[ironbike1]

Not completly done since I am waiting for my BB7's & chain to arrive, so I will update the pics once they come & I get them on. So far with the exception of the stripped screw & cutting my derialleur cable to short all is going smoothly. I went into the LBS to get a cassette tool & the guy told me to bring the cassette & the wheel in & he would do it for free. Not bad considering I spend good money there from time to time. only other thing was figuring out where to install the levers & shifter pods so that it felt comfortable. I guess that is more of a personal choice?
Not a bad upgrade job for $272.

Just can't wait for the brakes & chain to arrive so I can test ride it.:thumbsup: My wife can't wait either, since it is freezing in the garage she let me bring it inside.

Installed so far:
Avid Speed dial 7 levers ($20)
Shimano 06' LX trigger shifters ($30)
SRAM PG-990 Cassette ($50)
Token Carbon Fiber headset spacer ($3)

on order
06' BB7 Brake set 160mm ($134)
SRAM PC-991gold power link hollow pin 9spd chain ($35)

 

[Full Mountain]

sounds like you got some pretty good deals there...enjoy

DMR

 

[robdamanii]

B!tchin' upgrade job man! Now we have to go out and ride it into the ground, eh?

 

[ironbike1]

B!tchin' upgrade job man! Now we have to go out and ride it into the ground, eh?

Thanks, I can not wait to try it out.

The deals were all off of ebay & Ben's Cycles. Once I get everything together I will post the rest of the pics.:thumbsup:

 

[robdamanii]

Um, is th cat chowing on your cables?

 

[ironbike1]

Um, is th cat chowing on your cables?

Well, not a good one. I cut the cable that came on the shifters to the wrong length, & he wouldn't leave the other cables on the bike alone so I gave him the bad one to play with. He wasn't chewing it just kind of cuffing it & pushing it around.

 

[ironbike1]

Let me ask you guys something, to me the cables in the front look messy, is it just me or are they messy looking? I never really noticed it until I looked closely at the picture.

 

[AndrewTO]

Let me ask you guys something, to me the cables in the front look messy, is it just me or are they messy looking? I never really noticed it until I looked closely at the picture.

Yeah, they're a little screwed up. Well, I guess it depends on who you ask, but ..... my take;

RD - from the shifter, route the housing to the opposite side of the head tube (non-drive side). Run it through the center pair of guides. From there route down the seatstay to the RD. Also, while you're at it, you might want to shorten the housing between the top tube and seatstay. Wait untill you re-route it to be sure, but what you have there, to me, looks like it needs to be shortened 1/2 - 3/4". What you have in those pics, routed that way, is waaaay too long.

FD - same idea as above, but you'll obviously be routing the housing to the pair of guides on the drive side. The housing length (between the top tube and seat tube) looks fine there.

The housing should always be routed so that it travels to the opposite side of the head tube from where it comes off the handlebar. The reason is to avoid pinching, or kinking, the housing/cable.

Front brake - well, I guess you'll have to wait untill you have the front caliper mounted, but you'll want that one shorter, too. Damn, you could lasso a friggin' Moose with that!

Looks pretty good, otherwise. :thumbsup: Be sure to buy more from your LBS for helping out with your cassette. Not many places help out like that, so be sure you let them know you recognize and appreciate it. :thumbsup:

BTW - your stem is crooked. :nono:

 

[SHIVER ME TIMBERS]

congrats....gonna be nice:thumbsup:

 

[ironbike1]

Yeah, they're a little screwed up. Well, I guess it depends on who you ask, but ..... my take;

RD - from the shifter, route the housing to the opposite side of the head tube (non-drive side). Run it through the center pair of guides. From there route down the seatstay to the RD. Also, while you're at it, you might want to shorten the housing between the top tube and seatstay. Wait untill you re-route it to be sure, but what you have there, to me, looks like it needs to be shortened 1/2 - 3/4". What you have in those pics, routed that way, is waaaay too long.

FD - same idea as above, but you'll obviously be routing the housing to the pair of guides on the drive side. The housing length (between the top tube and seat tube) looks fine there.

The housing should always be routed so that it travels to the opposite side of the head tube from where it comes off the handlebar. The reason is to avoid pinching, or kinking, the housing/cable.

Front brake - well, I guess you'll have to wait untill you have the front caliper mounted, but you'll want that one shorter, too. Damn, you could lasso a friggin' Moose with that!

Looks pretty good, otherwise. :thumbsup: Be sure to buy more from your LBS for helping out with your cassette. Not many places help out like that, so be sure you let them know you recognize and appreciate it. :thumbsup:

BTW - your stem is crooked. :nono:

I will give that a try this morning. As for the front brake cable, I have it that long because I want to wait until the calipers come, then I can cut it down. PLus I need more of those little end fittings.

