Muhahaha

Kamatu

Well-Known Member
IRS finally delivered, LBS has their check and the order should be going into NC in the morning (darned time zones), then it is up to the Big Brown Truck and shipping routes. Probably by Friday if it goes out the door quick enough tomorrow and Monday for sure. I think the vivisection of the Tiara will start in the morning..... :twisted:
 

Kamatu

Well-Known Member
Ok, prep time for the donor. In no particular order:

1. Pull off both wheels, mount former front wheel on rear, check brake for alignment.

2. Leave former rear wheel by stand for later mounting with kit.

3. Remove the BB for insertion into the kit's BB slot.

4. Remove d?railleurs for later remounting on the kit. Save cables for later readjustment on the kit.

5. Pull the old seat off the bike.

6. Pull the handlebar and various levers and cables for later remounting on kit.

7. Remove headstem for replacement with kit component.

Anything else, anything too much? I want to be set for assemble, adjust and go. :mrgreen:
 

Doug Burton

Zen MBB Master
Kamatu,

You are likely to need a different front derailleur, as the clamp diameter for the kit is 34.9mm.

Your LBS should be able to provide one. Here is a good one:

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=600083&subcategory=60001037&brand=&sku=15672&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Subcat%3A%20Front%20Derailleur

This is the one I have on my Sofrider and it works REALLY well:

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=600083&subcategory=60001037&brand=&sku=14859&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Subcat%3A%20Front%20Derailleur

Your LBS should be able to get either one. The SRAM FD's are not picky about shifters.

Holla at me if you need more info.

Best,

Doug
 

Kamatu

Well-Known Member
Thanks Doug, that can be part of my shopping list, but it won't stop my learning to ride, I'll just do without the front for the initial rides, simpler that way. Thinking about Mark's build, I'm going to need to get some cable for the rear brake when I pick up the kit, yes?

Ugh, I'm going to need to pick up a couple of sets of Allen wrenches. I've got metric and SAE, but they have both had a couple walk away sometime in the last decade.
 

Kamatu

Well-Known Member
Well, I didn't need new Allen wrenches, I still had all the right sizes. I'm going to have to get some spacer washers for the back wheel. I can crank it down and get it to roll fine, but the extra flex on the back forks make it impossible to get the linear brake remounted, although I'm going to look at them again, I think I can pull some of the spacers out and open it up a bit. I might have to replace the axle with something longer though, I'm not sure I like the way I had to crank it down. I'm going to have to look at the chain again, it looks like I have to break it to get it out. Of course, having some help "fixing daddy's bike" from a three year old might have a funny twist in it I didn't feel like figuring out right that second. I did find out that the dismounted rear wheel rolls real well down the slope in the back yard and bounces nicely off the goat fence: "Look, Daddy, Look!" I'm going to fiddle with it again in a bit, it is time for the baby and I to take our nap. :cool:

I'm glad I did start this early, I'd hate to have this kind of frustration when I'm sitting there with the kit in hand and having to stop and do other things. I can tell that a few things have changed in the last 25+ years with bike gearing, it used to be a lot easier to pull the whole chain off to replace it.

Minor rant: I don't care if they are superior, I think that the linear pull brakes are from the devil. Lot bigger pain in the butt to mess with than good old calipers. No, they aren't that bad to fix (did it this weekend for my nephew's bike) and adjust, but it is annoying to have to take the brake off to get the wheel off.
 

Mark B

Zen MBB Master
Kamatu wrote: Minor rant: I don't care if they are superior, I think that the linear pull brakes are from the devil. Lot bigger pain in the butt to mess with than good old calipers. No, they aren't that bad to fix (did it this weekend for my nephew's bike) and adjust, but it is annoying to have to take the brake off to get the wheel off.

You don't have to take the brake off, all you need to do is pull the "noodle" from it's connection bracket. See the picture:
V_centering.jpg


The noodle is the silver tube that the cable runs through in the upper lefthand corner of the picture. If you compress the pads against the rim, you will gain enough slack to disengage the noodle from the cage. There is a slot in the cage that allows the cable to clear and both arms of the brake will be free so you can pull the wheel.

Mark
 

Kamatu

Well-Known Member
Doh, I must have spent too much time chasing the baby. I just rebuilt one of these Sunday afternoon that had a... <drumroll>... broken noodle.

I also read the FAQ again and found this:
Quote: b) Give the front wheel a new axle - a rear axle - and some spacers that are provided. Then it too will fit.

*

Assuming that the mountain bike front and rear wheels are exchanged, I can imagine how the attaching brackets at the base of the front assembly might spread out to accommodate the ~5" wide rear hub, but how is the front hub, which is only about 4" wide, adapted to the rear fork?

We tried a range of bracket affairs to effectively narrow the rear fork drop outs but in the end discarded that approach in favour of putting a rear axle through the front wheel. The brackets require at least two sturdy bolts each. They work, but its just not as good and clean as it should be.

