Tweaking

As I mentioned before, the new Jones needed a little TLC before hitting the trail. The headset felt like absolute crap, and upon further inspection, I found it wasn't quite pressed in all the way. After re-pressing the cups, it spun smoothly.

I wasn't terribly happy with the shifting quality out of the box. Really, a bike this expensive should have something better than Eagle SX parts. I upgraded the Eagle SX cassette to NX, and the derailleur, chain and shifter to Eagle GX. Now it runs and shifts so much better.

Next, we can't ride around here in goathead hell running inner tubes. I was pretty unhappy when I learned the rims were drilled for Schrader valves. I have been using Presta since 1986 or so, and never saw a reason to change. However, after doing a little research, I found that people actually like Schrader tubeless valves. I decided to give it a go.

After removing the tubes I saw a pretty decent tubeless tape job on the rims, so I just left it as is. I installed the valves, poured in a little sealant, and seated the tires easily with a floor pump.

The larger diameter of the Schrader valve allows you to push much more air through, making seating the tire a breeze.

So far I think we have a winner. Jenn seems to like it:

     

About the only thing left is the steerer, which is still uncut. We're messing with the handlebar height. Once that is dialed in, the bike will officially be done.

Later.

Jenny Jones

 As it turns out, the Jones wasn't for me. It is a size small Plus SWB that belongs to Jennifer. Here it is right out of the box after initial assembly.

There are a few things I want to fix or change before it hits the trail, but for the most part this is what it will look like.

Later.

More Jonesing

Almost 18 months to the day, another Jones box showed up. 

If it's the only bike you'll ever need, it's weird that now I have two, right?

Later.