Just over a week
ago I had three bicycles completely disassembled and stored on various shelves
in my basement shop. I am finally seeing some space open up, after completing
Carrick’s Giant FCR1 and making significant progress on the Pinarello Prince.
Carrick really did
a great job and was very patient with my directions, and other than a few of
the more complicated tasks, he only had to be told once for each step. I have
to admit that there are times when I’m working that I wish that I had a third
hand, and it was sure nice to have four
during this build. I usually manage alright by myself, but setting up the
derailleurs and brakes is so much easier when someone is holding the cable
taut while I tighten the bolt.
I could have built up
the bike with its original stock parts, using Bikepedia for reference, but in an effort to
upgrade some of the lesser quality parts while still staying within a budget, I
pieced together my own set, although it is dominated by Shimano. I admit when I put together my own bicycles,
especially the vintage builds, I like to consolidate my component groups, such
as all-Campagnolo, etc. With Carrick’s bike, I did try to at least pair up
component manufacturers whenever possible, so as not to have a complete mismatch
of parts - for instance, the seat post and saddle are both Origin 8 parts.
Although drivetrain
components made by Shimano and SRAM are compatible, I wasn’t too pleased by
having derailleurs by the former and a crankset by the latter, but the 8-speed
chain (the correct width is important) we purchased is a SRAM product, so we
felt that “evened things out”. Some of the odd parts are accessory-type items,
like the Bontrager bottle cages, ultra-cool RockBros platform pedal and Specialized
wireless computer – Carrick liked the neat way it mounts via the steering tube
cap, centered directly above the stem.
The Shimano
wheelset actually came from Sue’s Cannondale. About a year ago she took her
front wheel off and leaned it against the back bumper while she loaded the bike
into her car. She then forgot to grab the wheel and accidentally backed up over
it, gouging the rim very badly on the breaking surface. She really liked the
interesting spoke pattern on the R540 wheels, but being in the middle of her
triathlon season, we couldn’t really be patient to search for the odd wheel and
just purchased a different set.
With the one
leftover wheel, we had the opportunity to save some money on Carrick’s build,
and I could now take the opportunity to search for the match. My plan worked
out perfectly as I eventually surprised Sue by swapping back her “old favorites”
one evening and then loaded the bike back in the car for her regular
afterschool ride. The R500s now on the Giant have a higher spoke count than Sue’s
R540s, and since Carrick is now the tallest of our family, the sturdier-built
wheels are probably a good idea for a kid his size!
I was able to
assemble the basics on the Prince this afternoon, putting the fork and headset together.
I had to saw off about a quarter inch from the carbon steering tube to have all
of the spacers, stem and top cap fit perfectly. I screwed the rear derailleur
hanger back on then mounted both wheels so that I could stand the bike up and
center the stem and handlebars. I also took a couple of minutes to bolt on the
front and rear brake calipers.
It looks pretty good, although I obviously still have a good
amount of work left to do!
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