The Finished Product

The bike is finished!

Here it is:

The Pre-build Build...

I couldn't wait any longer to get started on the bike build. So... I pulled all the equipment out of the garage and started the project.

1. Remove Components from the Trek 2000

Step one was to remove all the Dura Ace/Ultegra components from the Trek 2000 so they could be placed on the new Leader 735TT. I took the wheels off and mounted the Trek 2000 onto my work stand.

1.a. Remove the cabling and housings.

The first thing I did was to remove the shift and brake cabling from the bicycle. This is fairly simple in that all you need to do is snip off the ends of the cables, loosen the nut holding the cable in place, and then pull them out of their housings. Once this was done, I was ready to remove the components.

1.b. Remove the saddle & seatpost

Next, I removed the seatpost and saddle. Since I'm keeping this saddle on this particular seatpost for the Leader 735TT, I just loosened the seatpost binder and slid the seatpost out of the seat tube, leaving the saddle attached to it. Simple.

1.c. Remove the handlebars

Again, I'm using the whole "cockpit" of the old bike on the new one, so I didn't need to remove the aerobars, the bar end shifters, the basebar, or the brake levers. All I did was unscrew the two bolts holding the basebar onto the stem and removed the entire assembly for use on the new bike. Again, very simple.

1.d. Remove the Brake Calipers

Also a very easy step. Once the cables are off, there's no tension on the brake calipers, and all I had to do was loosen the nut attaching the brake calipers to the front and rear brake bridges.

1.e Remove Cranks

Next, I removed the cranks. This is pretty easy with Shimano Octalink cranks. All I did was find the proper hex key size and turn the bolt on the drive side crank counter-clockwise to loosen the bolt. No crank puller is needed, because as the bolt loosens, it pushes the crank off the bottom bracket spindle. Same steps for the non-drive side crank. I left the chainrings on the crankset, since I'm using them on the new bike.

1.f Remove Bottom Bracket

This reqiures a splined bottom bracket tool that fits Shimano cartridge bottom brackets. You just slide the tool onto the bottom bracket splines and then use a wrench to loosen the bottom bracket cups. The drive side is left-hand threaded, so you have to turn clockwise to loosen the cup. Once the cups were removed, I just slid the cartridge out.

1.g Remove Derailleurs

Removing the derailleurs is a fairly simple task. The front derailleur on the Trek 2000 is a braze-on derailleur that attaches to a clamp on the down tube. All I did was remove the bolt holding the derailleur to the clamp, and removed the derailleur from the frame.

For the rear derailleur, there's a bolt that attaches the derailleur to the derailleur hanger. All I had to do was unscrew this bolt, and the derailleur came right off.

2. Clean the Trek 2000 Frame

With all the components removed, all I had was the Trek 2000 frame, fork and headset. I figured the new install warranted a thorough cleaning of the bike, so I scrubbed her down. I usually use generic auto soap, a sponge, citrus degreaser and a toothbrush to clean my bike. Basically, I dip the toothbrush in degreaser and scrub the portions where the grease has really built up. Then, I use the sponge and the auto soap to remove the dirt and grime. After that, I rinse the frame with water from the hose, and let her dry. Aside from the nicks and chips in the paint, this bike has never looked better.

3. Clean 105/Tiagra Components

Some of the components that I'll put on this bike are brand new, and some are fairly old and used. Since it's a new install, I decided to clean the components that aren't brand new. Basically, this involved scrubbing the deraileurs and brake calipers with degreaser, rinsing them, and letting them dry.

4. Install 105/Tiagra Components on the Trek 2000

With the bike and components cleaned, I commenced rebuilding the Trek 2000. I decided to buy a new chain and cabling, which I will do later today. So, by the end of the build last night, the bike had everything except a chain and cabling... oh yeah, and I'm putting new cork on the handlebars, so that still needs to be done.

4.a Install the Bottom Bracket

The bottom bracket assembly slides right into the bottom bracket shell. I first greased the threads of the bottom bracket shell, and then slid the cartridge into the shell. I tightened the drive side cup using the splined bottom bracket tool. Recall that the drive side cup is left-hand threaded, so you have to turn the BB tool counter-clockwise to tighten it. Next, I installed the non-drive side cup, tightening it with the splined BB tool.

