ChrisF Posted May 9, 2019 Share ..... BUT, parts are ALWAYS fitted by hand, and the first few threads hand tightened before using any tools !! Darned if I could get the BB threaded .... neither the left nor right hand side would thread (and jip, I was very aware of the arrow showing the direction). CBR did clean the thread of any over spray, but somehow something needs a bit of TLC ..... I tried the normal tricks, but without a tap to clean the thread I was not able to progress with this .... O-well, anybody that has done a custom build knows these things do happen at some point. Will pop in at Mark tomorrow for some expert help. ..... WOW !! THANKS Mark !! I dropped off the frame enroute to a morning meeting, on the way back I took a chance and popped in at Mark. I waited a minute or two while he cleaned the thread (helps when you have the correct tap sizes!) And we are ready to proceed with the build It REALLY helps to be on good terms with your "LBS" PS - in all fairness, I am SURE CBR would have helped me out. Logistically just so much easier for me to go to Mark. School fees are nice - Next time we do something like this I will take the BB with and make sure it fits before driving off with the frame .. Beard, BuffsVintageBikes and DJR 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffsVintageBikes Posted May 9, 2019 Share Awesome build project, I've enjoyed catching up with it Well done for taking the time to teach your Godson the ropes, most would simply get impatient and do it themselves but you're doing a great job here. Mark's a real star with a wealth of bike knowledge, he often helps me with my classic restoration projects as well, sometimes at ridiculous times of the night when he's grafting overtime Mongoose!, ChrisF and Hairy 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted May 9, 2019 Share Can't wait till he turns 16 and asks you to help him do a custom motorbike Mongoose!, ChrisF, Andymann and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJR Posted May 9, 2019 Share Can't wait till he turns 16 and asks you to help him do a custom motorbike I'll bet on Chris starting to plan a build before Maritz can ask for it Hairy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 9, 2019 Share Can't wait till he turns 16 and asks you to help him do a custom motorbike Me too .... and if his mom reads this, we will both be in ICU .... maybe ..... I have been having some thoughts about a Nissan 1400 bakkie project .... year, maybe two year rebuild .... ready for when he gets a license .... in another 8 or 9 years the model for revamp may well change a few times .... Edited May 9, 2019 by ChrisF DJR and Hairy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJR Posted May 9, 2019 Share Me too .... and if his mom reads this, we will both be in ICU .... When I turned 16 my father told me I could have a motorbike when I got my brains. I wanted to know when that would be, 18? He said: No, but usually by age 40. I decided to become rebellious! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 9, 2019 Share Okay, thanks to Mark we could pick up where we left off. Let's check the torque on the BB's ... For this I turned to my Parktool Big Blue Book, available at all bike shops. If they dont have a copy they can get it the next day Truly an investment for any DIY enthusiast. Set the torque wrench to the desired value, make sure you have the direction correct for tensioning. DONT pull hard on the torque wrench !! This is precision instrument ! Gently apply force, and be wide awake to pick up on the "click" when you reach the set value. Time for a detour .... MARITZ wants to polish the frame. He knows that we polish the frames after a couple of washes. And as this is newly painted frame he wants to polish the frame. Now how do you argue with such sound reasoning. BUT, CBR gave him a packet full of stickers .... now if you have young kids at home you know how dangerous that can be !! I mean, surely ALL stickers must be used ... Used all my reverse physcology to get him to suggest that maybe "less-is-more" ... And so the stickers get done before the frame is polished. DJR and Wayne pudding Mol 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 9, 2019 Share Preparations done, time to get going with the assembly .... Having watched many bike assembly videos Maritz knows that grease is used on all metalic and rotating parts. But having to wipe grease off your hands after each step gets old quickly .... and so I decided to try this approach for this project - Crank inserted, hand tightened, spin, tighten more, spin, repeat a few more times .... and then time to lock the crank in place Let's see if he can figure out how the derailure gets bolted on ... took maybe 15 seconds of turning the part around and around, saw the bolt, and figured out where it should go. LockTite and the T-torque wrench and he fits the part. In the last few days he figured out how to hold the T-wrench to be able to turn it to the full 5N.m for it to click. Time for some mentoring .... time to figure out what these three screws are for And by "line-of-sight" I set the Low limit a bit high, and I set the High limit a bit low .... DONT want the chain climbing off on either end during the setup !! Which also means the time has come to fit the chain. And this means it is time to figure out the correct chain length. Common wisdom says there are two ways to do this : 1) Big ring on the back, and big ring on the from, NOT through the derailure. Bring the ends together - remeber that you need to match two "small links", as the quick link forms the "wide link" bringing it all together. So now you find the two small links that brings it all together, and you start counting -a) for a 1x setup count four pins and break the chain (making sure you will have two narrow ends!!)b) for a 2x or 3x setup count 2 pins and break the chain. BUT, this may just possibly lead to a chain that is marginally short, putting too much strain on the derailure when going to the 50 tooth .... Thus I was told to rather try the following approach 2) chain over the front ring, over the small at the back, and through the derailure. Now find the longest possible length that "just clears the derailure" on the small gear at the back .... the following photos will explain it better .... Attempt one - put the full chain length on (method one suggested I would have to remove two links, so trying the full length was a good start) The wire clamp is very handy to hold the chain in place while working on the quick link Oops ! Too long .... No problem !! EASY to remove two links. Use the wire clamp and get a nice long hanging loop. This is where the correct quick-link pliers WORKS Break the chain .... these little tools are okay