So, I wanted to do a build thread to chronicle the build up of my new bike...the Kona Private Jake. So here's the parts list to get started:
2016 Kona Private Jake size 58 (L) WTB i23 rims laced to Hope Pro 4 hubs (standard free body, not the single speed) On-one Midge handlebar Easton 100mm stem, cheap aluminum I grabbed off ebay TRP Hylex brakes...read on about the problems I've had so far SRAM Rival 1 crank Wheels Manufacturing Outboard PF30 bottom bracket...another troublesome part Absolute Black Oval chainring, yet another nightmare Thomson seatpost Bontrager saddle Cane Creek 40 headset
Ok...so I order some parts. I have some parts already. Trying to maintain a budget since this won't be a primary bike...just something fun and to use for training. So I grab a used On-One Midge. I have a Truvativ AKA crank, Thomson seatpost, and Bontrager saddle. I also have the wheels that will be shared with my Renegade as needed.
So I need everything else. So I order the headset, brakes, stem, and chainring. I contact Wheels Manufacturing and ask about their bottom bracket options and if anything they have will work with my crank. My crank is a mountain bike crank meant for a frame with a 73mm bb shell. My frame is a CX bike with a 68mm shell. They advise that their outboard PF30 bb would be perfect. Link me to the one I need...I order it. So everything arrives. I take the frame to my shop and have the headset and bb pressed in. No real issues. The bb was a bit of a witch but we finally got it in. It's actually one of the ones that thread together to help prevent creaking and bearing cups from walking out.
Take the frame home and install the fork and attempt to install the crank. Well...crank won't fit. Too long. Try this and that and bottom line...won't work. After some back and forth with Wheels Manufacturing, they finally tell me that I need to install cup spacers and they should have been included. They weren't. They weren't even mentioned when I first inquired. Besides that...I'm not sure I'd want that much spacer between the cup and the frame anyways. So...I suck it up and order a new crank. This time it's a road/CX length crank. Arrived today in fact, fits perfect. So...even though it increased the cost of the build by $120...I'm happy. So I thought.
There's also been an ongoing issue with the chainring. Evidently Absolute Black's US distributor...one of them at least....has been mislabeling rings. I have so far ordered two different 38T oval rings, SRAM direct mounts, from two different vendors. Both times I ordered the correct part but received the wrong part. Both times it's been a Shimano 110/4 BCD ring. So...not only have I wasted lots of time ordering, waiting for the part, then sending back the part waiting for refund...my money has been tied up too waiting for these refunds. Contact AB and they pretty much blow it off like whatever...not our fault. It's the distributor's fault. We'll check into it. No offer to make anything right. No apology. Nothing. So I probably won't be ordering anymore of their parts again. Luckily the Rival crank I was forced to buy came with a 42T ring. Probably would have been better with a 40T but at least I have a usable ring.
Now for the brakes. I ordered the front and the rear from different places. Couldn't find anyone that had both other than direct from TRP but they wanted a lot more for them than I could them other places. In the end...I might have been better off spending the extra money. Honestly...I would have been better off buying something else all together which I figured out after ordering but before realizing all the issues I was going to have. I wish I would have ordered a SRAM 1x11 setup so that if I did ever want to go with gears...I have the r/d already and a cassette...all I'd need is the shifter. But...I didn't. Now I'm stuck with the TRP's as it seems.
Anyways...went to install the front only to find out it didn't include a bracket to mount to a post mount fork. Box says it was supposed to be included. Contact TRP and they say that they stopped including it because more bikes now have posts that accommodate a 160mm brake. Well...mine doesn't. And I stated that the box says it was supposed to be included...so TRP agreed to send me one. Ok, great. In the mean time...I find an extra that I can use so I can at least mount the brake. Nope. Hose is too short. I thought it was kinda crazy that the hose would be too short. Look at the site, the instructions, the box. All say the front comes with 800mm of hose. Ok...so out comes the measuring stick. I only have 760mm of hose. That 40mm is just about what I'd need to make the front brake mount without having to even cut down the hose. But as is...I can't mount at all.
