Have you built your own bike from a bare frame? I need advice.
- Thread starter hashde
- Start date
hashde said:
i actually am serious. the time consumed gluing tubies has never been the reason people i know don't use them on a regular basis. neither has any question on the proper technique.
if you're throwing your tubulars away after a flat, rather than repairing them (which is a royal PITA), that can add up, dollars-wise. tubulars aren't gonna get snake-bite/pinch flats, but are still as prone to punctures as clinchers.
i've used tubulars in the past, but only for racing, for this very reason.
drewski said:
http://www.tirealert.com/
Besides, I get the ones that are on sale, like the 5 year old Clement's I just got for $20.00 each.
boudreaux said:
I don't see what the concern is for the BB either. Thread the thing on by hand the first time and you'll see if you need the shell to be prepped further. A lot of places that sell frames will tell you that it's been prepped properly and ready to install the BB.
Buy a $25 3/8 torque wrench from Park or Sears to get in the right torque range. Sears doesn't sell the 1/4" drive torque wrench so I bought that one from Park. Actually, considering the force I used on the last BB I put in (with a handle some 18" from the bolt head), I think you'd have to push really hard on a normal 3/8 ratchet to get to that torque.
Overtorqueing doesn't seem to buy you anything here.
As someone who has stuffed up a bottom bracket twice, and thereafter taken them on and off many times, I am in a reasonable position to give advice. The first time i took one off and replaced it, i didn't tighten the lockring adequately and it worked loose, killing its soft alloy thread in the process. The second time, i overtightened the flanged ring and the flange broke off after some months of use (the bottom bracket was still solid, so i suppose this wasn't a "stuff up", but i had to remove my crank to get the noisy flange off the axle).
So hand tighten (only) the flanged ring and tighten the lockring adequately with a torque wrench to the specified level.
As soon as you learn common sense, BBs are trivially easy.
Headsets, however, are a different matter. Particular tools are needed to ensure that the races go on parallel. If i were building a bike, i'd get the LBS to install the headset races.
So hand tighten (only) the flanged ring and tighten the lockring adequately with a torque wrench to the specified level.
As soon as you learn common sense, BBs are trivially easy.
Headsets, however, are a different matter. Particular tools are needed to ensure that the races go on parallel. If i were building a bike, i'd get the LBS to install the headset races.
Actually, I'd make the same argument for the 'headset race' - you mean the fork crown race, I guess? There's a $15 slide hammer you can buy to install that, and that's what the store will probably charge you. How can that one be done incorrectly? You drive it down until it's completely flush with the fork crown.
I think headsets are another area people think is black magic. Nashbar has a tool that you can find for around $50-60 (couponed) for installing the bearing cups, which is probably not much more than a shop will charge you. THey have a $10 tool for the star nut. Other than that, if one ever intends to travel, you'll have to have the same knowledge of headset adjustment to tilt the bars and reset the tension afterward with the star nut cap. Everything here takes about 15-20 minutes on a new frame/new fork (more if cutting the steerer) from scratch to having a fork and stem and bars installed.
If one has an integrated headset, it's even simpler.
It seems to me there are only two things that are too cost prohibitive (and usually unnecessary) for the home mechanic: facing the steerer tube and ensuring proper threads in the BB shell. As mentioned before, that's not even always necessary.
I think headsets are another area people think is black magic. Nashbar has a tool that you can find for around $50-60 (couponed) for installing the bearing cups, which is probably not much more than a shop will charge you. THey have a $10 tool for the star nut. Other than that, if one ever intends to travel, you'll have to have the same knowledge of headset adjustment to tilt the bars and reset the tension afterward with the star nut cap. Everything here takes about 15-20 minutes on a new frame/new fork (more if cutting the steerer) from scratch to having a fork and stem and bars installed.
If one has an integrated headset, it's even simpler.
