Svelte Cycles without comproise

Monday, July 21, 2008

Richard Sachs Team Issue. Round 3.

We are down to the wire now (pun).
Time to do the transmision and controls. Double Taps go on now.
I line them up proper and torque.
The seat tube is wiped clean with Simple Green before mounting. It's never a good idea to mount a clamp onto something dirty/greasy.
Mount that clamp on the front mech.

Looking sharp. This rig means business.
So many little fixtures on a Cross Bike. Here is the frame mounted rear brake cable adjuster lubed up and threaded in.

These pads come too long for the Sachs frame. We cut them for clearance.
Before.

After.Mount the pads loose on the Canti's ready for final adjustment.
Make sure the wheels are true before the brake adjust. Very important.
Hhhmmm. The rear wheel is sitting crooked yet the wheel itself is in dish and true. No way the frame is out of alignment... must be too much paint in the dropout. Where's that file?!
Bold move but that's why I make the Big Buck$. Problem Solved.
Cut.
Trim.
Open.
A few drops of lube down each opening for good measure.
Run it all together and adjust.


Cut to size.
Cap that cable with these.
Protect this frame! These guys case the cables that run along the top tube. No need to scratch that gorgeous Joe Bell paint job.
Here are some routing shots. When it comes to bikes I don't play games. That is premium brand electrical tape folks. Why get the cheap crap?
Note the front brake cable and housing goes over the stem for a smoother line to the front brake cable hanger.
Nothing says loving like a new cassette.
After the wheels are mounted and brakes are adjusted we bring the bike to life by adding it's chain. Sram chains use link connectors.
Shift is adjusted and all cable ends are capped with Spicy Road Tips.

Last step is to wrap the bars. I peel the foam backing off the "Off The Front" tape to give the rider a more positive feel when riding. This is a nice feature with this brand of tape and I give the "Off The Front" a big thumbs up.
P.S. Wrapping the bars... it should be done right as it represents the quality of the build in my opinion.

Up bright and early the following morning to get those first rays of sun.
Next up... The shipping process. We do it right. We don't use Trek Boxes and newspaper.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Richard Sachs Team Issue. The "Pro Assembly". Part Deux.

Now it's time to get the front end sorted. We went with a tried and tested Oval Concepts R700 Stem. 110mm fwiw.
As always, I grease the threads even though there is locktight on them. Old habits don't die.
I pull a 1" to 1"1/8 shim out of my bag of tricks.
Slide it all together and throw some temporary spacers on there just to hold it all in place.
The reverse face clamp bolts on the Oval Concepts stems are a bit of a p.i.t.a. come installation but they do make the front end appear that much cleaner.
We decided on the classic shape Oval Concepts bar in a 42cm c-c width.
Here I am holding the bar in place during installation.
For Cyclocross I tend to mount the bars tilted back ever so slightly, contrary to a road fit where I would run the drops of the bars parallel to the top tube (on a non-sloping frame).
Moving to the center frame fixtures of the bike, I reach for the GXP Bottom Bracket. I will grease the threads on this BB as I do with all English Threaded BB's. On Italian Threaded BB's i.e. Pegoretti's, Colnago's... I use locktight.
I get the cups started.
Pull out my outboard bearing BB tool.
A little work, then... SOLID.
Time to ditch this 53 for something a little more cross-sific.
Sram uses a 6m/5m bolt system on their cranksets.
Much better!
Slide it in.
Bolt it on.
Torque'er to spec.
Job well done!
Lube the brake posts.
Then the bolts.
"Them's the brakes."
Front.
Rear.
Next up... Double Tap!
TBC...