Bike Building: Part 1

By Rob Manning

First Things First

Bike building, part 1

There are fewer joys in life than going for a first ride on a new bike. However, there’s something anticlimactic about going to a shop, throwing down a credit card and riding out with a new toy. While riding a new bike for the first time may be a pleasure, building that bike from a pile of parts and a frame sweetens the first ride tenfold. If you’re not mechanically inclined, you will probably have a tough time building your own bike, but you can certainly participate in the process by helping your local bike shop pick and install components. If you are mechanically competent, then you’ll find that building a bike is a more thought provoking than you may have considered. It takes a logical and patient mind to build a bike from a frame to a rideable machine— so let’s get started.

The beginnings: Of the things you’ll need to do, the most important is to be sure you have all the parts you’ll need (unless you’re building piecemeal). Start by gathering the following:

• frame
• fork
• shock (if necessary)
• headset
• stem
• bars
• shifters
• brake levers
• cable housing with ferrules
• shifter cables
• brake calipers
• brake rotors
• brake caliper adapters (if necessary)
• seat post
• seat post clamp
• saddle
• cassette
• bottom bracket
• crankset
• pedals
• derailleurs
• wheels
• quick releases
• tires
• tubes
• any other small parts you may need to complete the build.

Obviously, be sure you have all the necessary tools to complete the build as well, otherwise you won’t get very far. A minimum, you'll need:

• a good set of allen keys
• a bottom bracket tool to match your bottom bracket
• a rachet or large adjustable wrench (depending on the kind of BB tool you have)
• cassette locking rool
• a good lube (Park grease is great)

Getting started:
With the frame sitting on the floor, install the seat post clamp over the seat tube and slide the seat post into the tube. By installing the seat post and clamping it down tightly, you’ll have something for the stand hold the frame steady. Clamp the frame into the stand and prepare to go to work. When working on a frame, you’ll find it much easier to work inside to out and front to back (for the most part).

Install the bottom bracket finger tight before using your BB tool.

Your first concern should be the bottom bracket installation. If you look at your bottom bracket, you'll notice that the two threaded sides of the BB will pull apart. These are the cups of the BB, and they house the bearings that allow the spindle, or axle, to spin freely. Looking at the ends of the spindle will reveal threaded holes. These holes are where the crank fixing bolts thread in. Check the spindle and be sure that it spins relatively freely. It may have a little resistance due to the grease in the bearings, but should turn relatively easily.

Begin by cleaning out the bottom bracket shell threads of the frame and ensure they are smooth and ready to take a new part. A little bit of grease on the threads will prevent clicking or creaking while spinning the cranks, and subsequently driving you nuts. Thread the large drive side spindle and cup into the shell first, and tighten it down finger tight. When you can no longer turn the cup, use your bottom bracket tool to tighten down the BB to the manufacturer’s recommended spec (which should be found in the BB owner's manual or installation instructions). Grease and thread in the non-drive side cup the same way you threaded in the drive side cup. Be sure that the spindle (the axle that the crank arms bolt on to) spins as easily when the BB is installed as it did when it was not installed.

Once your BB is installed, move up to the front end of the bike and press in your headset cups. If you’re not VERY experienced, take this to your LBS, since screwing this up will likely screw up the frame, and that would be a disaster, wouldn’t it? Once your headset is seated and the crown race installed on the fork, slide the fork through the bottom of the headset, maintaining all the bearing positions in the stack. Install spacers as necessary under the stem, and slide the stem in place. Be sure to leave a small sliver of space between the top of the fork steerer tube and the top of the stem. Install the top cap and bolt onto the fork, align the stem properly, and snug the top cap down tightly. Tighten the pinch bolts on the stem and the fork is now snug and secure in its place.

Fork and handlebar installation.

To install your handlebars, first ensure that your bars and the bar clamp part of your stem is clean and free of dirt and grease. Begin by removing the faceplate of the stem. Keep one bolt in the bottom hole of the faceplate, and place the bars on the stem. Thread in the bottom bolt with the faceplate attached, and then let the bars hang. Thread in the top bolt and begin tightening them down. Turn the bars up (if they've fallen down), and continue tightening the bolts down. Simply snugging down the faceplate bolts will do for now. You’ll want to adjust them to your riding position later on.

Align your crank arms on the spindle and torque them down.

Once you’ve got the bars in place, it’s time to tackle the cranks. Start with your drive side crank arm (and chainrings). In this case, we’re using an ISIS interface, so instructions will vary depending upon the interface you’re using. Start by greasing the spindle with a slight film of grease to allow easier installation, and do the same to the splines on the crank itself (the spines are the grooves inside the part of the crank arm that goes over the axle). Check that your bottom bracket spindle is spinning freely if you haven't already. Align the splines of the BB and crank PRECISELY. If the splines are misaligned and tightened, damage can occur to both the BB and the cranks, rendering them useless. Once the spines are aligned, tap the crank on with the heel of your hand to ensure the fit is correct, then screw in the crank fixing bolt (after adding a touch of grease) and tighten it down to the manufacturer’s recommended torque, which will be found in your installation guide. With the drive side crank in place, flip the bike around and align the non-drive side crank 180 degrees from the drive side. This will ensure the cranks feel correct on the bike. Repeat the same procedure outlined above to install the non-drive side crank. Once the non-drive side crank is installed, spin the cranks and ensure that the cranks and bottom bracket spin freely and that the cranks are balanced (one side should not drop on its own). Step away to admire your work thus far; you've got the "guts" of the bike pretty much assembled.

Next month, we’re going to move into the realm of installing shifters, derailleurs, brakes and wheels.