First time road bike build, assembly pointers?

[Crinkle]

So i pulled the trigger on the Scattante R-660, almost complete Ultegra 10 for $1050, weight somewhere around 18lbs. Ordered from Supergo website. It will arrive tomorrow. Not that i am mechanically retarded, but is there any big issues i should be aware of when putting this baby together? I can take apart my mtn bike and put it back together, so i figured this won't be that complex. Pic will be posted after assembly

[SkiingBear]

Take your time.

and

Don't tighten any bolts or cut any cables until you're sure it's all right.

My first few attempts at building a bike looked like this:

[Camilo]

If you don't have proper tools, take the frame to a shop and ask them to face the bottom bracket for you and press in the headset cups. While you're at it, ask them to pound the crown race onto your fork. The rest you should be able to do yourself. Good luck.

[Hugh Jass]

If you don't have proper tools, take the frame to a shop and ask them to face the bottom bracket for you and press in the headset cups. While you're at it, ask them to pound the crown race onto your fork. The rest you should be able to do yourself. Good luck.

What he said. Those are the things you don't want to fack up. The rest you can handle with some patience and the proper tools. And don't drink too much. Have fun.

[Art Vandelay]

Most of the bike will probably already be together since you bought a complete. There probably won't be a ton for you to do other than throwing the bars and wheels on.

[Spats]

What Art said. You'll have to put on wheels, bars, pedals, and seat, and probably spend some quality time adjusting the drivetrain. Absolutely nothing new compared to a MTB, especially now that road bikes are going to threadless headsets.

Don't forget to check spoke tension, even though machine built wheels are pretty good these days.

[Camilo]

What Art said. You'll have to put on wheels, bars, pedals, and seat, and probably spend some quality time adjusting the drivetrain. Absolutely nothing new compared to a MTB, especially now that road bikes are going to threadless headsets.

Don't forget to check spoke tension, even though machine built wheels are pretty good these days.

Oh. I was assuming this was a separate frame/group purchase. If it's a complete bike, the easiest thing you can screw up is wrapping the handlebars. Tape your cables to the bars with a single wrap of electrical tape in a couple of spots. It'll make it a lot easier to wrap the tape around the bars. Other than that, it's a really straighforward build. If it's your first bike to build, it should take you 2-3 hours.

Some other random tips:
For gear adjustments, what I like to do when building up a new bike is set the top and bottom derailleur screws with no cables attached (pushing the derailleur up by hand) and then putting the cables on. This should make for minimal adjustment once the cables are on.

If you want to save yourself some trouble later on, stress all of your cables by squeezing your levers all the way down and shifting a lot when it's on the stand. That'll get some of the stretch out of the cables so you can ride longer without adjusting. Do the same thing to your spokes: Squeeze them in groups of two to stretch them out a little bit. . . this also untwists them and you'll probably have to do some truing to get them straight again.

I'll shut up now. If some of this stuff doesn't make sense, let me know and I can send pictures or drawings or something.

[El Chupacabra]

I take several hours to build my own bikes, because I do it really really carefully -- when I worked in a shop, I'd build them in about 45 minutes. But I wouldn't do these things, which I would recommend:

- cut cables/ housings to proper lengths -- they're often far too long
- remove chain, degrease thoroughly, especially if it's Shimano (packed in really nasty sticky grease). When reinstalling, check for proper chain length; they're often 1-2 links too long
- repack headset (unless it's cartridge)
- repack hubs (unless they're cartridge)
- grease all threads on everything you install
- check wheels for proper tension as well as being in true

Good luck, have fun, take your time to do it right. Don't over-torque bolts.

-Karl

[phUnk]

JONG mtb builder here: Should I have the shop press in the star-nut or try to fake it myself? If I fake it myself, how do I know how far down to press it in?

[Art Vandelay]

I think 1.5cm is what most people go by. I'd just assume have the shop do it.

[Crinkle]

Awesome, thanks everyone.

[Viva]

I'm guessing that you're gonna have to straighten the handle bars, put on the wheels (fill 'em, too), adjust the post, and slap on the chain. I've seen bikes shipped that required that little assembly.

What's more important is afterwards. Carry the neccessary allen wrench(s) and make adjustments to saddle position during your first few rides whiles you're getting a feel for road biking. Chances are, you'll get it dialed in pretty good- ask your roadie friends for their observations. At some point down the road get properly fitted, especially if you find yourself riding frequently.

[El Chupacabra]

JONG mtb builder here: Should I have the shop press in the star-nut or try to fake it myself? If I fake it myself, how do I know how far down to press it in?

Just need it enough inside the steerer tube so that your headset's top cap doesn't bottom out on the star nut. Basically about 4-5mm down.

Tip: if installing it yourself -- take the bolt from your headset's top cap, thread it into the star nut, and pound the star nut into the steerer tube by hammering on the bolt head. The bolt also gives you a place to grab onto (pliers) to straighten it out if the star nut starts going in crooked.

Once you get the star nut seated properly, take a file and smooth out any burrs on the outside of the steerer tube.

-Karl

[Crinkle]

"pre-assembled" is a total misnomer. Fuggin front deraileur height was way too high. So while trying to adjust everything to correct heights, the cables keep stretching and when i try to re-set it, its not where it just was. Its all together, just not shifting correctly yet. It is sitting in the garage while i am cooling off inside, before i break something. This is supposed to be fun?

[Camilo]

"pre-assembled" is a total misnomer. Fuggin front deraileur height was way too high. So while trying to adjust everything to correct heights, the cables keep stretching and when i try to re-set it, its not where it just was. Its all together, just not shifting correctly yet. It is sitting in the garage while i am cooling off inside, before i break something. This is supposed to be fun?

Crank on your brakes and shifters to pre-stretch them (shifters don't overdo it or you could damage your derailleurs) and let your barrel adjusters out a little bit. That way you can adjust the cable to around where you want, and then you can fine-tune it with the barrel adjusters.

Edit: I never said it was fun. I start having fun when it's time to ride the thing. If you're driving yourself crazy with it, grab a 6er and head to the local bike shop. No sense in getting angry at your shiny new bike.

[Crinkle]

Crank on your brakes and shifters to pre-stretch them (shifters don't overdo it or you could damage your derailleurs) and let your barrel adjusters out a little bit. That way you can adjust the cable to around where you want, and then you can fine-tune it with the barrel adjusters.

Edit: I never said it was fun. I start having fun when it's time to ride the thing. If you're driving yourself crazy with it, grab a 6er and head to the local bike shop. No sense in getting angry at your shiny new bike.

I had already done those things. I may be new to road bikes, but not new to bikes. That front deraileur was really bugging me. Packed the bike up and took it to the local Supergo shop, since it is their brand. After the mechanic worked on it for 10 minutes or so, he figured out that the cranks were not completely hammered on, causing there to be a larger gap on the drive side of the bottom bracket. When it took him 20 or minutes to do it, i felt much better about myself. Even the mechanic, said it was irregular and a tough one to for a regular wrench like myself to recognize. I didn't take beer, but I gave him money to buy beer with when i left. Big ups to the mechanic Ted at Supergo in Westminster. Its dark, now, tomorrow, "WE RIDE!!!"

[phUnk]

Thanks Chupa. I ended up getting it done at the local bro shop b/c I wasn't paying 40 bucks for a pipe cutter big enough to cut a 1point5 steerer.