Finally, put my XL tang frame together with all the parts stripped off my KM. Bike is gorgeous (sorry, no pics) and weighs in at 22.56 lbs on a reliable scale with the following build:

Frame: Niner XL
Fork: WB BW 0.8
Wheels: American Classic SS
Tires: Bontrager Jones (tubed)
Crank: 34t White Industries Eno (crankarms anodized black. Boone ring to show up "any day")
BB: Phil Wood
Cog: 20t Boone Ti
Chain: SRAM PC-68 or 58 can't remember
Seatpost: Thomson straight
Seat: WTB Lazer V (I think, whatever is their top seat)
Stem: Thomson 140x15
Handlebar: Jones with curved extensions and cork grips/bar tape
Brakes: Magura Marta SL

Ride-around-the-court impressions are that it feels much like my KM, only lighter, which is what I wanted. Even though the top tube is longer than my KM, I still think I could used a setback seatpost as my seat is all the way back now. May need to trade.

Now for the woes. When I spun the rear wheel, I had some rub on the drive side chainstay. I did find the casing, not the wheel, had a slight "wobble" and one tread block was hitting the drive side chainstay. A little trimming had that fixed. However, upon close inspection, the tire barely clears either chainstay, but is very tight against the drive side chainstay. It's then that I notice my tire doesn't necessarily lie within that portion between the chainstays with the most clearance. Maybe, Bonty tires are taller, but I would hardly call this clearance acceptable for 2.3" tires. The combination of the tight clearance and, I guess, incorrect dishing of the wheel are why I am having problems. Yes, I checked and re-checked the skewer, seating of tire, etc.. All fine.

Unfortunately, it gets worse. I took my bike in to the LBS to have it looked at and weigh it. It's then that someone noticed the front wheel was significantly worse, dish-wise, than the front. And, my rear hub is loose. Remember, it's only been ridden around my court.

Finally, I have several chips and rub spots on the frame. Some were there right out of the box. Others are appearing with little trauma. I was told by the Niner guys that they couldn't powder coat Scandium. The oven would be too hot. I would have sacrificied some beauty for durability, though.

I hope the Niner guys can help me out (heard nothing back yet) or I can get things squared away here locally. I've yet to get the thing on dirt and it's already in the shop.

Finally, put my XL tang frame together with all the parts stripped off my KM. Bike is gorgeous (sorry, no pics) and weighs in at 22.56 lbs on a reliable scale with the following build:

Frame: Niner XL
Fork: WB BW 0.8
Wheels: American Classic SS
Tires: Bontrager Jones (tubed)
Crank: 34t White Industries Eno (crankarms anodized black. Boone ring to show up "any day")
BB: Phil Wood
Cog: 20t Boone Ti
Chain: SRAM PC-68 or 58 can't remember
Seatpost: Thomson straight
Seat: WTB Lazer V (I think, whatever is their top seat)
Stem: Thomson 140x15
Handlebar: Jones with curved extensions and cork grips/bar tape
Brakes: Magura Marta SL

Ride-around-the-court impressions are that it feels much like my KM, only lighter, which is what I wanted. Even though the top tube is longer than my KM, I still think I could used a setback seatpost as my seat is all the way back now. May need to trade.

Now for the woes. When I spun the rear wheel, I had some rub on the drive side chainstay. I did find the casing, not the wheel, had a slight "wobble" and one tread block was hitting the drive side chainstay. A little trimming had that fixed. However, upon close inspection, the tire barely clears either chainstay, but is very tight against the drive side chainstay. It's then that I notice my tire doesn't necessarily lie within that portion between the chainstays with the most clearance. Maybe, Bonty tires are taller, but I would hardly call this clearance acceptable for 2.3" tires. The combination of the tight clearance and, I guess, incorrect dishing of the wheel are why I am having problems. Yes, I checked and re-checked the skewer, seating of tire, etc.. All fine.

Unfortunately, it gets worse. I took my bike in to the LBS to have it looked at and weigh it. It's then that someone noticed the front wheel was significantly worse, dish-wise, than the front. And, my rear hub is loose. Remember, it's only been ridden around my court.

Finally, I have several chips and rub spots on the frame. Some were there right out of the box. Others are appearing with little trauma. I was told by the Niner guys that they couldn't powder coat Scandium. The oven would be too hot. I would have sacrificied some beauty for durability, though.

