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Love Cycling, hate bikes.

(8 posts)
  • Started 10 years ago by Baldcyclist
  • Latest reply from ruggtomcat

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  1. Baldcyclist
    Member

    Got the new frame on Wednesday, and all the 'extra' bits I would need to transplant my current bikes bits over.

    Looking forward to getting stuck in this morning, had stripped the other bike of bits, and cleaned them all up lovely, and bike works had fitted my headset for me :)

    Get cracking, start off with the easy stuff. Saddle, handlebars, mudguards, rack.

    Saddle: seat clamp doesn't fit. Had tried to buy one with frame, Planet X didn't have one in stock and assured me mine would fit as seat post same diameter.

    Handlebars: bike works forgot to fit the bit of headset that goes onto the forks, so can't fit those, and size the steerer properly (Oh, and the bung cap has gone missing?).

    Mudgaurds: yay, those are on, but despite the frame supposedly being able to take up to 32mm mudgaurds they only fit with a bodge, which scratched the frame. :(

    Pannier rack: Needs adjusted, one side no problem. Other side the allen bolt is rounded (despite the fact no allen key has never touched it), 20 minutes of drilling still not out.

    Now for the harder stuff, bearing in mind none of the previous jobs are completely finished, mostly because they cant be.

    Brake callipers: they went on OK. :)

    Front mech: My mech is a 31.8, frame needs a 28.6. No worry bike works supplied a shim, nope doesn't fit.

    Rear mech: That went on. :) It's on it's last legs :(

    Bottom bracket :)

    Crankset: Wee plastic retainer screw cap thingmy threaded :(

    Cables: yep, we forgot the ferrules.

    So I have spent all day building a bike that is really no further on than when I started this morning.

    It's now in the bike works and I won't have it till Thursday, could tell by the glee etched over the mans face that he was loving every minute of my explaining my woes, and his sharp intake of breath through clenched teeth, whilst rubbing his chin £££s expression.

    meh! Will I ever get to the end of a year without spending >£1000 on bike bits?

    I'm sure when it is built, and running sweet as that all my grumpiness will disappear. At least i hope that's the case.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  2. wee folding bike
    Member

    It used to be said that all Campag worked with all Campag. I've not bought much Campag in the last 19 years so I don't know if that's still true.

    I think some of the mismatching is the price you pay for progress. Whether this progress is worth it or not is a different matter. Number 2 son seems to be having a great time with the Raleigh 20. I might need to get him a refurbed one. I've got a 1950s bike and most things for it are still easily available. Rims and tyres are an issue but I think they can still be found.

    One of the things I like about Bromptons is that there are a fairly small number of options for most things, outwith mad modders like Arellcat. I had a few mods done early on but now there is much less need since Schmidt make hubs the right width and the 6 speed transmission has almost the same range as the Schlumpf. Online shops like Brilliant or SJS have all the parts available in an easy to understand way. Even wee bits are available. I've got a mudguard stay anchor in its packet sitting on the bench in front of me. That's the bit which holds the stays onto the mudguard blade. I don't need to replace the mudguards, stays etc if only one bit is broken.

    I don't think I've ever got close to £1000 of parts in one year. The biggest thing on the horizon is a Schmidt hub for the S6L and that would be about £200. I've already got the lamp on an old frame.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  3. Baldcyclist
    Member

    Broken spoke on the way in. Bike works now have 2 of my bikes. Meh

    Posted 10 years ago #

  4. Greenroofer
    Member

    Bike fine when it went into the shed on Thursday night. Rear disc now contaminated with something and not braking at all. How could this happen after three days in a shed?

    It's not like I've been fettling it or anything, which is what usually causes my mechanical problems...

    Grrr

    Posted 10 years ago #

  5. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @greenroofer

    It's not unknown for bicycles to sulk when unused - mine used to unscrew bits of itself if I didn't ride it. Entropy is undoubtedly the most powerful factor in the universe.

    Let me know if you want me to bring in a large can of brake degreaser tomorrow.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  6. wingpig
    Member

    My Planet X-frame-transfer process back in February was a bit less fraught, but still far from smooth. There being no rear caliper brake bridge, I originally wanted to stick on a spare pair of cantis left over from a double-pair found in the Bike Station a couple of years ago of which only half was put onto my sparebike, but the second pair were so burred around the contact areas that they couldn't be tightened sufficiently to stay in the same place when braking. There being no frame-mounted end stop for the rear brake, I'd bought a wee Surly thing to dangle from the seat stay bolt but this was then unnecessary when I had to ditch the cantis and bought some mini-Vs. These worked out of the box until my wheel started wibbling at which point I got a Travel Agent to give me a bit of latitude in the event of the occurrence of an uneven rim. The original target front mech I'd found in the Bike Station was the right size but turned out to be a bit loose, though they had another of exactly the same type and size there the next day. My rear mudguard had been adapted to fit on my previous frame where it had to end at the rear brake, so a few more spare bits of old mudguard had to be spliced to join up with the weird mounting point between the seat stays and thence to the seat tube. I'd had to sacrifice my previous stem to get it off the steerer to enable the fork to be transferred and had fitted a longer stem I'd never previously got round to trying. The extra reach was comfy but the steering was way too weird, so I tried a slightly shorter stem, which still felt weird so I reverted to another the same size as the sacrificed one. My old rear mech fitted but had seized up somewhat during its week off the bike and would not spring back towards the sprockets, resulting in very little chain-sprocket interaction and lots of skipping. I had to shave a wee bit off the bottom of the rack stays to get them to fit around the weird swap-out-holding stay-ends. The bottom bracket and seatpost were the only non-wheel things which fitted without hassle, though I did have to pay an extra postage to get a seatpost clamp when no-one else turned out to have one the right size in stock.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  7. Baldcyclist
    Member

    I think my issue was really just lack of planning. I had assumed that I could just swap over all the parts in a day, and when nothing would go on as expected I kind of just got overwhelmed and spat out the dummy. I took it to the bike works because I thought I would get it back sooner, but have to wait till thursday anyway.

    In future, I will give it a week to swap over the bits, and just do one job a day. That way if there is a problem with a bit, it's only one problem to deal with and manageable.

    I'm internally fuming that I gave in and took it to the shop, but lesson learned. Also my £300 budget to do the swap is more like £500 now (maybe more, haven't done final arithmetic yet), when new seat post clamp, pannier rack, rear mech, cables, bar tape, headset, bar gel, brake pads, and other bits, and labour have been added on.

    I had planned to put bullhorn handlebars, and bar end shifters on it in a couple of months, but due to excess spend, and needing a new front wheel and lights, I'll have to put that back till next year.

    Posted 10 years ago #

  8. ruggtomcat
    Member

    Ive totally decided Im not a bike mechanic, and thier services are worth the price most of the time :)

    Posted 10 years ago #

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