More Progress, and....Another Stopping Point!

The fork was sawed; I left it slightly long as a precaution - about 3/4" beyond the stem. It should give me ample range for stem placement, and I can always have it cut down more should I decide to in the future. (I read up on this and found that the star nut can be pushed down with the proper tool. This would be another bike shop job.) I need more spacers (keep using them on other bikes) but some are on the way. It is getting hard to find alloy (not carbon) headset spacers, but I sort of prefer the look of the plain black, especially as the aero set up is all flat black.

I purchased mountain cables (for the Cane Creek TT brakes) and ferrules (probably not enough I determined late in the day, but that doesn't really matter as I'll detail shortly) but LBS did not have 60 mm presta valve tubes (sold out and it doesn't appear that there is great demand). The best deal on tubes I continue to find at Bike Tires Direct where I made an order this a.m. (Great prices/selection on tires, too!) One of the reasons I went with Clinchers (the main one was unfamiliarity with tubulars) was the perceived cost savings on tires/tubes versus tubular tires. I am beginning now to wonder about that, even given what I think is a good deal on the tubes and a pretty good deal on my tires (Vredstein Fortezza). I am glad I got the 38 mm rims and not the 48 mm which I assume would take 80 mm valves which are really expensive and not that common, making tubular tires look yet more cost effective, especially if they don't flat very often. I guess now the main argument I can find against tubulars is the question about adhesive working with carbon rims (that Zinn speaks about in the most recent edition of his book) but I haven't kept up on this and don't know what the present thinking is about gluing tubulars to carbon. (There is also the issue of pricey brake pads for carbon rims, too). Bottom line is that I would not be quite so set against a tubular wheelset if I had it all to do over again.
I purchased two valve extenders at the LBS (have hated these in the past!) after I was convinced that the metal ones are better than the plastic ones I used to use and that judicious application of plumbing/pipe tape will secure the extenders. The point of tubes, of course, is so I can mount the tires (in fact, they are 'half mounted' at this point) and fit the wheels to adjust the brakes. You might note, however, in the photo above that only the rear brake is shown. That is due to the fact that I discovered last last night (hours after the LBS closes down not to open again until Tuesday a.m.) that I need an extra long (22 mm) brake nut which apparently doesn't come standard with the brakes (at least it didn't with mine). This is due to the width of my fork (which is about the same width as any carbon fork used on any bike these days..). This part costs $7.99 and won't be here until Wed or so (purchased along with some other odds and ends from Excel Sports, who have been quick, reliable and seem to carry many of the unanticipated necessities. So I can wire one brake partially maybe (miscounted how many housing ferrules will be needed), I can finish the derailleurs (and if I put on the valve extenders, wheels and chain, can work on the shifting) and it is still (today) pretty cold outside (32) although I have a commitment for the bulk of this afternoon and really quite a bit of schoolwork to get to. Spring break (mid March) as a completion date is unfortunately again beginning to look more realistic. And I can always ride my road bike for the late March short duathlon I have planned.
On the positive side, I am quite pleased with the look of the integrated headset despite my apprehension about using one. It is ironic to me that the 5-6 year old frame I was determined to use ended up being a very early use of this technology. But I think it looks neater and sleeker than a standard threadless with caps, and doesn't interfere with the paint job between frame and fork. Also it probably makes my bike look 'newer' as integrated appears to be state of the art these days and was not in 2000-2001.
A surprise to me is how much noticeable weight the aero bar/base bar set up adds to the bike.
I had thought riding with clip ons in the past that I descended faster because the bike was so front heavy. No wonder people get fanatical about saving weight on TT bikes - it reminded me of the feeling of lifting a light bike before and after putting two full 24 oz fluid bottles and a seat bag packed with tools on it.
The more I look at shifters, the more of them I see that are right-side up (the way I put mine on) including a Cervelo at the LBS for service yesterday. Maybe some people have been looking at the directions upside down.
More to come later or tomorrow, including my promised but still unwritten 'rant' about pedals....

Bar End Shifters - Upside Down???

As I was in the process of installing the bar end shifters, I realized that they didn't look quite 'right' to me. Referring back to a catalog showing an built up Cervelo Dual, I noted that the shifters on that photo were pointed up. (I looked on the Cervelo website and found only pix of frames). I also recalled seeing other people ride bike with the shifters going up. I started a web search and I won't bother placing the links as I don't know that many of them will be valid for long, but I found shifters placed both ways on various brands of bikes. Most, based on my search, are pointing downward, like mine, which I believe is the technically 'correct' way. (Park tools backs me on this; and the Shimano lettering is facing the correct direction.) I have to admit that I haven't watched the pros that closely (or even noted how racks of TT bikes look in triathlons) to see what the 'norm' is. I will be looking at this from now on with more interest. I honestly do not know which will be easier to use. I have a feeling that it has as much to do with what you get used to as anything. And, I made the transition from twist shifter (Schwinn Sierra hybrid) to brake/thumb trigger (Shimano Sora/Tiagra) to brake/beside the lever (105; Ultegra; Dura Ace) without any difficulty, so I tend to think I can get used to about anything within reason. (I still regularly alternate between Sora and Dura Ace shifters.)
The drilling on my aero bars does make a variety of alignments possible. I could possibly even flip the extensions themselves (twisting the cables a little perhaps) if I wanted to try out the 'other way' without rerouting the cables. For this reason, I may wait until after a couple of rides before taping the bars or extensions.
I don't monitor bike forums or the like regularly, so I don't know what the thinking is on direction of the shifters. I will be keeping an eye out for more information about this, though. I should be getting some stuff together with the help of the local bike shop today (they are closed on Sunday/Monday) so I can make more progress on this.

