I’ve been using the 1×9 drivetrain for about two months, and it’s time for some updates.  I finally got around to weighing the Eriksen and the overall weight dropped from a 3×9 10.9kg to the now 1×9 10.3kg.

The new Chain Keeper chain guide was initially jamming and rubbing.  I tired realigning the guide with no success, and even resorted to riding with no chain guide.  The chain dropped fairly frequently without a guide, so I continued tweaking the Chain Keeper until I finally found a position that worked.  That was about a month ago and I haven’t had any issues since.

Last weekend I rode the 1×9 Eriksen io an XC race in very muddy, wet and cold conditions.  Despite riding though clay, deep mud and hub-deep “puddles” the chain didn’t suck or jam.  The drivetrain worked perfectly throughout my near three-hour race.  Three hours in those conditions without a single sucked chain would have been a miracle with the 3×9 or even 2×9 drivetrain.  Being very happy with drivetrain, the only change I’m likely to make is to swapping the aluminum XT 32t ring for a stainless steel 32-34t ring.  Swapping the 11-32t cassette for a one with a 34t cog is also a possibility, but I’m not convinced it’s necessary.

Based on my experience, I’d definitely recommend giving 1×9 a try, although you may want to consider appropriate gearing for the terrain you ride.  The Chain Keeper is the only 1×9-specific component I’ve used, and it seems to be a reasonable, though pricey chain guide.  Aside from the touchy setup and alignment, the only other issue I’ve found with the Chain Keeper is the placement of the mounting hardware.  The allen bolts on the Chain Keeper are aligned parallel to the downtube, and as a result, they are difficult to access.  This wouldn’t necessarily be an issue on a frame with a smaller diameter downtube, but it would likely be an issue with most.  I’ve found that neither my trail-friendly multi-tool or T-handled allen wrenches work.  A small L-shaped allay key does work, but that means I have to carry one more tool when I ride.

That’s all for now.  I have another XC race in a couple weeks –Hopefully this time the trails will be a little drier.

In the previous iPad post I mentioned this case design.  Here’s my version.  The procedure is documented fairly well on the linked page, so I’ll just cover the highlights.  I used the same basic plans, but changed most of the materials.  My materials list includes:

• 3.0mm MDF
• Cotton fabric, black
• 13mm elastic, black
• Felt, A4, ruby (dark red)
• PVA glue, spray adhesive, fabric cement

I started off cutting the 3.0mm MDF into two 20 x 25cm covers and a 2.5 x 25cm spine.  I rounded the corners of the covers with both clamped together so the covers would match.  Behind the covers you’ll notice that trash server now has a display.  Sanding MDF makes a lot of dust, so having a garage computer was useful during the case build.

Back to the case:  I glued the cotton fabric to the covers and spine with spray adhesive.  The spacing between the covers and spine is 3.0mm; I used some scrap MDF to align the pieces.  The cotton fabric that I chose has the weight and texture of light canvas or perhaps a cheap suit.

After the glue set I wrapped the fabric around the covers and attached the flaps with PVA glue.  I pressed the cover for about 30 minutes before continuing to the next step.  The next step, pictured above, was to punch the cover for the elastic band using the 2.5cm spacing recommended in the original article.  For this I used a my split-window-bus-door-hinge-removing flat blade screw driver and a hammer.  After threading the elastic through the back cover, it was further secured using fabric cement.

Skipping ahead, I have the elastic bands for iPad retention attached with staples and fabric cement to a piece of card stock/cereal box, which is in turn adhered to the back cover with PVA.  The dark red felt is attached to the inside of the covers/spine with spray adhesive.  The felt is cut to allow the elastic bands to pass through.  There is a seam between the felt (above) and a piece not pictured.  The seam is small, but it would be visible if not covered by the iPad.  The fully assembled case was pressed under the considerable weight of a phone book, 4.5 kg box of economy laundry detergent,  a bike repair manual and a short length of railroad track.

Here is the finished product.  Above you will see the case open with the iPad mounted.

Here the case acts as a convenient stand.

Finally, the case can be used to angle the iPad slightly towards (or I suppose away) from you.

Overall, the case turned out well.  However, I’m going to make one change next time. –Yes, there will be a next time as I have stacks of MDF, fabric and adhesives.  The felt liner has a larger margin at the top and bottom due to the A4-sized sheets; seams in the felt would have been visible if the felt was aligned in the other direction.  The solution is obviously a larger sheet of felt.  Fortunately, I found a local shop with rolls of felt available by the meter, though not in this nice dark red.

I estimate the total cost of materials in this case around $3-5 AUD.  The purchase price of all the materials was closer to $30 AUD with a significant remaining surplus of everything but the felt and elastic.