I recently revised the drivetrain on my Imperial. My Profile spindle bent and while it was in for warranty, I decided to update the entire deal...
When the spindle arrived home, it was greeted by new,
Pedals- another pair of Primo Super Tenderizers, still awaiting drywall screws like the old ones.
Bashguard- Nice, new and clean.
Crownwheel- 36t
Brake pads-Nothing to do with the drivetrain, but they were needed.
Chain- Shadow Interlocking Full Half Link BMX
All these parts took the place of an Azonic 36t ring, profile spider, KMC 410 Z chain(92 links in the shortest dropout position with the 16t freewheel) and just older pads and bashguard.
I pulled the entire bottom bracket assembly out, cleaned and meticulously regreased everything. The cups and spindle went in as usual. I had talked to Jonas beforehand about different setup options and decided to slightly shave down the bashguard crank slot so that the cranks would clear it without using the e.13 washer. I took off only a couple mm's and this worked out perfectly. This helped give the crank arms more overlap on the spindle and use less bb spacers.
New pedals, bashguard, ring and cranks were installed onto the fresh spindle.
I have a Paul Word SS rear hub with a 16t Freewheel on it. The chain line was straight with just one of the thin profile washers between the cone washer and crownwheel, which was followed directly by the crankarm with no washer inbetween. The 36t crown wheel clears the chain stay even with zero washers. I like the crownwheel a lot and also noticed that two of the arms on my old profile spider were also bent in addition to the spindle. I have no idea how I managed to bend the spindle or the spider as I only weigh 140lbs and have not done anything really retarted with my bike. But profile took care of me even with the hurricane and all the nasty weather down there.
Non drive side was spaced equally with 2 regular width washers and one thin one.
The chain was a bit of a different story. the shadow conspiracy
I decided to try this out because my old chain was quite loose, and provided a slow engagement for the pedals. It had also fallen off maybe 4-5 times in the months that I had it. Setup was 36/16 in the shortest chaistay position for both new and old drivetrains.
Getting this chain on was a bit of a bitch. It is an odd shape and does not work great with some chain tools. I had to use two chain tools in different ways to get it on with pliers and about 30-45 minutes. Actually getting it to mount on the sprockets was also quite a challenge. I had put the chain on the sprocket with the wheel under the bike. Then loop the chain around the freewheel and pull the wheel up into the bike from beneath. All other ways failed to get it on, but this sliped it nicely into the dropouts.
Close up of the chain.
The blue arrows show the big pin in the chain. This is the master pin. It is wider than the rest and slightly contacts the bashguard, making a clicking sound for the first hour or so of riding. After that it wears little notches into the bashguard and becomes silent.
This is the chain after about a week of riding in it. I am pressing the chain together pretty firmly and that is as far as it will go. The old chain went to about a half-inch from the chainstay on the bottom. It has worn in and settled down with just a very small amount of slack, pretty much perfect tension! It was really tight before.
Some pictures of the drivetrain and the mess on the down tube from trying to sprocket stall a fence...
And the Pimperial-
You can see a pic of the bike from a while ago in my signature. Time to update that I guess.
Thanks to Mike and Jonas for the setup tips!
-dAn
When the spindle arrived home, it was greeted by new,
Pedals- another pair of Primo Super Tenderizers, still awaiting drywall screws like the old ones.
Bashguard- Nice, new and clean.
Crownwheel- 36t
Brake pads-Nothing to do with the drivetrain, but they were needed.
Chain- Shadow Interlocking Full Half Link BMX
All these parts took the place of an Azonic 36t ring, profile spider, KMC 410 Z chain(92 links in the shortest dropout position with the 16t freewheel) and just older pads and bashguard.
I pulled the entire bottom bracket assembly out, cleaned and meticulously regreased everything. The cups and spindle went in as usual. I had talked to Jonas beforehand about different setup options and decided to slightly shave down the bashguard crank slot so that the cranks would clear it without using the e.13 washer. I took off only a couple mm's and this worked out perfectly. This helped give the crank arms more overlap on the spindle and use less bb spacers.
New pedals, bashguard, ring and cranks were installed onto the fresh spindle.
I have a Paul Word SS rear hub with a 16t Freewheel on it. The chain line was straight with just one of the thin profile washers between the cone washer and crownwheel, which was followed directly by the crankarm with no washer inbetween. The 36t crown wheel clears the chain stay even with zero washers. I like the crownwheel a lot and also noticed that two of the arms on my old profile spider were also bent in addition to the spindle. I have no idea how I managed to bend the spindle or the spider as I only weigh 140lbs and have not done anything really retarted with my bike. But profile took care of me even with the hurricane and all the nasty weather down there.
Non drive side was spaced equally with 2 regular width washers and one thin one.
The chain was a bit of a different story. the shadow conspiracy
I decided to try this out because my old chain was quite loose, and provided a slow engagement for the pedals. It had also fallen off maybe 4-5 times in the months that I had it. Setup was 36/16 in the shortest chaistay position for both new and old drivetrains.
Getting this chain on was a bit of a bitch. It is an odd shape and does not work great with some chain tools. I had to use two chain tools in different ways to get it on with pliers and about 30-45 minutes. Actually getting it to mount on the sprockets was also quite a challenge. I had put the chain on the sprocket with the wheel under the bike. Then loop the chain around the freewheel and pull the wheel up into the bike from beneath. All other ways failed to get it on, but this sliped it nicely into the dropouts.
Close up of the chain.
The blue arrows show the big pin in the chain. This is the master pin. It is wider than the rest and slightly contacts the bashguard, making a clicking sound for the first hour or so of riding. After that it wears little notches into the bashguard and becomes silent.
This is the chain after about a week of riding in it. I am pressing the chain together pretty firmly and that is as far as it will go. The old chain went to about a half-inch from the chainstay on the bottom. It has worn in and settled down with just a very small amount of slack, pretty much perfect tension! It was really tight before.
Some pictures of the drivetrain and the mess on the down tube from trying to sprocket stall a fence...
And the Pimperial-
You can see a pic of the bike from a while ago in my signature. Time to update that I guess.
Thanks to Mike and Jonas for the setup tips!
-dAn
:evil:
