Just a wee naive question; you used tyre levers to fit the tyre right?
Nein! Well, not really. Mostly a combination of hands, squeezing the tyre around the whole rim frequently, cursing, and tears. I’d always read that you should be able to fit a tyre without resorting to levers. Having said that, I did give the levers a go late on in the piece out of desperation and then gave up on them.
Some tyres are just really hard to get on without levers. It also depends on the rim bead width and height etc. There’s no reason to not use them properly
I’ve pinched more tubes using levers to put tyres on, IDK I just use my palms coz scared
Yeah, but if it won’t go on with hands, just use levers eh.
Day 4, Thursday September 10
Some more progress today! This is what I was able to add:
- KMC Z410 chain, from CRC
- Shimano PD-R540 pedals with a mega-funky splatter paint job, courtesy AL9000
- Tektro 926AL Mini-V brakes, from Le Tour Cycles when they had some really cheap stuff going
- Elite Custom bottle cage for added lightness, from CRC
Fitting the chain led to some doubts, thankfully fixed with some advice from you kindly folk here:
http://www.fixed.org.au/forums/showthread.php?t=36080&p=627641
Having come from the world of ancient Shimano cantilever brakes on my MTB/commuter, I was amazed at how easy it was to adjust the brakes to get them straight on the rim. I will adjust them properly including setting some toe-in.
I am unjustifiably surprised as to how easy the build has come together, and now it seems I just need to cable the brakes up, wrap the bars, and I’m done. I might also put that other Gatorskin on the front now that my hands have recovered. Oh, and maybe some Longboards…
Some pics…
Chain fitted, wheel sitting nicely in the middle of fork end. I can get the chain and wheel off easily. Thanks for the tips!
Brakes good to go:
Splatter pedals:
All together, including bottle cage:
How wide are those bars - how tall are you, and how wide are your shoulders? - they look way out of proportion relative to the frame size. Although that might just be the angle of the photo.
agreed. @eraser are you going to get some flat pedals with straps?
Mouche: They are 42cm centre to centre, as per the link below:
http://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/16771/how-is-the-width-of-drop-bars-measured
I believe these bars are a pretty standard size, right? I think the photo just skews the proportions a bit. It also makes the handlebars look like they are angled up more than what they are.
I’m a pigmy at 166cm and have proportionately sized shoulders.
Fixiechampion: I bought those pedals specifically for this purpose. The bike will see the majority of its action as a commuter, and I am comfortable enough using regular shoes with SPD-SL pedals for short trips. Any reason why this would be an issue?
Not at all, I think points of contact are very personal i.e. Saddle, pedals, bars. So if that works for you, go for it.
Day 5, Monday September 21
Almost there!
- Taped cable housing to bars… repeatedly!
- Cut cables and cable housings to length, poorly
- Fitted and adjusted the brakes, using the nifty but ugly adjustable noodles I bought from Ebay
Issues/challenges:
- Several of the cable housing cuts weren’t as neat as I would like. I will take to them with a metal file and see if I can tidy them up a bit more
- Messed up taping the housings to the bars a few times and had to refit
- Should I be putting a ferrule on the end of the housing that goes into the brake lever? Why or why not? I put one in for the rear brake on a whim. I of course have ferrules for each of the braze ons on the frame.
- Do you really need to make the housing for the rear brake long enough to be able to turn the handlebars ALL the way until they hit the top tube? Seems pointless to me, so I didn’t follow this guideline
- Front brakes feel great, but the rears feel squishy. I will check the pad alignment, tidy the cable housings, and see if improves. Otherwise I might need some advice.
All taped up:
Front cable bend radius:
Rear cabling tidy, but the brake arms have to bend quite far for the pads to reach the rims:
Reasonable looking cable taping:
Front cable bend looks good.
Ferrule on end of brake housing, yes, prevents a bit of compression in the housing and gives a nice flat end.
Never bothered with having enough housing fro bars to hit the top tube, seems redundant as you’re never going to ride the bike like that. Always gone with enough slack to allow me to turn the bars normally without any restriction.
Re; ferrule into levers / brakes / stops, some do, some don’t, don’t jam one in where it isn’t meant to go or it’ll be wedged hard.
Test fit a cleanly cut piece of housing, if it seats firmly, you’re good, if it’s a little loose, add a ferrule.
^^^ My approach with all cable stops, including levers. ^^^
That front run looks perfect. To me, that rear one looks a bit short (last picture, looking at the outer leaving the bars and going to the top tube). I find the bend usually matches the bend in the front cable pretty closely. Can you turn the bars more than 90 degrees to the right?
Shifterbikes on Instagram is a good source for cable run perfection eh.
Thanks for the tips all! I’ll do the following:
- Double check that I can turn at least 90 degrees to the right. IIRC the answer is yes.
- Untape housing from bars
- Tidy up all cable housing ends (borrowed a metal file from my neighbour)
- Test fit
- Put ferrules in levers if needed
- Re-tape
- Investigate rear brake squidginess as needed
I had been looking at Shifterbikes on Insta in the last few days. All so tidy!
FWIW, I cut cables and outers with these. Sometimes I’ll use a bench grinder to clean up the ends, and I have a sharpened spoke to stick down the guts to open it all up.
WestToastPete, that looks very similar to a regular housing cutter, right? I don’t have a well equippped workshop so i will have to live with using a metal file to clean up the ends, and a jeweller’s screwdriver to open them up.
Here’s a neat way to tape up the cables prior to bar tape: http://www.fixed.org.au/forums/showthread.php?t=11349&p=494549&viewfull=1#post494549
It prevents the housing from moving under your bar tape which makes your bar tape unstick and unravel.
Looks like it yes, but I’ve found these stay sharp and cut well repeatedly. My Park ones wore out really quickly.
Metal file and screwdriver is fine, and I’ve done it plenty. I used to hold the file still and move the outer. And you don’t need to flare out the ends, just make sure they’re round and patent.