After installing the fork and headset on my new Santa Cruz V-10 build, it was time to install the drivetrain. I started off by adding a bit of grease to the bottom bracket cups. Following the well-illustrated SRAM guide, I placed the correct spacers for the Truvativ bottom bracket width and used a proper bottom bracket tool and a torque wrench to set everything up. The cups went into place with little fuss. Just remember to torque the cups down using a torque wrench.

The chain guide, also from SRAM (Truvativ), was next. Setting a chain guide for the first time can take a bit of work. The key is to align the guide pulley to the chain ring. This is accomplished using the included spacers, which fit between the ISCG tabs and the chain guide. Follow the directions from the manufacturer for further details: they are generally easy to follow with many small steps. The trick with the guide set-up is to make sure the angle you choose is as close to touching the rear suspension as you can get (unless you have an elevated rear chainstay). You can also align the taco (chain retention device that replaces the front derailleur) in an 11 – 12 o’clock position. Then install the crank, torque it down, and you’re mostly ready to go in front.

Rear Derailleur Installation

After attaching the shifter, the rear derailleur installation comes next, along with the cable routing. With the cable in hand, you want to have gentile bends in the line. No sharp kinks or excessive amounts of cable that can (and will) snag on stationary object (trees/bushes). On a DH bike you are limited in steering, so the length needed is shorter than most people think. A slight bulge in the cable at the derailleur and a gentle curve of cable at the shifter is about where you want to be in length. That is enough to keep the cable ends seated nicely in the shifter barrel, and the cable stop on the derailleur. Using a good quality cable is a great idea here: I used SRAM SlickWire cables, seeing that the bike uses a full-length housing that reduces the risk of  contamination from dirt and moisture. This is critical based on the environment that DH bikes operate in.

Setting the stops on the derailleur properly is key. SRAM wants the derailleur’s top pulley to be a half gear-width offset (towards the derailleur hanger side), on the high end. On the low end, set the derailleur so that the top cog on the cassette is in line with the idler pulleys on the derailleur. The new DH derailleur from SRAM can now have its “B” screw adjusted properly so that it is the correct tension and distance away from the cassette (a small issue with my previous set up on my Banshee). Once I set the limits, I installed the chain and shift cables (for further info on these check out our articles on Derailleur Adjustment and Chain Installation).

Coming soon: cockpit configuration and brake installation.

This article illustrates how to remove an internal-cup ISIS bottom-bracket. With the proper tools, this job will take at the very most 10 minutes, given a bike that has been well taken care of. I say again, this is a walk-through for removal of INTERNAL BEARING BOTTOM BRACKETS.

Not illustrated is the removal of the chain. Though not completely necessary, I like to remove it as it would otherwise pull on the front derailleur cage.

The first step is to obtain the proper tools. A good beginning toolkit is one similar to this:

The three specific tools needed for this job are a hex-key,

a crank-puller,

and a bottom-bracket cup remover.

Now, remove the crank end caps with your hex-key. This will expose the threads for installing the crankarm removal tool.

Next, install the crankarm removal tool, and use a 15mm wrench or socket to tighten the puller. This will pull the crankarm off the bottom-bracket splines.

Good, your crankarms are removed from the bottom-bracket spindle. Again, this walk-through is only good for internal-cup bottom-brackets!

NOTE: This bike is equipped with a chainguide. For our purposes here, I’ll skip the removal and installation of this part.

Install the bottom-bracket cup removal tool into the splined interface.

NOTE: On the right side of the bracket shell, the threads will be reversed, so “lefty-loosey, righty-tighty” will not work here. This is to keep the bearing cups from walking out of the bottom-bracket shell under power! Keep that in mind, so if you’re trying to loosen up a bearing cup and it won’t budge, try turning it the other way. There should not be that much torque put on any of these fasteners.

There! You’re done!

When reinstalling your bottom-bracket, make sure you use a quality lock-tite compound on all the threads of any component you removed in this process. Reinstallation is the exact opposite of what is written here.

NOTE! When reinstalling the bottom-bracket cups, do not over-tighten! Pay attention to the instructions that came with your new bottom-bracket, or look online for the proper torque specs. Overtightening can cause the bearings to bind, which will lead to galling and catastrophic failure.