I hope the Niner guys can help me out (heard nothing back yet) or I can get things squared away here locally. I've yet to get the thing on dirt and it's already in the shop.


I thought that the tire clearance was a bit suspect, but my rear wheel was straight down the middle with about a 1/4 inch of space along either side. I am running Kenda Klaw XT tires. No dish issues at all. I have chipped the frame though already, but I don't mind, it is a MTB after all.

I have had no problems with the tires, 2.1 Nano's and clearance.

I plan on running folding Exi's as soon as I can get some.

My wheels run true and are tight, although I can feel a smidgen of play in the rear wheel already, but this is usually just the bearings settling in, and can be taken out with cone adjustment.

Framewise, good solid paint, no chips or cracks, etc.. gorgeous paint job.. :)

It sounds to me like you have got some transit damage. Chips and rub spots are because the box has been mishandled in shipping, I would say.

Your wheel dish problems are probably caused by the same shipping company, and will need to be re-trued.

I hope thaty it all works out ok for you.

R.

There were rub spots on the bottom bracket shell near the set screws and at the dropout when I opened the box. A few chips appeared on the seatstays since.

As to the dish issues, I fail to see how the wheels could be out of dish, especially the front one, by so much yet run perfectly true if it was shipping damage.

I don't know for sure about your bike, but I have seen cargo handlers do some horrible things to packages and boxes that make your blood run cold.

Those gorillas in overalls don't care, they just throw stuff around like so much wood.

I once saw two guys unloading cargo from a jet at Sydney airport. I was sitting in a departure lounge having a quiet beer, and just happened to be in the right spot to see this...

One guy was inside the plane, in the cargo bay. The other one was down on the tarmac.

The guy in the bay was heaving stuff out of the bay straight onto the tarmac.!!! I'm not kidding. Every time something hit the ground, you could see a puff of dust. Damn amazing.

It's no wonder things get damaged. Another time I saw a guy in a forklift truck run over a bike inside a shipping box which was on the ground. Normally, you would stop and move the box out of the way...but no, this guy just backed up over the box again and drove away.

R.

Adjusting the play out of the hub is a given. We have all just grown accustomed to hubs that lack adjustment or the need for adjustment, but I would prefer to have the ability. On the dish, I find it odd, but it sounds like you got a bung pair of wheels. I now have two sets, the SS and the geared version (used) and both doing fine.

I did have one chip in my paint and it had been clear-coated over, so I know it was there from the beginning but I didn't feel it was worth complaining about.

I am running the equivalent of a 2.0 tire on back and I don't think that I could run a true 2.3".

This may not be the case, but I've seen shops try to point out the flaws in something that wasn't purchased from them out of spite (I've found myself doing it many times). Make sure you dismount the tires and check the dish accurately. An easy test would be to flip the wheel to check the dish. I don't doubt you, but seems unlike AC.

I don't know for sure about your bike, but I have seen cargo handlers do some horrible things to packages and boxes that make your blood run cold.

Those gorillas in overalls don't care, they just throw stuff around like so much wood.

I once saw two guys unloading cargo from a jet at Sydney airport. I was sitting in a departure lounge having a quiet beer, and just happened to be in the right spot to see this...

One guy was inside the plane, in the cargo bay. The other one was down on the tarmac.

The guy in the bay was heaving stuff out of the bay straight onto the tarmac.!!! I'm not kidding. Every time something hit the ground, you could see a puff of dust. Damn amazing.

It's no wonder things get damaged. Another time I saw a guy in a forklift truck run over a bike inside a shipping box which was on the ground. Normally, you would stop and move the box out of the way...but no, this guy just backed up over the box again and drove away.

R.
Thanks a lot Rainman! Now you have me all worried.

I have not even ridden my One 9 more than one block around my street and then had it shipped off to my sister's house to await my arrival tomorow in Colorado. I was worried all day cause UPS told me they could not locate it......then they had the wrong address......then I started fearing that it may not be there. I told my sister to put a HUGE note on the door to have the driver leave the box. Finally tracked down a manager in Colorado who promised he would forward the correct address and they would go back to deliver it tonight....my sister called a couple hours ago to let me know (phew!).

