Category: Bicycling

I’ve removed the wheels and taken them to Oswego Cyclery to have the spoke tension checked and trued. I couldn’t get the front hub to come apart so that I can clean, lube, and reassemnble it, so I decided to have the bike shop do it. I don’t have any experience with the Campy hubs and I didn’t want to break anything due to ignorance. I’ve ordered tubes, tires, and a chain so far. I need to find some hoods, these are worn through in a couple of places. I also ordered a BB tool so that I can remove the BB and service it.

There are some scratches on the rear derailleur that I’ll need to deal with, and because of those scratches I want to have the derailleur mount checked to be sure it’s not bent. The front derailleur looks fine, just needs a cleaning and lube. The brakes looks fine, but I will remove them and clean / lube them and reinstall.

I haven’t taken the fork out, but I will do that and check the headset bearings / races to see if replacement is necessary. if they’re OK, just cleaning and a relube should do it.

This is the right time of the year to do bicycle work, at least in the midwest. Hopefully this work will be long done when bicycling weather makes it’s 2013 debut. There may even be a maiden voyage before that if the opportunity presents itself.

No, it’s not a heist. It’s the dreaded period between installing a new Brooks saddle and the first ride where you don’t even realize you’re sitting on a bike. I’m somewhere in the middle and I hope I’m closer to the end than the beginning. It is better now than when I started, and I’ve been on a few longer rides of 40 miles or so without stops except at intersections. That may not be a long ride for some others, but it’s the longest I’ve taken in a number of years – and I’m not saying how many years.

What has helped the break-in process for me involves a soaking-wet washcloth. I removed the seatpost and saddle from the bike, turn it upside down, and place the wet washcloth in the area where your sitbones contact the saddle. Since it’s upside down, the washcloth is actually on the unfinished underside of the saddle.

There are folks that suggest soaking the entire saddle in neatsfoot oil, but I’m not doing that. Others suggest soaking the entire saddle in water, and that seems excessive as well. I’m sticking with the “soak where your sitbones contact the saddle” and that seems to be working.

I think a few more soak-then-ride sessions and I will find cycling’s nirvana. I’ll let you know.

I thought I had fixed the creak problem by using a drop of oil where the spokes cross, but that was only temporary. It came back and with a vengeance. I was riding with one of the guys that works at Oswego Cyclery,and he suggested that I take the saddle off the seatpost and put a thin film of grease on the rail clamps and on the saddle rails too, then reassemble it. Simon and Garfunkel nailed it – The Sounds of Silence. It’s been quiet ever since.

Thanks Billy, I owe you a pizza and a beer for that one.

OK, on the workstand, but you get the idea. The reason – a creaking noise that is driving me nuts.

Tracking these noises down is really frustrating. Bicycle frames are very good conductors of vibrations, so what you think is the source may not be the source. The creak I was trying to track down seemed to come from the bottom bracket. There is one internet source that claims Campagnolo doesn’t know how to build a bottom bracket and he’s come up with a fix for Campy’s Ultra-Torque bottom bracket creaks. If you do some additional research, you’ll find that most knowledgeable folks just ignore him and install it without any issues at all. I was pretty certain that I’d followed the directions but I disassembled it and reinstalled it just to be sure. No change, creaking like before.

OK, a little more diagnosis is needed. Does it creak when seated or when pedaling out of the saddle – both. The seat/saddle aren’t the cause. Does it creak when you are putting more weight on the left or right side of the handlebar? Yes, either way. That exonerates the handlebar, stem, and headset. Does it creak when cruising, sprinting, or coasting? A little, definitely, and a little. The last little was the big clue. If I’m not pedaling, the only moving parts are the hubs and wheels.

A little more digging found that sometimes you will get a creak because of the NDS spokes rubbing where they cross, presuming that the NDS side of the rear wheel is not laced in a radial pattern (some are). This is due to the loading and unloading of the spokes as the wheel rotates under you. I put a drop of Breakfree CLP where the NDS spokes cross and VOILA! creak cured. Not being a wheel builder (and if the truth be told, only a marginal wheel straightener), I didn’t know the huge difference in spoke tension between the drive side and the non-drive side. Maybe there is something to using a radial lacing pattern on the NDS.

Truth, or fiction?

…with a new saddle. Well, it was never actually dead or beyond resuscitation, just resting. The Adamo Typhoon wasn’t working on this frame with the different seat to handlebar reach, and the Selle SMP Plus wasn’t any better either. I, like you, have read about the mystique of Brooks saddles. The magic of a seat that hasn’t changed much in the one hundred years since it’s introduction does seem to say “We got it right the first time.” So I bit.

I ordered from www.wallbike.com, mainly because of their generous return policy. Competitive pricing and prompt shipping didn’t hurt either. The model I chose was the B17.S Select model. I installed it and went for a ride; adjusted the nose and rode it again; wash-rinse-repeat, you get the idea. The suggestion from Wall Bike was to loosen the tension about a half-turn, which gives the seat a little more hammock-like give. After a couple of hundred miles the suggestion is to put the tension back to the original amount.

So far, even without cycling shorts, it seems pretty comfortable. If the weather holds, I will take it out for a longer ride and see how it goes. My initial thoughts are positive, but I need more than a few miles to know.

Stay tuned…

For you Cannondale enthusiasts, here you go. The frame is a 2005 Cannondale CAAD 8. Campy Veloce, Boyd wheels.