4.b. Install the Crankset

Once the bottom bracket was installed, I attached the crankset. This is as simple as placing the crankarm on the bottom bracket spindle, and tightening the bolt. I greased the threads of the bolts before tightening. I believe the bolts on both the drive side and non-drive side are right-hand threaded, so you use the typical "righty-tighty, lefty-loosey" convention. The one thing to make sure of is that the opposing crankarms are installed at a 180 degree angle from each other. I'm not sure if it's possible to install them otherwise, but I had a bitch of a time keeping the non-drive side crankarm at a 180 degree angle from the drive side crankarm until the bolt was tightened to a certain amout.

4.c. Install the Derailleurs

Next, I installed the derailleurs, starting with the front derailleur. This was easy. All I did was grease the threads of the attachment bolt, and then thread it into the mounting hole on the clamp.

For the rear derailleur, I did the same. I greased the threads of the mounting bolt and then screwed it into the derailleur hanger.

4.d. Install the Brake Calipers

Once again, this was easy. For each set of calipers, I greased the threads of the bolt, and then slid the bolt into the brake bridge. The brakes come with a nut that anchors the bolt into the bridge from behind. Just slid it into the bridge and tighten with a hex key.

4.e. Install the Drop Bars

I didn't have to install the STI shift/brake levers, because I had left them on the old drop bar when I swapped it out for the bullhorns and aerobars. All I had to do was bolt the drop bars to the stem, which involved tightening two hex nuts. Again, I just greased the threads and then tightened the hex nuts to the clamp holding the base bar.

4.f. Install Seatpost and Saddle

My seatpost binder is a quick release system. So, installing a seatpost involves just sliding the seatpost into the seat tube, adjusting the height, and then closing the quick release lever.

Attaching the saddle involves bolting the saddle rails to the seatpost clamp. Nothing spectacular about that.

And that was it. As I said, I still need to install the cabling, chain and cork wrap. I'll buy that stuff today, and probably do it tonight. What I'm REALLY looking forward to, though, is building the Leader 735TT.

Step 1 in the new bike build is done!

I took the the LD806 fork to my LBS this afternoon to have the crown race installed. I don't own the tool, and I was afraid I'd bend it if I tried to jury rig something. It took the guy about 5 seconds. I should have done it myself.

I thought about having them install the headset, too, but since it's an integrated headset, it doesn't need to be pressed into the head tube. I think this is going to be a really easy first build.

Tip

If you're building a bike from scratch, you should have your LBS install the headset. Non-integrated headsets need to be pressed into the head tube with a special tool. Unless you build a lot of bikes, it's probably not necessary to buy this tool.

Building my new Leader 735TT

Ever since I've become a triathlete, I've really had a fascination with bicycles. I've learned to do a lot of maintenance-type work, but I really want to learn how to assemble a bike from scratch. As you miay have gleaned from my last post, the opportunity has arrived with my new Leader 735TT frame, LD-806 carbon fork and Cane Creek IS-6 headset.

This will be my first ever bike building experience, and I wanted to follow my progress in my blog. So, this is the first in a series of posts chronicaling my first bike build. Here are the parameters.

I have an older road bike, a 2002 Trek 2000, which I've been using as my triathlon bike for the last two years. The bike came stock with a mix of Shimano Tiagra and 105 triple ring components. I upgraded to Ultegra and Dura Ace double, but I kept the old components (and some Dura Ace triple components I had purchased but never used).