Finally Back!

The integrated headset has been in my possession for weeks now, but I didn't get back to work on the bike until yesterday. I've been too busy with schoolwork and trying to keep to some sort of a training/workout schedule to have any 'spare' time. I also took a look at the crown race and the fork and it appeared that it wasn't going to go on smoothly; that made it easier for me to put off working on the bike.
When I finally did start knocking at the crown race with a very reasonably priced crown race tool, it went on in about 45 seconds. "Installing" an integrated headset was easier than working with a regular threadless; the cartridges fit in the ends of the headtube. Unlike lots of other parts, the Cane Creek IS integrated headset had great and explicit directions.

In the meantime, another member of the household bought a Fetish frame, Campy (mostly Centaur) groupo, at the Excel Sports Custom Bike Configurator Record bar end shifters, and Richey aero bars, and made some progress. In fact, because the fork was already sized, the Fetish may well be finished before my Schwinn (I'm hoping to get the fork cut tomorrow.)

The Campy groupo has the "Ultra Torque" combination crank and bottom bracket (which required the purchase of another tool). As I'm considering changing over my road bike from Dura Ace 9 speed to Campy (I guess it is a matter past consideration since I already bought Campy compatible wheels) I am interested to see how the "Ultra Torque" will work out.

The Campy bar end shifters didn't seem to be quite as easy to work with as the Shimano. (I didn't actually work on or really watch the installation of the Campy.) There is a real lack of information about putting together a triathlon/time trial set up on a bike, based on my searching. None of the bike repair guides we have cover it in detail, and I didn't find much on the web, other than, of course, on the Park Tools website which actually shows a photograph of bar end shifters on aero bars here. And they appear to be the Dura Ace. (Directions which came with the product were minimally helpful and did not show any illustrations other than installation on the ends of drop handlebars.)

The Cane Creek TT aero brake levers have presented a couple of challenges. Getting the rubber 'thumb cap' off without using a flat-head screwdriver (that put a couple of minor scratch marks on the black paint) didn't appear possible. Upon reading the directions (I had all of the parts in a box until I was ready to start building), I (we, the Fetish's builder, too) realized that I/we don't have the proper brake cables as these require mountain (barrel shaped) rather than road. Housing and ferrules may also need to be purchased. I personally would have been happy to pay $10-$20 more for the brake set if it had included cables, etc. One very positive thing I can state about the Dura Ace bar end shifters is that they came with the appropriate accessory materials - cables, housing, casing stoppers and the little plastic cable router that goes underneath the bottom bracket (Campy Record bar end shifters, at about twice the price of the Dura Ace, did NOT come with the last item mentioned - one is one its way via 2nd day air from Bike Nashbar; cost of the item was $1.85.) Back on the subject of the Cane Creek brake levers - I tend to think that these type of products should come with the other necessary accessories, especially when they require something non standard, like, for instance, mountain bike cable.

With any luck, the local bike shop will be able to set us up with cables, housing, ferrules, etc., tomorrow. As mentioned earlier, despite my thoughts of getting the bike mostly put together before determining the steerer tube sizing, I'm going to make a determination of length, and probably err a little on the long side, and have it cut so I can go ahead and put everything together without worrying about having to take things back off to get to the fork. I also discovered today that we have no tubes with 60mm stems which is what I need for my wheels to avoid using valve extenders (which I really dislike). So hopefully the LBS will have at least a pair of those too, so I will be able to install the wheels to fit the brakes.

Bad (cold!) weather is in part responsible for my renewed efforts on this bike project, as well as a holiday break for the university (Monday and Tuesday off for Mardi Gras) unique to this part of the country. I also have a plan to race in a short, small duathlon at the end of March and would really like to have some ride time on this bike before that, weather permitting. (Spring break is in middle March; but if I don't get the bike done until then I'll have pretty limited training time on it.)

We are far enough south to be out of the killer bitter cold, but, as far as I'm concerned, there isn't too much difference between temps in the teens (or lower) and temps in the 20s (as we've had here); I'm not that inclined to bike much in either. I've done some early morning riding (just a couple of miles) during the past few weeks and on two occasions found that my most extreme weather gear ('claw' gloves with liners, thermal tights; layered balaclavas and ski goggles) was barely warm enough. This, I remind myself, is why I have a trainer. This is also why I don't have any plans of moving in a northward direction anytime soon....

With any luck, I will be back to some regular bike working (and blogging). Still to come, my thoughts on pedal systems, progress on the Schwinn and the Fetish, and whatever else pops in my head...