Frustrated...I figured I'd move to the back and get that mounted then contact TRP about the front hose. So I attempt to pull the hose from the caliper. Stuck. I pull harder. Stuck. Puller harder yet. Stuck. It's not coming out and at this point I'm pulling so hard, I'm afraid I'll pop the bard and olive off inside the caliper and then I'd really be screwed. So...fire off an email then decide to just call them. Talked to customer service about both issues. At least to their credit...they are taking care of the problem. The guy I spoke to stated they had some issues with 800mm front hose still being too short for some folks so all new brakes going out come with 1000mm up front. But he had no idea why mine only had 760mm. But he is sending me a whole new hose kit. As far as the rear...he said it sounds like the compression nut probably got torqued to much causing the olive to compress inside the caliper. He said he'd send me out a whole new caliper. That way when it got to me...I could swap them out or if I wanted...I could try to pull the hose out of the original and that way if the olive did pull out...I'd have the new caliper. If I got it out...great. Extra caliper on hand in case I had future issues. And for my troubles he included one of their bleed kits too.
So...super frustrating so far to say the least. Sucks because I really thought I'd get to ride the new bike today...now it looks like Tuesday or Wednesday next week. I'm beginning to think the bike Gods are telling me I shouldn't be building another bike.
So...that's pretty much where I'm at now. Stuck waiting on brake parts after waiting on chainrings and after waiting on a new crank. Thankfully...after the brake stuff gets here...there really won't be anything else that can go wrong assuming something doesn't break while doing final assembly or on the first ride.
haha...yeah...definitely not into those kind of bars though I'd imagine it could be fun.
I just imagine a lot of this going on when I think about it....
Anyways...yeah...it should be fun for sure. I just need to be patient and wait for parts. Sucks on top of everything else...it's a holiday weekend so that will probably delay things another day. But at least I'm off most of next week so I'll get some ride time in once the bike is buttoned down. Still working out issues with returning one of the incorrect chainrings...vendor trying to make me pay return shipping which is B.S. but a whole other story I guess.
I'm hoping the Midge bar works out. It's odd for me coming from only traditional style road bars. I was originally planning on one of the Salsa bars but then the Midge was brought up as a possible alternative by shiggy and he had one so I figured might as well give it a try. But one really quick trip up the road and back...like 1/4 mile if that...I think with some tinkering they will end up being good to go.
All but done. New hose kit and caliper came yesterday which I wasn't expecting but nice. Had some trouble getting the rear bled but I got it figure out this morning. Front went easy until I spilled mineral oil all over the damn caliper while bleeding the rear so the pads got oil on them. But a heavy dose of brake cleaner seems to have them operational until I can get some new ones. So, hoses ran and cut, brakes bled, bar wrapped, swapped out the seat post and saddle since the carbon Ritchey has too much set back, pic shows the steerer uncut but that's been taken care of now as well...it's ready for some shake down miles and dialing in the fit...should be a fun ride...
Got a few miles in this even. Bike rode fantastic. Best handling bike I've ever been on and fast...it wants to go. Too bad I'm the engine because this bike definitely isn't holding me back. Quite the opposite. Anyways...everything went well. Nothing broke or fell off. Needs some tweaking as expected and new pads on the front. Cleaned the ones I had best I could and they are usable...but definitely lacking some power. I might try burning off any residual oil that might be left and see what happens but regardless I'm ordering a couple sets. So...huge PITA but seems like it's going to be well worth it.
Your problems sound exactly like mine with my Private Jake build!
\nFirst tried to use my nice Force GXP crank & bb... but the bb adapter wouldn't stay in the frame. Went with a Force CX1 BB30 & Wheels Mfg. bb. Splurged for zer0 ceramic bearings. Drive side bearing completely seized after a few rides. Got ahold of them, they said for SRAM cranks the installation is entirely different than SRAM's instructions, uses parts not included or mentioned on their website, and follows instructions not listed anywhere. Awesome.
\nI had to buy(!!) a new bb, came with steel bearings & a spare set of hybrid ceramic bearings I can press in when I have time. Sure. And had to buy the correct kit required to install a SRAM crank. Needless to say my next bb won't be from them.