I always buy from the LBS when it comes to cables & other small things. I spend good money with them.

The stem is only propped on for now.:thumbsup:

 

[ironbike1]

Ok I got all but the chain installed, I am still waiting for that to come, it should be on by Wednesday or Thursday. Once I snap a couple pics either tonight or tomorrow morning I will post them up.

 

[ironbike1]

Ok, here are some of the updated pics. I got the wheels back on with the brakes installed, still waiting for the chain. I also rerouted the cables & took the suggestions made by AndrewTO, it worked out nicely. The only thing I didn't do was route the FD cable to the guide all of the way to the left side, I ended up running it down the middle guide, just looked & worked out better. Thanks for the suggestions:thumbsup: I think it looks much cleaner & makes it look slick with the cables cut to the proper length. Before I did the cables/housings it was way to long with lots of bends in the cables & the way it was routed didn't really make since. Now it looks nice & operates much better, I can feel a difference in the shifting/breaking already. Once I get the final piece on I will post the final product pics up.

front view:

My view

front break line

 

[jeffj]

It looks clean, but do the cables bind when you turn the bar 90 degrees? They (the rear shift cable in particular) look a bit taut to me.

As for the levers, rotate them so your wrists are not bent when riding. It should be flat from your forearm right across the back of your hand.

 

[AndrewTO]

Actually, you did exactly what I said ("Run it through the center pair of guides."). I meant to route the housing around to the left (non-drive) side.

Anyways, doesn't matter, you still did it what I suggested. :thumbsup:

I'm with jeffj, though. Damn, those look SHORT up front! :eekster: How far can you turn the front wheel???? Hmmm, maybe "far" isn't the right word ..... along with "turn". :eekster:

Please, be carefull the first few times you turn hard-right. You could activate the rear brake in the process when you're not expecting it.

 

[ironbike1]

Well they dont bind up to much but after I cut them I felt like they were to short. I will mess around with them later but I hope I dont have to get new housing, I think between cables & housing I will be going broke soon.

It is trial & error with me & this, since it is my first time doing all of it my self. I wasn't really sure how much I needed to leave for movement?

 

[ironbike1]

Just like you guys mentioned they are to short.:madman: If I turn the bar either way 90 degrees the housing gets real tight around the crown. Way to short & I am going to have to replace them yet again. Damn that sucks..

Hows the front brake cable look? That one is just dropped straight down so it should be ok. When the shock is compressed it moves up a little but I dont think it is to short?

 

[ironbike1]

OK, here it is. I also resized all my pics after reading the post on big picture sizes .
I installed all new cables & housing this morning, come to find out I was using brake cable housing for the derialleurs so I changed that out for the correct housing.
As for the upgrades, well everything went smoothly minus my mishap with short cables & housing. I can not belileve the difference in shifting with the new shifters, it is so clean & precise, almost hard to believe it is my bike. Between the avid levers & the brakes I get a super smooth operation & feel they were well worth the money. I still need to break in the brakes but I already feel a big difference with how everything looks & operates (I still need to adjust & tune things). The chain is pretty cool, I like how it looks & it is real smooth running. Not sure I would have paid the full price for it but for what I paid I would grab it anyday.
Thanks to everyone for the advice & suggestions, & as always feel free to voice your opinions about the upgrade & look of the bike, I am sure I will get a couple that dislike how my cables look. Sorry if this is a lot of pics, but I like using my new camera & I like taking pics of my bike.

 

[AndrewTO]

(stands and applauds)

Heeeeeeyyyy, bravo, bravo!!!!!! :band:

Now THAT is one mighty fine example of a solid, clean mountain bike! :thumbsup:


Okay, now learn from your mistakes. Most important part is a little bit of foresight - KEEP your old housings (the one's you JUST took off)! Yes, do NOT throw them out! They're brand new, you had them on the bike and didn't even ride it. Keep them for the next time you need to change housings. Just shorten them up and re-use them for the shorter sections (around the seatpost and at the RD). You'll need to buy that much less. Keep in mind shifter housing and brake housing is different.

Hopefully this doesn't send you rushing to the garbage can. :eekster:

Now, GO RIDE YOUR BIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ironbike1]

Thanks & No I wont be running to the garbage can. I kept the old housings You really do learn a lot about the bike & the way things operate when you do the work your self.


I did change 1 thing. I ran the front brake cable straight down. It goes in behind the left fork leg & is zip tied to it then it goes directly into the caliper, I also put 1 zip tie on the reverse arch to keep the cable from hitting the tire or the stanchion.