for an emergency .... but man I must remember to buy a proper chain breaker for use in the garage. Insert Quick-link and check .... Now turn the crank with one hand, while shifting the derailure with your hand .... Check the upper limit screw, you DONT want the chain falling over the cassette and damaging spokes !! If anything, at this stage set it slightly short. You can now also ply with the lower limit screw, running the chain up the first gears by adjusting the lower limit screw, and making sure it JUST glides over to the small gear. All of these adjustments without even having any cables or shifters on the bike. By now Maritz got bored with all these adjustments ... and then he got going with installing the pedals. First a discussion about the L and R markings on the pedals, and the thread direction, etc etc .... Time for the grease brush, and fitting the pedals. With the spanner in the "up" position, it is turned "forward" to tighten the pedals - this applies to BOTH sides. MANY have gotten this wrong when trying to remove a pedal .... okay, I have .... Now we wait for the REBA shock .... not much more we can do until the "cockpit" can be installed .... PS - busy weekend, so the next episode may stand over until next week .... Edited May 9, 2019 by ChrisF Beard, DJR, gerriemtb and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoBigBen Posted May 10, 2019 Share Good job gents! Even an 'old hand' like me can learn a thing or 2 .... DJR and ChrisF 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne pudding Mol Posted May 10, 2019 Share Busy setting up a workshop at home - I’m pretty useless so Maritz is not the only one learning here and I’m guessing he knows more already DJR and ChrisF 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinmug Posted May 10, 2019 Share This is such a great – and no doubt highly memorable – experience for a young lad. Kudos to you for guiding him so wisely, and letting him do so much of the work (and avoiding all those tempting shortcuts!). And indeed: less is more (but I will ignore the fact that I too once had all my possessions coated in stickers ... ). The personalised Martiz stickers are very sick/phat/cool/insert appropriate term for kids. Also great to see a young South African proud of his flag. DJR, Hairy and ChrisF 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted May 10, 2019 Share I have used the same chain breaker for years ... secret is to slide a needlenose pliers into the "hole" where the handle is in order to get leverage and not to hurt your fingers ... works a treat. Break the chain .... these little tools are okay for an emergency .... but man I must remember to buy a proper chain breaker for use in the garage. S - busy weekend, so the next episode may stand over until next week .... ChrisF 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 13, 2019 Share Got the front shock back from Mark today. New seals and new oil, ready for the trails ! And finally time for a pic of the nice work CBR did BEFORE - NOW - The photo hardly do it justice. The green matches the colour of the bike, and fades into the white in the stickers on the bike. Time for the next episode in the rebuild .... got a few bits and bobs sorted while I waited for Maritz. And then it was time for the fun to start. Edited May 13, 2019 by ChrisF gerriemtb, IH8MUD, Pieter1 and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 13, 2019 Share For this project I decided to try something new for applying the grease ... paint it on with a brush .... And so Maritz applies the grease to the top - And the frame gets rotated in the stand, and the bottom gets greased - Now time to grease the shock, then the bearing gets placed. Time to marry the shock to the frame NOTE - before trying this, make SURE your frame is sturdy, and that the clamps can hold the bike in place !! Time to slip on the top bearing ... from the bottom Okay .... and this is where this build differs from the typical build .... when Maritz starts riding this bike he will be sitting low ... so I placed the stem angling down, and below the spacer. As he grows the spacer can be moved, and the stem turned up. With the boss happy I could turn the bike the right way up, and he set about torquing up all the bolts. Gotta love the intensity required to get that T-wrench to click at 5N.m ... Time to fit the handlebar. The keen eyed observers may note that the bike started with a RaceFace bar .... This bar is MUCH wider than what Maritz is used to on his Titan. So the KCNC will do duty while he grows, and as he gets used to wider bars. The RaceFace will be kept aside for when he grows into the wide bars. IH8MUD and DJR 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 13, 2019 Share Time to complete the gear installation Wish I had the words to describe his puzzled look when I started threading the outer sleeve for the gear cable .. Then the nerve racking bit to decide on the length for the cable ! Remember I need to make provision for the bars getting wider and going higher, and still want a nice tight tidy installation .... O-well, the cut was made, time will tell if I got that right. Maritz was kind enough the thread the cable REMEMBER - at this point you need to do two things:- turn in the adjuster knob fully, then 1 turn out- toggle the gear selector, while applying some tension to the cable, making sure the selector is set to the smallest gear ! Okay Maritz, pull down on the cable and tighten the bolt .... Shame, he needs both hands on the T-wrench to get it to click ... but he TRIES !! Time to cut the cable ... these tools are just too big for those small hands ... Finish it off nicely Remember I already set the limit screws last week. First settings were done BEFORE the chain was fitted, marginally on the safe side for both the low and high settings. With the chain on I checked and fine tuned the settings by moving the derailure with my thumb Only one thing remains to be done .... turn the pedals while clicking away on the gear selectors, up and down ... and check how the chain moves .... must be beginners luck, it works perfectly in the stand ! I explained to Maritz that the system will settle in, and the cable will stretch just that little bit, and a bit of grinding will be heard ... at which point we can take up this slack by turning out the adjustment knob at the selector. And it was all the time we had to play in the garage for the night .... brakes next .... Edited May 13, 2019 by ChrisF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mett Posted May 13, 2019 Share I’ve been following this since day one, and learnt so much! Really cool project man! ChrisF 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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