\nThen the brakes. Those were my fault. Bought a used set on eBay for cheap from Pro's Closet. Turns out whoever used them cooked the front caliper to the point the pistons seized & wouldn't retract. Bought a new front & after a few mineral oil fountains got them set up.
\nNow that it's mostly squared away the bike is a dream. Just wants to MOVE, like you said, and it feels stable in all conditions I've thrown at it.
That sux. This bottom bracket is supposed to be for GXP. Mine is the outboard threaded so I don't think I'll have any issues with the cups walking out. It was an INCREDIBLY tight fit. I'm actually pretty sure that the bb shell was either a tiny bit warped from welding or under sized. But...it's in there and I don't know if it will ever come back out...lol
Anyways...once I got the Rival 1 crank...fit was pretty much perfect. I don't anticipate issues but if I do...hell will be raised. Regardless...this will be my last Wheels Manufacturing product I'll ever buy. They f'ed me on an EBB too on a different bike.
The only complaint I have...my right side crank feels like it's just a tiny little bit too far left. It's like it needs spaced over to the right a few mm. Not sure what's up with that...maybe something I can use spacers to adjust? Lastnight was my first ride and that's all I noticed being a little off other than the saddle position but of course that's to be expected first few rides while getting things dialed in.
Another ride...this time squeezed out about 15 miles. Still adjusting to the new style bars. I like them but I'm kinda wishing there was more to them on the drop. That crazy angle coming off the top is awesome for putting down some power on the short climbs. For that they are PERFECT! But...if I want to just cruise in the drops...not so much. I wish there was a short maybe 3-4" straight section that came off the end that ran parallel to the ground. That for me would be great for riding in the drops which I really don't do very often anyways...so it probably won't end up being an issue. But just in case I decide I have to be able to ride the drops...is there a bar like that? Same or close to the Midge but with extended drop length? Velo Orange Dajia Far Bar maybe?
Other than that and a brake caliper that came loose...it's be darn near perfect. I didn't notice the right crank being too fat inboard last night either. So perhaps it's not actually a problem or I just quickly got used to it. So I need to go out and torque down all the bolts and make sure things are good to go...and try to squeeze in a ride later this morning before the storms roll in.
If the pedals still feel like they're too far one way or the other, you can move the spacers around as long as you keep the overall length the same.
\nI like my Woodchippers mainly for their long, straight drop section. I spend 99% of my time on them. I think the Cowchippers have what you might be after, long flat section with less flare than the Woodchippers.
Don't know honestly. I just give them a good tighten and everything has been good to go. Not too tight as to strip anything but tight enough to not come loose. I know that probably doesn't help. If I think about it...in a bit I'll get out and see if I can figure out what MY torque is. You could ask Kona...it'll probably take them a couple days but they should get back with the official number. Actually....I just shot them an email...I'll post up when they respond.
Hi, for the first time with a new dropout (not a new bike) follow this procedure and then release and repeat to reduce creep.
After that the just tighten in sequence as noted below.
>SS dropouts Aluminum with tension bolt.
>150 inch lbs progressively. First to 50, then 100, then 150.
>Alternating between the 2 for each stage
Happy Trails!"
Funny because that's generally how I did it anyways. I'd use the tension bolt to get my chain tension then nip the bolts just enough to hold then progressively tighten them side to side until they seemed to be tight enough. Like I said though...never put a torque wrench on them so I can't give my numbers but I never have any issues with chain tension.
I'm not sure what they mean by "follow this procedure and then release and repeat to reduce creep". What is doing it twice going to accomplish? Whatever, either way I'm glad to know its 50/100/150 alternating side to side.
17N-m is pretty tight. I might just end up maxing out my 1/4" drive torque wrench and then walking away. I have a 1/2" drive as well but I'm not sure it goes low enough. I don't plan on buying the 3/8" drive just for these bolts.
I plan on running the sliders maxed rearward on the next gravel event so I hope to screw the tension bolt snug and then torque the clamping bolts. Completely relax it for CX duty and/or when the tires get swapped out for skinny 33c.