I have to say my LBS did a phenomenal job in addressing any issues that could have possibly existed. They did tinker with the wheels I know, as well as doing just a perfect job all around. I cannot say enough about my bike shop. The guy (Shawn) had so much fun putting my bike together (he too is a single speeder) that they did not even take any money for building it!!! Now that is amazing. Frankly, it is because of LBSs like this that I am still a pathetic hack with a wrench....I figure, why?

I did not notice any chips but then again, I did not even bother looking.

I will post pictures and a report hopefullyafter this weekend.

Cheers

And, my rear hub is loose. Remember, it's only been ridden around my court.

Chuck,

I have had Chris King--both SS and ISO, front and rear--and Phil hubs loosen after the first bit of riding: this sort of thing happens and after some tightening they all stayed tight. All are well respected hubs with tight manufacturing tolerances and all loosened significantly after the first ride or two. As for the dish being off on pre-built wheels, I've run into this too. It happens. Frequently, pre-built wheels are imperfect. Any mechanic worth his salt can true and properly dish a wheel in fewer than thirty minutes. I would not worry too much about your wet-painted frame because the frame is composed of aluminum alloy tubes and no matter how much of it is exposed, it will not corrode quick enough to matter. If it were steel, I would insist on a powder coated frame, but wet painted frames survive fine too. Just get the bugs out and ride your new bike. Every new bike has bugs. :)

;)http://www.tetongravity.com/usergalleries/albums/userpics/thumb_this%20thread%20is%20worthless%20without%20p ics.gif

Chuck,
...and Phil hubs loosen after the first bit of riding: this sort of thing happens and after some tightening they all stayed tight.

How do you tighten a Phil hub?

bb

How do you tighten a Phil hub?

bb
My SS rear disc and front disc require two 6mm hex wrenches.

Weird...
Madre is running an Exiwolf out back on her Niner with room to spare. She's also put at least 500 miles on her AC wheels with no issues at all.
I'm going to have to blame the shipper on this one....at least for your frame dings.

"Chuck,

I have ordered a Bontrager Jones tire to test out but I will not have it
till Monday. I have a Bontrager XR and it fits without any issues on my
small frame. I will check it against the XL in case there is something
different going on.

As far as your wheels go I am sorry the dishing is not correct. I can do one
of two solutions.

1. If you feel comfortable with your LBS fixing the dish issue we will be
happy to pay the charges to get it fixed.

2. If you would rather have a new set of wheels I will send you another pair
out to you. Please send the others back and I will give you a Fed Ex
account number to use.

Steve and I are sorry you are having problems with the bike so early. We
have worked very hard to make sure there were very few if any issues with
our frames and the myrid of bike builds that can be made. We are concerned
the stays on your frame do not have the clearance that we built into the
bike. We had 5 different tires at our disposal when we were designing and
prototyping the frame. We used the WTB Exiwolf as the "benchmark" for the
largest tire.

The only other thing it could be is that the stays on your frame are welded
at the wrong points and are too close together. I will check the other XL
we have in the warehouse to see if that is the case.

It may take a few days to resolve all these issues. Thank you for your
patience.

Chris
Niner Bikes"

So, I will report back with the results. For now, I think I'm going to get my wheels fixed up locally.

Weird...
Madre is running an Exiwolf out back on her Niner with room to spare. She's also put at least 500 miles on her AC wheels with no issues at all.
I'm going to have to blame the shipper on this one....at least for your frame dings.
I am running Exis front and rear fine on a Large....though no trail time till Sunday, but they clearly fit just fine

I have lubed the bb area extensively to try and kill a bad creaking that is occuring when I put some muscle to the pedals. I have lubed everything that I can think of there where I think it is most likely coming from. Still creaked like it always has during todays ride. I am going to next look at the rear end, but I cant think of what it could be back there. Anyone else bugged by this or am I the only one who is this anal retentive?

I have lubed the bb area extensively to try and kill a bad creaking that is occuring when I put some muscle to the pedals. I have lubed everything that I can think of there where I think it is most likely coming from. Still creaked like it always has during todays ride. I am going to next look at the rear end, but I cant think of what it could be back there. Anyone else bugged by this or am I the only one who is this anal retentive?
it may very well not be the One 9 at all. I cannot tell from your explanation but when you say you lubed the bb area, are you talking about the Eccentric being lubed?

