ockey53

I don't know what happened to my last post, but I completely finished the bike!!!



-Dan the Man-

ockey53

Ok, this weekend I went from Boston to Easton which is like 27 miles on my newly built bike. The first 7 miles weren't too bad.... until I got into the Blue Hills......... that was real tough (MASSIVE hills!!!)

But I get passed that and my pedals are making this weird clicking noise every rotation...

So I stop and check it out, I didn't know if it was my pedals or the cranks.... but I knew I had a problem.

So I get on my bike and keep going, I mean, I couldn't fix it there (whatever it was) so I had to keep going. But the problem only got worse.

Fortunately I made it to my LBS by my house (21 miles into my trip) and he tightened my cranks and pedals. Then showed my the crank. The crank was not rigid when you held the other crank, like it should.... so the techy took off the crank..... and lo and behold, the problem!

The spindles on the left crank were totally shreaded!!!!!!! I installed it wrong and by pedalling it made it worse and worse.

The LBS didn't have a silver 105 double crank... so I told him to put it back on the bike and asked if it had a little more life in it... he said you might be able to get home and that's it!

So I leave all bummed and take like 4 pedals out of the store and guess what.... the spindles rip and now the cranks are facing the same direction!!!!

I had to call my parents and have them pick me up... I ordered the new cranks and a REAL pedal wrench! That is a little $100 mistake on my part................

-Dan the Man-

velocipedio

spindles? do you mean threads?

live311

No, I think he means the Octalink splines on the BB axle. What did you do wrong? Were they improperly tightened? Were you supposed to grease the splines before installation? Did you cross-thread something? Enlighten us so that others may learn from your mistakes

Oh, and now's your chance to check out some ISIS cranks and BB's and tell us how they are.

ockey53

Ok live, I'll tell ya what I did wrong.

When I installed the BB, I greased where I was suppost to.... the threads and the two spindles. That was correct the way I did it.

When it came to installing the cranks... I installed the right crank arm first, and that fit on very nicely and aligned it perfectly with the splines (sorry, I did mean splines on my previous post ). But when it came to installing the left crank, I guess I didn't align the spindles of the BB with the splines of the crank arm and started tighening... It tighened as far as I could get it..... with a cheap-o all in one allen wrench set.

So that what was incorrect, I did not properly install the left crank arm with the BB and it led to literally RIPPING the splines!!!

So I bought a new crankset and a real pedal wrench to go with it...


-Dan the Man-

ImprezaDrvr

Well, that's a great way to remember to not do that again, but it's also pretty expensive. Kind of mistake to make if you work for a shop. Anyway, that's part of the adventure of building up your own bike. I'd second the ISIS nomination. I like the interface better and, actually, installation seemed to be easier than with Octalink.

But, you'll appreciate the bike more after you build it up yourself. The only thing I didn't do with mine is build the wheels from scratch, but I wasn't that patient. It's a total blast to hand pick your components, too. Good work and good luck getting the replacement stuff fast-ola!

ockey53

Well I guess after this "accident," I now know more about how the bike works and how it should feel. Yeah it's the 2nd most expensive component on the bike, but I can live with that.

On a different note, I got back on my MTB today and it felt so weird..... the seat was in a different place and position and the handlebar were higher.... it kinda freaked me out for a second, but it was almost like riding a new bike!! I liked it!

Thanks to my loyal viewers and posters that have followed me from the time I didn't know what clinchers were... to the finished product!! You guys and girls are awesome!!! Keep on posting or send me a PM!!

-Dan the Man-

ChiliDog

WHEW! Watching all that happen was a real RUSH! AWESOME!
What a beautiful bike! Congrats!

ockey53

Thank you ChiliDog, it's people like you and khuon and bman that make this site so awesome!!! Thanks guys!!!

-Dan the Man-

ockey53

Once I get this bike together and working again, I'll post some pictures of me riding if I can. I want to join the Northeastern University Cycling Team now, cause I have such an awesome bike now!!

-Dan the Man-

jtown

Dude ... that's badass. I wish I knew how to do that.

ockey53

I should be getting my crankset tomorrow and then after putting that back on, the correct way. I am going to get "fit" for my bike. My friend/boss is a bike fanatic and is going to help me with that. Can't wait get my bike back on the road again. I miss it already.... and it's only been 2 days.....

-Dan the Man-

bman

Dan, the bike is looking great. Hang in there, just a minor setback for you. If that's the worse you do, you're doing far better than I have done..lol

ockey53

Why, what is the worst you've done with your bike??

-Dan the Man-

Ajay213

Well there was this one time where I broke the steerer tube on a fork because I tightened the bolt to much (this was an old school threaded fork and quill stem). Of course I was riding along about the busiest street in the area when it happened. Nothing like having the handlebars come off in your hands while cruising along next to traffic that's also cruising along.

Anyways, if you need good bike instructions for maintaining/repairs/etc check out Park tool's website - https://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQindex.shtml

Lots of good information there.

Andrew

ImprezaDrvr

Barnett's maintenance manuals are also online, I think under the maintenance section here on bikeforums. They're pretty handy to have, but make sure you download the index page, too.

ockey53

yeah, I do have the Barnett's manuals and looked at the brake cables speifically, cause I've never done that before. But I mean, the crankset is almost a no brainer when it comes to installing it.... but I guess I did screw it up.........

On second thought, I'll look up the crank install in Barnett's. Thanks!

-Dan the Man-

jtown

Care to post the link to those manuals?

Stubacca

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...threadid=20639

ockey53

Booyah, got to it quicker than I could but that's it.

-Dan the Man-

ockey53

Ok, I reinstalled the left crank and it looks pretty again. It definitely was installed properly this time! I made sure by looking at the other side how the spindles were shown. It helped alot using the Park Tool 8mm hex key than using that crappy folding-all-in-one set!!

My boss gave me an idea..... I have the packaging for the new crank that I just got and installed today.... I could say it was defective and that when I used it... it snapped! I mean the worse that Nashbar could do is say "no, I'm not giving you a refund," right?? It'll at least give me an attempt to get my $90 back! I'll call nashbar tomorrow and see what they say.

Oh, this is the picture of the crank that the spindles snapped!

-Dan the Man-

velocipedio

umm... that wouldn't exactly be honest, would it? if the damage is your fault, or the fault of someone you hired to install it, then suck it up; don't try to cheat someone else for it.

jtown

you won't get a dime when someone forwards this public forum to them. I've seen it happen before .... just suck up the $90 and consider it a learning experience.