So, I'll go on to other disassembly projects and if the kit doesn't have the longer axle, I'll be at the LBS to buy one.

Ok, back outside and maybe the baby will want to ride his bike instead of playing with mine. Heh, I'm trying hard not to discourage him from helping, but sometimes.....
 

Doug Burton

Zen MBB Master
Kamatu...

Now I understand something I didn't in your previous post.

If you pulled the rear chainstays in enough to mount the 100mm front hub in the 135mm rear dropouts, that explains why the brakes were fitting a little funny.

Don't worry; the conversion kit includes a long axle and a set of cones and spacers to install the front wheel in the rear without distorting the swingarm.

We also know where you can get a quick release axle for the rear if you want one.

The axle supplied is special - it's a 3/8" (9.5mm) axle with a small-diameter cone set. This is usually necessary because the front hub axle hole is usually too small to accept regular rear axle cones. The ones supplied with the kit avoid this problem.

Yep, most folks will need a longer rear brake cable.

Good luck with your continued preparations...

Doug
 

Kamatu

Well-Known Member
Done with what I can get done for now. I'm going to have to pick up a chain break tool, no master link, either of the new kind or of the older one I'm used to (where you used a block of wood, hammer and punch), so except for the chain (with d?railleurs attached) hanging from the frame, it is ready to go.

Three year olds who want to help are the most fun. I think the only way I could have had more fun was to go out into the goat pen and let my little miniature Nigerian Dwarves get into the act. :lol:
 

Mark B

Zen MBB Master
Kamatu wrote: Done with what I can get done for now. I'm going to have to pick up a chain break tool, no master link, either of the new kind or of the older one I'm used to (where you used a block of wood, hammer and punch), so except for the chain (with d?railleurs attached) hanging from the frame, it is ready to go.

Three year olds who want to help are the most fun. I think the only way I could have had more fun was to go out into the goat pen and let my little miniature Nigerian Dwarves get into the act. :lol:

Throw that chain away and go buy you a SRAM chain. You may still need the chain tool to cut it to length, but the SRAM chains come with an easy on and off link. Plus, they're great chains. FWIW, for my conversion I ended up not needing to cut the chain at all.

Mark
 

Hotdog

Active Member
Mark B wrote: SRAM chains come with an easy on and off link. Plus, they're great chains.
This is also true of KMC and Whippermann chains. Or you can buy quick connector links from any manufacturer and splice one into the chain you've already got, provided you match widths it'll work fine. The tool-free reusable connector links are great, they certainly make drivetrain cleaning and maintenance easier.
 

Mark B

Zen MBB Master
Hotdog wrote:
Mark B wrote: SRAM chains come with an easy on and off link. Plus, they're great chains.
This is also true of KMC and Whippermann chains. Or you can buy quick connector links from any manufacturer and splice one into the chain you've already got, provided you match widths it'll work fine. The tool-free reusable connector links are great, they certainly make drivetrain cleaning and maintenance easier.

I really cannot speak on Whipperman chains, never used them. I have used KMC chains and I just always preferred SRAM. Great chains, IMHO.

Mark
 

Kamatu

Well-Known Member
And, Monday rolls by without a call. Tomorrow is shot since I have to be somewhere until 6PM and the LBS closes at 6PM.... Wed is marginal and Thursday is probably also shot. :roll:
 

Kamatu

Well-Known Member
LBS called and it is in. Wife is picking it up now plus a few bits I called and asked the guy to add on like a rear brake cable, lights and reflectors. Should get me up and down the street here safely. I'm probably going to regret not getting a new handlebar, but I can live with the old one for now. I think.
 

Kamatu

Well-Known Member
Well, she didn't get off early and some family biz in town took up some of her time after work, so I finally got it with less than a hour of daylight left. My lighted work area is a bit packed right now with some furniture in the process of being painted and refinished so I didn't really have any room in there.

Unpacked the box, everything complete. The instructions could be a bit more complete, but I'm not sure how to rewrite right now to make some steps a bit clearer regardless of the donor bike. Packaging was excellent, all the groups of bits in their own little zip baggies works wonders with the instructions, easy to figure out. Rear wheel is on nicely, although probably needs some adjusting to true it. Had a couple of false starts with the front fork brackets and after the third one, knowing me and my narcolepsy, I decided that after dark is not the time to keep fiddling with it after I got them set right for width, was having some tire strike on the top of the brake bracket and I'm just as prone to screw it up as get it right this late (I noticed that I had carefully clamped down one side without getting the bracket :oops: ). It didn't help that I found out my little one had helped clean up by tossing some stuff in the clean coffee can with the BB in it, so that will need cleaning and greasing.

So, I put it away for the night and I'll be able to get back to it Friday morning. :cry:

It probably wasn't anything major on the front, just something stupid I was doing in low light conditions. I've got the spread right, so I'll readjust it later when I'm fresh in the morning and the new meds they have me on are kicking in good.
 
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