It seems to me there are only two things that are too cost prohibitive (and usually unnecessary) for the home mechanic: facing the steerer tube and ensuring proper threads in the BB shell. As mentioned before, that's not even always necessary.
artemidorus said:
Perhaps i've been duped by the shamans too! Actually, i did once pull the fork crown race off to rotate it, after it started to pit, and tapped it back down with hammer and screwdriver- it then functioned fine for another 7 years or so-but i had been led to believe since then that my success was a fluke.
Can others confirm that it really is cheap, easy and foolproof (within limits, i mean
) to install or reinstall a headset, or parts thereof?
Can others confirm that it really is cheap, easy and foolproof (within limits, i mean
) to install or reinstall a headset, or parts thereof?
artemidorus said:Perhaps i've been duped by the shamans too! Actually, i did once pull the fork crown race off to rotate it, after it started to pit, and tapped it back down with hammer and screwdriver- it then functioned fine for another 7 years or so-but i had been led to believe since then that my success was a fluke.
Can others confirm that it really is cheap, easy and foolproof (within limits, i mean
It is pretty easy, but a good head-set press is pretty expensive, as is a good quality "race basher", so I usually just go to the shop to borrow the "basher", and often just whack the cups in with a rubber mallet and/or a piece of soft wood -- ok, I don't do it on my good frames.
Here's an FYI.
If you don't have a bike stand and you do have a wind trainer, you're in good shape. (Or borrow your buddies trainer)
I have an old 8 foot banquet table that I set the frame on, in the wind trainer. It really is easy to work on and at the right height. Stable also. You can adjust the rear derailer with ease, route cables...etc.
Good luck with your assembly and enjoy your new mount !
If you don't have a bike stand and you do have a wind trainer, you're in good shape. (Or borrow your buddies trainer)
I have an old 8 foot banquet table that I set the frame on, in the wind trainer. It really is easy to work on and at the right height. Stable also. You can adjust the rear derailer with ease, route cables...etc.
Good luck with your assembly and enjoy your new mount !
A screwdriver and hammer definitely aren't what you want to install a race. But pitting on a race isn't really possible now, at least with Cane Creek and Chris King headsets (cartridge style).
Here are some of these tools mentioned before:
Press ($75 right now -- it's been less)
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?sku=11138
(Star nut installer - $9)
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?sku=10531
(Crown race installed - $23-- you can find this cheaper at other places)
http://harriscyclery.net/site/page.cfm?PageID=49&SKU=TL4285
Look around and find a coupon or wait for a sale!
There are some other links online for people that have come up with more creative solutions for these tools. Finding a tube to simulate the crown race slide hammer wasn't easy, but the one above isn't expensive enough to justify the search. Park also has more premium versions of these that are around 50-100% more.
About $70 total for everything (if you follow that last advice). How much does a shop charge? Probably $15 for the race, $40 for the headset, and $20-30 for the stem/bars? Then they'll happily overcharge you 100% for the headset, too. And 2-300% for a stem that's the same weight as something $10-30 online. Same for handlebars that are $20-30 online. The list goes on and on.
Here are some of these tools mentioned before:
Press ($75 right now -- it's been less)
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?sku=11138
(Star nut installer - $9)
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?sku=10531
(Crown race installed - $23-- you can find this cheaper at other places)
http://harriscyclery.net/site/page.cfm?PageID=49&SKU=TL4285
Look around and find a coupon or wait for a sale!
There are some other links online for people that have come up with more creative solutions for these tools. Finding a tube to simulate the crown race slide hammer wasn't easy, but the one above isn't expensive enough to justify the search. Park also has more premium versions of these that are around 50-100% more.
About $70 total for everything (if you follow that last advice). How much does a shop charge? Probably $15 for the race, $40 for the headset, and $20-30 for the stem/bars? Then they'll happily overcharge you 100% for the headset, too. And 2-300% for a stem that's the same weight as something $10-30 online. Same for handlebars that are $20-30 online. The list goes on and on.
artemidorus said:Perhaps i've been duped by the shamans too! Actually, i Can others confirm that it really is cheap, easy and foolproof (within limits, i mean
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