WhoRyder

Turbo Monkey
Nov 28, 2007
1,834
0
NYC
http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=234760

XYnine had a thread on how he polished his boxxer lowers. I can't find it but if you search right you might. IIRC, it's airplane/paint stripper, then a shedload of fine grit sanding, then some polishing compound, then maybe clearcoat.

With the anodizing, it's not that other people won't do a good job, it's that you may not get a good result unless you have it professionally bead blasted then ano'd. Has more to do with not removing appropriate amounts of the previous finish then them not doing a good job.
yeah i spoke to the guy he said we need to get the frame blasted and everything removed that i have to give them the frame in RAW aluminum... no decals, no paint nothing!!!

i was thinking ANODIZED blue for 2011....

thanks for the link!
 

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,861
4,159
Copenhagen, Denmark
I will keep the same old paint job. I could really not care less about it giving a fresh new look to the bike but then again I am not Fashion Dave :)
 

WhoRyder

Turbo Monkey
Nov 28, 2007
1,834
0
NYC
I will keep the same old paint job. I could really not care less about it giving a fresh new look to the bike but then again I am not Fashion Dave :)
The Fashion Dave trend died 2 years ago... i just need a new color on my bike so that i don;t spend on a new frame... :-)

new color = new bike...

old color = old bike = buy new bike... no can't do.....
 

SylentK

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2004
2,287
854
coloRADo
I had my 2005 Sunday re-painted by Spectrum out here in CoSpgs, CO a couple years ago. Still looking good!

I would do all your off-season maintenance as early as possible. Mostly because you never know what you are going to need to buy/fix/send away at the last minute to get it back into shape. I would def send away my fork/shock as early as possible. This usually takes the longest, in my experience.
 
Anodise for sure.
Did this to my Sunday, as have many others to their bikes. Ano is more resilient than PC and your frame will look much better fir much longer.
I glass bead blasted mine after stripping. This provided a great finish and ensured all traces of paint were removed.
With ano you don't need to seal up all orifices and bearing seats either.
Search on the forum, you'll find lots of info.
Good luck
JT
 

Easy*

Chimp
Oct 8, 2010
30
0
Lowell MA
The thing with anodizing is that it reflects the finish of the bare metal. It doesnt hide anything. So even if the frame is bead blasted that will leave you with a rough, granular type of finish. Not smooth and shiny like say an anodized hub that has a machined surface. You could have the frame sanded and semi-polished to give it a brushed aluminum type of finish which IMO would look pretty good, but thats ALOT of work.