Long, Slow Build

[senorjax]

So, I jumped on the frame as soon as they were available, to make sure I'd get my size and color, but the build is going to take awhile to complete. I can picture what it's going to look like, and I have some of the components, but the bulk of them will be coming one paycheck at a time over the next couple months or so.

I like every single color option for this years Yellis and could easily be happy with any of them, but I went with the red one. It's a deep, rich shade that tends toward burgundy just a bit, although it likes to photograph brighter and lighter. It took me awhile to get a shot that was relatively true to life colorwise. This is it here.



A couple more:





I'm going to swap over the Manitou Tower Pro 120 and WTB frequency i23 rims with DT Swiss 350 hubs that are on my current bike. Everything else will be new. I'm going to build it as a 2x10, with Shimano drive train and brakes. XT grade mostly, with a bit of SLX.

[AOK]

Nice looking frame!

Build plan sounds solid, I will be interested to hear what you think about the i23 rims.

[senorjax]

So....first components, first problems to work around. After reading most everything on crank fit I assumed that a Shimano XT (M780) 3x10 crank with 24-32-42 rings would fit, albeit tightly, with one 2.5mm spacer on the drive side. Well, my small ring wants to hit the chainstay. Not badly, only one or two teeth actually make contact, but there's no visible clearance at all so even if I filed a tiny bit off the top of the offending teeth the tolerance would be so tight that any flex or big ring smack (which I was going to replace with a bash) would cause bad things to happen. I added another 2.5mm spacer and I have plenty of room now but the word is that the chainline is far far from ideal with 5mm of spacers. Since I don't have any components to build the rear up and look at it I'd love to know exactly how bad is it to run 5mm of spacers, if it's even possible. Any help would be greatly appreciated. It's hard to measure the clearance but I seem to have plenty and to spare, so one thought I have is to use some combo of stock Shimano BB spacers, 2.5, 1.8 and 0.7mm to give me enough room but not any more than needed to accomplish the job, in order to keep the chainline as good as possible. It looks to me like I need something in the 3.5 to 3.7 range.

Here's a pic of the clearance I have with 2 2.5mm spacers, but in real life it seems larger than in the photo. I'll try to get a caliper near it and get a more accurate idea of the clearance.

[eurospek]

Do you really need all those gears?

Ditch that front derailleur.

[senorjax]

I thought long and hard about running a 1x10 setup but I'm 54 now and the low end comes in handy on some climbs. Plus, I keep my bikes quite awhile and I could easily see myself riding this one until I'm 60 so I need to plan ahead a bit. I have been itching to ditch the large ring for years so that's no problem, although ideally I'd like a taller middle ring than the 32 but that brings more fit compromises back into the equation. A nice little 2x10 seems like the best balance, I just have to make it fit the best I can. Since you mention it though I'll take another look at the 1x idea and see how much I'd lose off the top and bottom.

[Pau11y]

...ditch the large ring...ideally I'd like a taller middle ring than the 32 but that brings more fit compromises back into the equation

senorjax,
If that's a 32T mid ring in your pic, then I think a 36T is out of the clearance range to your chain stay yoke (a 34T might work, but looks snug). The other thought is to keep the 32T, and get the micro drive rear and get to the high ratio by dropping the rear small down to a 9T.

[roxtar]

I will be interested to hear what you think about the i23 rims.

I've been running the I23s on both my AM bike and as a lighter option on my burly, 38lb, FR bike for over a year now and both have been perfect, not a single issue. They also build up better than any rim I've used. The 4D spoke drilling has a huge effect; it orients the nipple bed for leading and trailing spoke angles as well as side to side. This removes a lot of stress from the spoke hole and is the reason there is no need for eyelets.