In order to get "permission" from the wife (or as I like to call her, the voice of sanity) I agreed to buy only a new frameset and move the higher end 9 speed components over to the new bike, and put the older 9 speed equipment back on the old bike. So, here's how the bikes will be re-built:

Components	Trek 2000	Leader 735TT
Fork	OCLV Carbon Classic	Leader I806 Carbon
Headset	STR Aheadset	Cane Creek IS6
Bottom Bracket	Dura Ace Triple	Dura Ace Double
Front Derailleur	Tiagra Triple	Dura Ace Double
Rear Derailleur	105 Triple	Dura Ace Double
Crank Set	Dura Ace 52/42/30	Dura Ace 53/39
Brakes	Alloy dual pivot	Ultegra
Pedals	105 SPD	Ultegra SPD-SL
Shifters	105 Triple	Dura Ace Bar End
Brake Levers	Shimano 105	Dia Compe 188
Seatpost	Bontrager Sport	Aerus Composites Aero

So, what I will do is remove the DA/Ultegra components from the Trek 2000 and replace them with the Tiagra/105 parts listed in the table. Then, I'll clean the DA/Ultegra components and install them on the Leader 735TT.

My Bike Frame Has Arrived!!

My new Leader 735TT bike frame, I806 carbon fork and Cane Creek IS-6 headset came in yesterday. I can't wait to assemble this stuff. Pictures of the frame and fork are at the right of this page.

I unpacked the stuff, and examined it to make sure everything is okay, and that there was no damage cause by UPS. There doesn't appear to be any, except the frame has an indentation on the drive side, directly beneath the part where the front deraileur attaches to the frame. I looked on the Leader Bikes website, and it looks like the frame is supposed to have this indentation, so I'm not going to sweat it. I can't tell if the red & white colored frame (I got the black one) has the same indentation, but it probably does.

So, I read through the stuff that came with the shipment, and it looks like this will be a fairly easy build. That's a good thing, considering I'm a true novice.

The IS-6 headset from Cane Creek is an integrated headset system. Not "pure" or ideal for my tastes, but I'm sure it'll be fine. It does require that the headtube be specially designed to fit Cane Creek integrated headsets. Fortunately, the 735TT has been specifically designed for this type of headset. The head tube comes faced and reamed, and should not require any modification or preparation for installing the headset.

The cool thing about the IS-6 headset is that it doesn't need caps, which means I don't need to use a headset press... good thing, 'cause I don't have one. In addition, the fork crown race looks like it will be installable without a fork crown race tool, because it has a "gap" that should make it possible to seat it properly on the crown of the fork without using the tool. We'll see how that goes.

This should be fun!!!

My New TT Bike

I'm getting a new bike! My wife just approved a the purchase of a new bike frame, a new carbon fork and a headset from Leader Bikes, and will use them to build my first TT bike! The picture to the right is from the Leader Bikes website, and will give you an idea of what the bike will look like.

I can't get my better half to approve all new components, so I'll be moving my 9 speed Shimano Ultegra/Dura Ace components over to this bike, and will put the original Shimano 105 triple components back on my road bike (a year 2002 Trek 2000). When I'm finished, the TT bike will have the following components:

• Bottom Bracket - Dura Ace 9 sp double
• Front Derailleur - Dura Ace 9 sp double
• Rear Derailleur - Dura Ace 9 sp double
• Cranks - Ultegra 9 sp double, 53/39
• Cassette - Ultegra 9 sp 12/25
• Chain - Ulegra 9 sp
• Aero bars - Syntace C2
• Handlebars - Profile Design bullhorns
• Stem - Ritchey 90 mm 0 offset
• Shifters - Dura Ace 9 sp bar end
• Pedals - Dura Ace SPD-SL
• Brake Calipers - Ultegra
• Brake lever - Dia Compe 188
• Headset - Cane Creek IS-6
• Seatpost - Aerus Composites aero carbon
• Saddle - Fiz'ik Arione

I've never fully built up a bicycle before, but I've always wanted to try. This will be a great project for me!!!

2005 5430 Half Race Report

Essentially a repeat of the 2005 HalfMax, only there was an added twist. For some weird reason, I think I had a panic attack on the swim. Got 500 meters in, and suddenly felt like my wetsuit was choking me. I couldn't breathe, and had to swim over to a row boat and hang on for a minute to calm myself down. Really weird. I'm a good swimmer, and this has never happened to me.

The bike was a really fast course... but of course, I only got to see half of it. Once again, I had serious back pains, and had to quit after 28 miles. I think it's my bike fit, as I KNOW I was properly hydrated for this race.