I had this same problem on my new 26" single speed and was going crazy....removed the EBB, greased it, checked the hub, pedals, etc......turned out it was the actual cups inside the eccentric that were twisting ever so slightly which made the creaking that would not go away. Took those out and put them back in along with the bottom bracket and it was all good.

Sorry if that is what you meant by the bb being greased but i figured i would throw it out there.

what kind of bottom bracket are you running?

I have lubed the bb area extensively to try and kill a bad creaking that is occuring when I put some muscle to the pedals. I have lubed everything that I can think of there where I think it is most likely coming from. Still creaked like it always has during todays ride. I am going to next look at the rear end, but I cant think of what it could be back there. Anyone else bugged by this or am I the only one who is this anal retentive?

I noticed a couple of creaks from my BB area too on a test ride just after I had assembled the One Niner.

I rode back home and checked the torque settings on the EBB bolts. They were low. I re-torqued them to the correct setting with a tension wrench..50 inch pounds.

No more creaks.. :)


R.

I noticed a couple of creaks from my BB area too on a test ride just after I had assembled the One Niner.

I rode back home and checked the torque settings on the EBB bolts. They were low. I re-torqued them to the correct setting with a tension wrench..50 inch pounds.

No more creaks.. :)


R.

I have put all the torque I can on those bolts short of stripping them out. Still creaks

Have sometimes been known to creak like a mofo :confused:

Ive gotta call BS on that one. Smith&Wesson makes 357 Magnum revolvers out of Scandium, and I have shot them well into the 400 degree range. When testing, we shot one so hot you had to wrap a rag around the grip to hold onto it, and gloves to keep the trigger from cooking your skin to it. Now granted the S&W was built a little heavier than Niner frame tubing. But Scandium can get hot..hot...hot.

Ive gotta call BS on that one. Smith&Wesson makes 357 Magnum revolvers out of Scandium, and I have shot them well into the 400 degree range. When testing, we shot one so hot you had to wrap a rag around the grip to hold onto it, and gloves to keep the trigger from cooking your skin to it. Now granted the S&W was built a little heavier than Niner frame tubing. But Scandium can get hot..hot...hot.

I would bet that the vendor that would have done the powder coating refused to do it. And like you said frame tubing is very thin compared to any part of that gun. I used to have stuff powder coated back when I thought I knew about something no one else did, no one I knew had even heard of powder coating. The little yea-hoo place I was using warned me about regular al parts and frames. He couldn't guarantee that they wouldn't get damaged from the heat. Turns out I never had any problems. My point is, that it might not be that it can't be, they just won't.

Have sometimes been known to creak like a mofo :confused:
good Idea, I will try greasing those little babies

Ive gotta call BS on that one. Smith&Wesson makes 357 Magnum revolvers out of Scandium, and I have shot them well into the 400 degree range. When testing, we shot one so hot you had to wrap a rag around the grip to hold onto it, and gloves to keep the trigger from cooking your skin to it. Now granted the S&W was built a little heavier than Niner frame tubing. But Scandium can get hot..hot...hot.

Is your Smith & Wesson powder coated?

Ive gotta call BS on that one.

The official word from Easton:

2.8 Frame Finishing

2.8.1 Wet Paint
Wet paint is the preferred finish for SC7000 to promote
an attractive finish and maximize material
properties.

2.8.2 Anodizing
Anodizing SC7000 frames should not be performed.
Anodizing will significantly reduce frame fatigue
life. In addition, the unusual grain structure of
SC7000 tubes will become visible after anodize
resulting in an undesirable cosmetic finish.

2.8.3 Powder Coating
Traditional powder coating can not be used on
SC7000 frames due to the curing temperatures.
Powder coating (or any other thermal process) can
only be performed as long as the curing temperature
is not higher than 325 degrees and the cure
time is less than 30 minutes.

These lower temperature powder coat materials can
be obtained from:

SPRAYLAT Corp.
3333 N. Interstate 35
Gainesville TX 76240
(817) 665-9590
Toll Free: (888) 725-7250

copided from http://www.eastonbike.com/downloadable_files/fab_instr/fab_instructions-sc.pdf