I appreciate the response. One more question, did your frame come with one or two dropout tension bolts - the little 2.5mm allen head screws that "position" the sliding dropout? Mine only had one in the drive side. I was assuming I could tension, torque, swap the bolt to the other side and keep repeating... but that sounds like a bit of a pain.
Not sure what that means really. I didn't do that when my frame was new. I didn't know that's how I was supposed to do it that way but I've not had any issues not doing it that way.
Spreader wrote:I appreciate the response. One more question, did your frame come with one or two dropout tension bolts - the little 2.5mm allen head screws that "position" the sliding dropout? Mine only had one in the drive side. I was assuming I could tension, torque, swap the bolt to the other side and keep repeating... but that sounds like a bit of a pain.
Mine has one on each side. You can see them in the pic in the first post. I assume your plan could work but honestly I'd see if you can find a replacement set of screws. Those screws are nice to have as an extra bit of security to prevent the dropouts from moving. My old Misfit Psycles diSSent had sliders without the tension screws and they were easy to set but a royal PITA to maintain chain tension. The dropouts were always moving no matter how tight I got the bolts. Tension screws would have probably prevented that.
What’s up guys!? Just ran into this thread, working on my recently acquired Private Jake, too! Am not running it single speed (yet — i have all the bits for it but not there yet).
Firstly i’m sorry for all the trouble you went through. Hopefully it’ll be worth it shortly! Jakes are such fun bikes (this is my second one). Secondly i can chime in on this: weirdly, i had only one of those horizontal dropout safety screw too. Way weird. LBS just jammed a random matching size screw in there and off i went though, no biggie.
Lastly if i may share a bit of my story between fellow Privateers, i am still working on finetuning and fitting the bike. Salsa Cowchippers bars should arrive through the mail anyday now. Then i’m shopping around to upgrade the wheels in the next couple weeks. But my main concern is the transition to the SRAM 1x11 system from the Shimano 2x10 i was on. I find the gap from one gear to another so big, I always lose my cadence. So i’m looking into various solutions here.
Anyhow it’s a lovely rig and here’s where i’m at on my build, today:
I contacted Kona on FB Messenger and they gave me the same torque sequence they gave to you (the system works!). They are also going to send me a 2nd dropout adjuster bolt to a nearby shop. I’ll wait on that before I stretch out the bike.
@radouf
I run Rival1 hydro with a Rival1 42t up front and Shimano XT M8000 11-42 cassette. I find that I can pedal in a fast group on the road at 50kph (spinning 105-110rpm) as well as climb just about anything with the 42-42 in the back. At an event that mixed road and gravel this past weekend I couldn’t have asked for a better range.
I’m riding Rambler 40c (measure 39mm) tubeless at 35/40psi (f/r).
If anything... I might try the 40t chainring with the same cassette. I think the best idea (but $$$) would be to go 10-42 GX cassette with XD hub. The 2017 model gets Alex CXD4 which seem to be pretty great rims (on paper they look better than the Novatec 30 wheels). If/when the bike gets a wheelset I’ll get the XD driver and cassette then (can you lend me a grand please?).
As far as cadence spacing goes... that’s individual. I agree riding alone in the wind the jumps can be big and if you like 95rpm it’s a lot of watts to jumps gear and get back to 95rpm. But in a group, on fire roads that go up/down/around I love love only having to change by one gear to make a decent change in output. I’ve decided I dislike my MTB and road bikes 2x systems because I’m always riding in the bottom of the little ring and top of the big ring. Aka I’m constantly jumping my front derailleur and having to deal with that.
Guys guys guys! zOMG: wheelset upgrade just in!!! Thanks to some cues I found on this very forum, i picked up a set of DT Swiss ER1600 Spline (20mm inner width / 32mm depth / DT 350 hubs and aero spokes). Took ‘em for an 80k spin already, man is that mellow rolling, and spinning forever! Very happy. Cheers.
PS. How is your summer going? It’s already starting to chill back down here in Canada. I’m looking forward to adventure even more in september!