[KillingtonVT]

So....first components, first problems to work around. After reading most everything on crank fit I assumed that a Shimano XT (M780) 3x10 crank with 24-32-42 rings would fit, albeit tightly, with one 2.5mm spacer on the drive side. Well, my small ring wants to hit the chainstay. Not badly, only one or two teeth actually make contact, but there's no visible clearance at all so even if I filed a tiny bit off the top of the offending teeth the tolerance would be so tight that any flex or big ring smack (which I was going to replace with a bash) would cause bad things to happen. I added another 2.5mm spacer and I have plenty of room now but the word is that the chainline is far far from ideal with 5mm of spacers. Since I don't have any components to build the rear up and look at it I'd love to know exactly how bad is it to run 5mm of spacers, if it's even possible. Any help would be greatly appreciated. It's hard to measure the clearance but I seem to have plenty and to spare, so one thought I have is to use some combo of stock Shimano BB spacers, 2.5, 1.8 and 0.7mm to give me enough room but not any more than needed to accomplish the job, in order to keep the chainline as good as possible. It looks to me like I need something in the 3.5 to 3.7 range.

Here's a pic of the clearance I have with 2 2.5mm spacers, but in real life it seems larger than in the photo. I'll try to get a caliper near it and get a more accurate idea of the clearance.

Seniorjax - Clearance is going to be tight.. We know this as we are trying to keep the Chainstays as short as possible. However, try playing around with spindle spacers instead of the 2nd BB spacer. I will be posting up full build tips shorty using these, however this is what I was able to achieve with (2) 1mm spacers and (1) 2.5mm BB spacer:

[plume]

I'm not exactly fond of a single ring set up either but I ditched the triple a few years ago. The Shimano 2X10 drive train is my favorite drive train currently and a 24X36 gear ratio is pretty dang low, I rarely use that gear but still find that I like a small ring on longer rides on steeper terrain. All that said I was able to fit a 38/26 crank on my Yelli w/ 2 2.5 BB spacers. It's not an ideal fit but it works - clearance is tight and if I can find a suitable 36t ramped chain ring this would be my ideal solution. As of now I'm rocking the 38t w/ no issues yet. I would absolutely consider a single chain ring on this bike - it simply rides that well...

[senorjax]

I think I've got a setup that will work for now. I checked the LBSs for spindle spacers and/or thinner BB spacers and ended up with (2) 1.8mm BB spacers, which gives me just over a mm more width than the ideal 2.5mm. A good tip I got from the mechanic there that I haven't heard before is that, even though nothing except the single 2.5 spacer is ideal, anything of a small enough difference that the lawyer tab on the crank arm still drops into the safety hole on the spindle is much, much preferable to anything that's so wide that it won't. Mine does, so I'm going to leave it there for now.

[senorjax]

Here's what I've got for clearance with 3.6mm of BB spacers. And disregard the big ring, it's not staying.

[senorjax]

Well, I'm getting close. I have all but the last couple parts in my hands and they should be en route. Just started building it up last night. It's actually been nice that it's taken this long, I've had time to consider and reconsider the build details. Some things I decided on years ago (out on a ride you realize that you absolutely want x part on your next bike) and a few are the best I could do at this moment and will probly change after some experimentation, but I think I have a build that totally suits me and I'm psyched to get it on the ground. No photos yet but here's the almost complete component list.

Yelli Screamy - Large Red frame
Manitou Tower Pro 120 fork w/15mm TA
WTB frequency i23 wheels
DT Swiss 350 hubs
On-One Chunky Monkey front tire
On-One Smorgasbord rear tire
Shimano XT derailleurs, shifters, chain
Shimano XT brakes 180mm front, 160mm rear
Shimano XT BB, crankset and cogs 24-32-bash
Shimano XT cassette 11-36
Spank Spike flat pedals
Cane Creek Headset
Thomson Elite 70mm 0 degree stem
Raceface Turbine 725mm bars
ESI chunky grips
Thomson Elite seatpost
WTB Speed V Comp saddle

[senorjax]

And it's on the trail. I've gotten a good shakedown cruise and two nice rides on it so far. Almost took some pics of it before I got it dusty but didn't really have time for both. Took a few after the first time out and thought I'd clean it up and take a few more. Hasn't happened yet though. Here's what it looks like in real life.







It went together pretty smoothly. There wasn't much clearance between the FD and the 2.25 On-One Smorgasbord I put on the back, but it eventually dialed in. Everything else feels good from a mechanical standpoint.

[rob1035]

The red and white look great! Ride impressions so far?

[zukrider]

Love it! i bought my Yelli in 12, and it still is not built! i still need handle bar, stem, seat post and clamp, saddle, tires, tubeless kit, and the money to get it all!

congrats on the build!