Lil' Rocket

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Joined
Oct 3, 2015
Messages
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Location
Denver, CO
I just started piecing this guy together today so i figured i may as well document it and enter it into the buildoff. As an "anything goes" style comp there are a few cool looking builds going on at the moment all across the spectrum of two wheeled rides. This one will be on the more modern side of things compared to most RRB builds!

We picked up a Transition Bottlerocket for my roommates son. He just turned 10yrs old and has been racing BMX for most of his life, nicknamed Lil' Ripper, hence the name for the build. He is now transitioning into mtb riding, last season he was on a specialized big hit grom, a 24" wheeled dual suspension bike that was upgraded here and there for better performance. That frame was getting too small so this one was sourced used off of pinkbike and we are refurbishing it, then building it for the upcoming season. Hopefully we will have it completed for him by the end of the build off!

I did not get any shots of it out of the box, but we completely disassembled it, had the rear end sandblasted and painted, ordered a new bearing and pivot hardware kit from transition, then brought it into my work to reassemble it! Here are some pics:

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Had the chance to use our new park tool hub bearing press kit, worked well for the swingarm bearings

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The frame is all assembled. It went together fairly quickly and the fresh bearings feel nice and smooth. Now to pull some parts off his old ride for this one and return it back to stock, hopefully we can sell it and generate some funds for this build. We may also send the rear shock out for service, previous owner had too much preload on the coil which caused it yo flex, wearing the body a bit, plus we may need a softer spring for the little guy. Will update with parts we have for the build tomorrow and more progress!
 
Here are the parts we currently have for the build, most of these parts were being used on his big hit grom last year.

I did go digging around for a seatpost while at the shop. Located a decent alloy tahoma post with a two bolt clamp. Secure and adjustable, and found a wtb silverado saddle in my stash.

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I picked up this MRP chainguide a while back for my Intense 5.5 build but it did not work with my crank setup, so i am giving it to our lil ripper.

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I also had a set of Shimano ice tech rotors sitting on a shelf. Going with 180mm in the rear and 200mm up front.

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I had given him this set of shimano hydraulic brakes last year for the big hit, stock brakes went back on it so i can use these on the BR. They are a combination deore lever and xt calipers i used to ride on my Kona.

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A set of Kore OCD20 bars are going on, was using these last season as well, he should be used to the sweep/rise. 31.8mm clamp, forget the width at the moment.

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Ahh, tapped the send button by mistake!

Anyways, the wheels are handbuilt, built them up last year as an upgrade for his BHG. Specialized sealed bearing hubs with a solid axle in the rear, and a 20mm thru axle up front, Sun Singletrack rims in 24" diameter, and dt swiss spokes.

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And the last item we currently have is the fork, a Rock Shox Argyle we installed on the BHG last season. Air sprung and oil damped this fork has 140mm of travel, should pair well with the rear suspension on the bottlerocket.

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Compiled a list of parts we need to complete it now that I have had a cup of coffee or two. Seems to be mostly complete but is missing a drivetrain and other bits. Wanted a list here for easy reference, my notepads seem to get oil and grease stained fairly quickly so a nice paperless list will be nice.

Parts needed:
-Cranks/Bottom Bracket, 165mm length
-Chainring/Chain/Cassette, prob 34t chainring, 11-25 or 27 cassette, 9spd
-Shifter/Derailleur, 9spd, Deore or higher quality
-Tires/Tubes, not sure whats out there these days for 24" DH tires, must do some research
-Stem, 45-50mm, shorter the better while still using 31.8mm clamp for the bars
-Pedals, looking for low profile go keep pedals out of the rocks

Running 24" wheels is going to lower the bottom bracket, one of the reasons we are going with 165mm cranks and choosing a lower profile platform pedal to help prevent pedal strike in the rocky technical areas.

He should be tall enough to fit this frame, its a small so the seattube and top tube are fairly short making a compact cockpit in conjunction with the short stem. As he grows over the next couple of years we can install 26" wheels and longer cranks, so hopefully it will last him a couple of seasons!

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Got it assembled as far as i can for now. The stem on it is a placeholder, keeps the fork in and bars in place ;) I am getting excited watching it come to life!

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Have done a little research as well, seems Maxxis is making their Minion DHF in a 24x2.4 nowadays. That is my go to tire for all around trail riding, i think they will serve him well! And the only crank i am coming up with in 104bcd for 68/73mm bottom bracket shells, with 165mm crankarm length, is the Shimano Zee. There may be others but those may end up on here as they will probably last for years under a smaller child.

Thats it for now, need to sell the old ride to fund this build!
 
I found a derailleur hanger for it at my work, a local community shop that runs on donations, luckily it happened to be one of the most popular hangers used 10yrs ago so i was able to locate a couple in case they get destroyed doing their job. Since i had the hanger i went digging through my Rr Der bin and found a Shimano Tiagra 9spd der.

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It was for a road triple configuration with the long cage. Since we will only be running a single front chainring and a 11-27t cassette we decided to convert it to a short cage der with parts from an older Ultegra der.

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Remove this pin with a 2mm allen and the cage can be separated from the linkage

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Ran into an issue with the spring retaining holes, they were almost 180 degrees off from one another on the two different cages

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Drilled a hole where i needed it on the shorter cage

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Also decided to use the pulleys from the Ultegra der as they are higher quality, both the plastic material they use for the pulley itself, and they run on a sealed bearing in the lower and a ceramic bushing in the upper guide pulley, instead of plastic and metal bushings on the cheaper tiagra der.

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Made sure to check the hanger alignment as it was a used one from a different frame

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Derailleur assembled and installed!

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Well, the Specialized Big Hit Grom sold, has been boxed and shipped! So now we have the funds to finish this build :) really excited to get it rolling, cannot wait to watch my roommates son rip it up this summer. May not have to wait that long as they are predicting warm temps around Denver for a while, maybe the dirt jump parks will dry out and we will get this thing finished!

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I think I need to visit your parts bin...
I have so much random stuff, and also have access to many parts donated to my local community shop to help source parts. If there is anything you are ever looking for let me know, i may either have it or know where to find it. Being on the other side of the globe may make it difficult to get sfuff to you though....

Sent from my SM-G550T1 using Tapatalk
 
Good news, parts have been ordered to complete the build! They should all be in by tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully it will be completed this weekend! Of course the ground is covered in snow, its melting quickly as yesterday was almost 60, and today will probably be the same. Hopefully we can get our little ripper out to Ruby Hill soon for some photo shoot action.



Sent from my SM-G550T1 using Tapatalk
 
So much fun! I grew up in the 80s watching bmx evolve, took the bmx skills to mtb riding through my 20s, now i am close to 40 and still love getting out there! Recovery time after injury isnt as quick as it used to be though!

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