DPCX hoping you or Mark can jump in here and give me some advice on my Roker. I thought my Roker xplor mso rear tire was giving me problems. After the Saluda Roubaix ride this weekend(rear tire was breaking loose) I took my bike to the LBS. Seems the rear stock wheel is loose and can be wobbled a good what looks to be 3/4" My mechanic said that the rear wheel needs repacked with grease to tighten it up. Is that normal for a stock wheel @ 1000 miles?
Zurichman wrote:DPCX hoping you or Mark can jump in here and give me some advice on my Roker. I thought my Roker xplor mso rear tire was giving me problems. After the Saluda Roubaix ride this weekend(rear tire was breaking loose) I took my bike to the LBS. Seems the rear stock wheel is loose and can be wobbled a good what looks to be 3/4" My mechanic said that the rear wheel needs repacked with grease to tighten it up. Is that normal for a stock wheel @ 1000 miles?
Thanks Zman
I think your mechanic may have misdiagnosed the problem. Repacking a hub suggests it has cup/cone loose bearings. I'm pretty sure the rear hub on the Roker Comp is an unmarked Novatec with cartridge bearings (not loose) and lack of grease wouldn't cause your wheel to wobble. My guess is that the end caps on your hub are loose and simply tightening them will fix the wheel wobble. All you need is two 17mm wrenches (or 2 adjustable wrenches). Take the wheel out, put a wrench on either side, snug it up and you should be good to go.
It's not unusual for that type of rear hub to work itself loose over time. I have almost 4000 miles on those wheels the bearings are still buttery smooth.
Hi Zman, squak is correct. The Roker is using Novatec hubs. One of the hubs we used was the D772SB. Novatec actually has an instruction video on Youtube for bearing replacement. I don't know if this is the hub that is on your bike, but it may be helpful.
I do agree with squak that the bearings shouldn't be repacked. If there is a problem with cartridge bearings you typically replace them with new ones.
Thanks Mark. At least I know now what was making my bike breaking loose(thought it was the tires) on the rear while somewhat flying down on the downhills. Getting some new race wheels for it in the next week. Is that what you had in mind for the Roker when you made it. Luvin the bike not so much on the 1x. Probably pm you some on ?'s on changing over to 2x. thanks
Hey Zman, Yup, what they said, LOL. Surprised you haven't gotten used to the 1X yet. I was 2X on my Roker for a long time and just recently built up a Noble GX3 (1X) and am really digging the 1X. To each his own though. If I go 2X again it will be with SRAM eTap AXS. 🙂
DPCX wrote:Hey Zman, Yup, what they said, LOL. Surprised you haven't gotten used to the 1X yet. I was 2X on my Roker for a long time and just recently built up a Noble GX3 (1X) and am really digging the 1X. To each his own though. If I go 2X again it will be with SRAM eTap AXS.
DP
I still think that the 1x is kind of ok when I am riding alone. Having the 2 Raleigh bikes the Tamland 1 which is 5 lbs heavier than the Roker and has the Shimano 2x with mechanical disk brakes and then the Roker with 1x. Riding with a group on the Roker I am shifting all over the place to try and ride with them. I also have a pretty tough climbing test for a gravel bike It's a 2 mile mt. climb at a solid 7-8% climb. I trashed my Garmin Edge 520 on my Roker and was waiting for a new one. I climbed the same mt. with the Tamland and it actually felt easier which is crazy. Might PM you to get some 2x thoughts.
Zman, I have the same roker comp as you. I have re-geared mine with a 38t absolute black oval chainring and an 11-46 sunrace rear cassette. I live in southern California and ride this bike predominately on the dirt and tackle some pretty steeps climbs. This bike is now a dream to ride after ditching the 42 chainring and the 11-42 cassette. You may not need to go this low on the gearing but it has certainly improved the climbing ability. I think once you get your chainring/rear cassette where you want it, you will enjoy the 1x much more. I hope this helps!
langdalek wrote:Zman, I have the same roker comp as you. I have re-geared mine with a 38t absolute black oval chainring and an 11-46 sunrace rear cassette. I live in southern California and ride this bike predominately on the dirt and tackle some pretty steeps climbs. This bike is now a dream to ride after ditching the 42 chainring and the 11-42 cassette. You may not need to go this low on the gearing but it has certainly improved the climbing ability. I think once you get your chainring/rear cassette where you want it, you will enjoy the 1x much more. I hope this helps!
Kerry
Kerry the biggest or one of the biggest problem I have with the Roker is the big jumps in the lower gears. When you are riding by yourself no problem. When you are riding with a group you are shifting all over the place to try and match their pace. Curious as to whether you paint on your bike dings easily mine sure does.
Yeah, I get the shifting all over the place. I have not noticed my paint chipping excessively, but I will probably need to inspect it a little more carefully next ride.
Zman - if you want a great deal on a Shimano Tiagra 2x setup I'm going to be redoing my Roker soon with an Ultegra 2x11 setup laying around in my garage. IMO the key advantages of the 2X setup are the gearing options (wide gearing with smaller jumps) and less energy lost due to friction (ref. Leonard Zinn's testing in other posts). My MTB and fat bike are 1x12 and I wouldn't consider going back to a 2X setup. But all my road and gravel bikes are 2X and similarly I don't see myself ever going to a 1X setup as either the range would be too small or the jumps too big - exactly what you're experiencing.
To the question of whether or not a Roker is a good "race bike"... IMO the key advantage of other high zoot (aka lotsa $$$) bikes is in the weight of the frame & fork. My guess is one can save a half pound or so...
The Roker is more flexible, longer chainstays and also in the fork with the longer rake. This is an advantage in that it absorbs and softens vibration -BUT- it will feel less "snappy" if sprinting. Over a long gravel race my belief is less vibration will make faster.
The Roker does have a longer more stable geometry. CX bikes are quicker but IMO still plenty stable for everything I've done. To be clear, none of the CX nor gravel bikes have anything approaching a "crit bike".
A shorter wheelbase, especially shorter chainstays, generally makes the bike feel a bit more snappy when sprinting but the tradeoff is the bumps will be more snappy as I mentioned above.
The components on the Roker are good and plenty functional, but here is where the high zoot bikes shine. Yes, for the additional $$$ you'll get lighter bars, seatpost, wheels, etc etc. If you're on a budget, IMO the best bang for the buck would be a (relatively) inexpensive CF bike like the Roker or the Jamis Renegade with a 105 2X setup. For the most performance for the buck, upgrading the wheels and cassette are generally the two most effective changes. Many carbon parts (bars, seatposts) are barely lighter than a good aluminum counterpart so it's possible to spend lots of $$$ with negligible effect. If one looks at the weight difference between Dura Ace and 105, it's not that significant.