This is my first build and I think it turned out very well.

 

This is the build sheet for my CAAD8 bike:

Frame: 2005 Cannondale CAAD8 (Sz 52)
Fork: Cannondale Slice Premium full carbon
Headset: FSA integrated
Seatpost: Fizik Cyrano 27.2 setback
Stem: Easton 3T, 6 degree, 100mm
Handlebar: 3T Ergosum carbon 44cm
Handlebar tape: Bontrager
Saddle: Brooks B17.S Select

Group: 2010 Campagnolo Veloce 10sp black
53/39 crank and 13-26 cassette
Ultra-Torque crankset
Ultra-Shift brifters
Pedals: Shimano XT PD-M785

Wheelset: Boyd Vitesse 24/28 (23mm width, 28mm depth)
Tires: Michelin Pro Race 3 Red 700c x 23

Stem spacers and seatpost clamp: Purely Custom
Chain: Wippermann Connex 10s0
Bottle cage: Bontrager

The bike is riding great, shifting is crisp and clean. The Wippermann/Connex chain shifts fine, so the (essentially-unremovable-once-installed) Campy chain is still in the box. The Connex connector is great and as far as I can tell has caused no shifting issues at all.

I’m very pleased with the way everything works, and as soon as I wrap the handlebars it will be done.

Now that the fork/headset/frame are assembled, I decided to install the BB cups and crank next. The BB cups went in fine, and the cranks were very simple too. The ultra-torque cranks are very easy to install, needing only a 10mm hex key and a torque wrench to install. And when I was done, they spun around just like cranks are intended to do.

Next came the brakes. The Campy brakes are dual-pivot, skeletonized (extra metal milled away) and fit properly the first time. With the internal nut, the mount is clean as well. Derailleurs followed. Now the most annoying part of the installation – the brake/shifter (brifter) levers. It was difficult to move the hood out of the way of the mounting bolt, but I got them on, lined up, and tightened down. The handlebar has marks across the bar to make it easy to get the levers mounted at the some point and that was a nice touch. Now I need cables and housings, and of course, wheels.

I opted to install the Michelin Race 3 tires next, and that was anti-climatic. I didn’t need levers to get them on, and a little powder on the tubes makes it even easier. The Boyd Vitesse wheels are really nice and they are 23mm wide and 28mm deep. I now have a rolling bike. It’s so much better than having to drag it around.

Stay tuned for the cable and housing part. It wasn’t so much fun to do as it would have been to watch.

Why does this sound like the beginning of Star Wars IV – a New Hope? I really hope it doesn’t take 6 full-length movies to get this done.

I found a really great deal on 3T carbon handlebars and an Easton alloy stem, so that’s the direction I went. They arrived and are just as the seller described – excellent condition. Whether the stem length is right or not is something I will have to determine by riding, but at least I have something to connect the handlebars to the steerer tube and I read somewhere that it’s not optional.

I ordered some Michelin Race 3 tires with red sidewalls, and they happened to be on sale. How often is something that you want for a build on sale? OK, I’m 1 for 725. Not bad. I got some tubes too, I hear they’re necessary.

I was checking out the headset bearings, and the crown race was pitted, probably from being ridden with the bearings loose. Well, it just seems dumb to build a bike and use the old pitted headset, so I ordered a replacement headset. Now the fun part of removing the old crown race. I have a crown race remover, but after using it I would say that it’s more of a crown race lifter. Don’t get me wrong, it lifted the race off the bottom of the steerer tube but not far enough to actually remove it from the steerer. Off to my friendly bike shop and within 3 minutes of walking in the door the old race was off and the new one was in. Good folks at Oswego Cyclery in Oswego, Illinois.

Now the headset can be assembled, spacers put on, and the top cap tightened to set the bearing preload. Then clamp the stem and I’ve actually begun. I wasn’t sure I’d get to this point, but recognizing that I’m not in a hurry and that I have another bike to ride gives you a different perspective on the build of a new bike.

At least, it did for me.

Now that the Bianchi is road-worthy, it’s time for the next project. A road bike, with a reasonably current frame, groupset, wheels, pedals, etc. Ultimately, the frame may be replaced with a different one – it could be carbon fiber (but probably not), or it could be a vintage lugged steel frame (much more likely).

But for now, the frame is a Cannondale CAAD8. It’s BBQ (flat black) with the full carbon premium Slice fork. In excellent shape, this should be a good starting point for the build.

The groupset is a 2010-11 full Campagnolo Veloce in black. I wanted the ultra-shift brifters, and the ultra-torque cranks and this was the best way for me to get those components.

I chose Boyd Vitesse wheels with 24F and 28R spoke counts.

The seatpost is an Alloy Fizik Cyrano, and the saddle is a Selle SMP Pro.

Here’s what I still need to decide on:

1. pedals
2. stem
3. handlebar

I’m going to stay with SPD-compatible pedals so that I don’t need to buy shoes AND pedals. I’m not racing the TDF, so the fact that they’re not purely road pedals is unimportant to me.

Once the Bianchi is completely dialed-in, I will take some measurements and that should take care of the stem decision.

If things progress as expected, I should be taking the first ride sometime in April or May. Since I’ve never built a bike from components, this will be a learning experience along the way.

Follow along, and we’ll see how it goes.