i'm excited

[scotto]

after replacing a busted 9sp tiagra shifter seemed reasonably nonviable, my $400 ebay 105 groupset arrived today. A box of nice new bits awaits for tonight.

any tips. i have the torque wrench ready and a foot pounds to Nm conversion chart, and marine and bike grease for anything that needs it - thinking bottom bracket and crank spindle.

is there however a need to locktite anything ? i was thinking maybe brakes, dérailleur hangers ???
any other 'tips for young players' ?

[drubie]

after replacing a busted 9sp tiagra shifter seemed reasonably nonviable, my $400 ebay 105 groupset arrived today. A box of nice new bits awaits for tonight.

any tips. i have the torque wrench ready and a foot pounds to Nm conversion chart, and marine and bike grease for anything that needs it - thinking bottom bracket and crank spindle.

is there however a need to locktite anything ? i was thinking maybe brakes, dérailleur hangers ???
any other 'tips for young players' ?

You don't need loctite. Loctite is an incredibly bad idea unless you're making a suicide hub.

Put grease on anything with threads. Don't do up the brake levers so tight they break rather than move if you come off. Buy a good set of cable cutters and use new cables.

[scotto]

thanks for the advice. every screw was greasy...um. you know what i mean.

all seems quite good now, sounds a bit grindy when pedalling ( by hand on the trainer) but the chain seems straight, not hitting any deraillier - once the chain lube dries i'll recheck it.

i was surprised at the weight difference between 105 and tiagra being as dramatic as it was. from memory the front derailluer and read were about 20% lighter and the crankset a bit more. looks much the same though !! i got a bit carried away at first and weighed the bits to compare.

[Nate]

its new parts so they're clean...
make sure all the bike threads are clean & in good condition

do a little installation lap & re-check everything (just like they do in formula 1)... make sure nothing comes loose.

[drubie]

What are you going to do with the Tiagra gear Scotto? I assume something about it wasn't working?

[Myddraal]

For future reference, all you need to know is 1N.m = 0.737561 lbf.ft, so 1 lbf.ft = 1.35582 N.m and have a calculator on hand. Or this handy little unit conversion program http://joshmadison.com/software/convert-for-windows/

Just get the zip file. It doesn't need installation, but there's an installer if you want it.

[il padrone]

In 35 years of assembling, disassembling and generally mucking about with bikes (including working for a bike shop and in a bike assembly business) I've never used locktite on a bike.

(Oh, well there was one time on tour in the bush, when I had a strange repetitive loosening crank-bolt and a lack of tools. The local garage mechanic in Delegate put some locktite on it for me.)

[Uncle Grumpy]

You don't need loctite. Loctite is an incredibly bad idea unless you're making a suicide hub.

Put grease on anything with threads. Don't do up the brake levers so tight they break rather than move if you come off. Buy a good set of cable cutters and use new cables.

Depends on the Loctite. The blue thread sealant stuff is okay in some applications, one of which is disc brake rotor bolts and disc brake caliper bolts where heat and vibration can loosen them. If you find a bolt that keeps backing out, then blue loctite it. The red thread lock stuff is a no go for a typical bolt, you're not dealing with welsh plugs in an engine.

Generally, a wipe of grease and proper torque and you should be fine.

I even go to the trouble of chasing threads with the appropriate tap or die, especially on second hand stuff, just to be sure it's all fine and dandy, but I am a fanatical little pedant at the best of times.

I don't have the gear for BBs and threaded steerers though, I get the shop to run those around for me.

Grumps

[Quinns Rocks Roadie]

Don't do up the brake levers so tight they break rather than move if you come off. Buy a good set of cable cutters and use new cables.

Ditto for the headstem - a crash and tight stem can mean a bent front wheel and/or bent bars......a little bit looser and you will have to reset the stem position but less chance of damages.
Bunnings have cable cutters for $15.00 the same as LBS has for $30.00

Eric Mc.

[scotto]

What are you going to do with the Tiagra gear Scotto? I assume something about it wasn't working?

the left side shifter shat itself. I can still use the old 53/39 crankset which was actually new, but i'll try the 105 compact for fitzs challenge next week (coward). the rest will end up on one of the kids racers upgrading the sora kit.

5Nm = 3 FT pound

oh, and a good tip i read was a drop of superglue on the end of the cable once cut to keep it from fraying... shame i had no superglue. Got my LBS friendly mechanic to give it a quick check this morning who gave it a pass.

My overall impressions of fitting a new 'gruppo' is that

• its a slow process to do properly
• its not overly hard but very satisfying
• The shimano installation papers arent made to be user friendly
• putting the bike on the trainer on the kitchen table is an excellent place to work
• blue alloy end caps on the brake and shifter wires make it look better

[Robdog]

• putting the bike on the trainer on the kitchen table is an excellent place to work

Are (were) you married? If so I'd love to shake your hand when you come down....

[drubie]

My overall impressions of fitting a new 'gruppo' is that

• putting the bike on the trainer on the kitchen table is an excellent way to get banished to the doghouse

Fixed.

[scotto]

my wife is used to my antics.
at least i put newspaper down when i dribbled the lube onto the new chain