[Mattyd]

Looking for help on a decision I need to make. I just purchased 05 Dos Niner and am psyched to ride it. I'm trying to decide whether or not to build it myself. I don't have much (any really) experience working on bikes. Any thoughts?

Also, I 'm trying to decied on parts for the niner. Hoping to ride it in a race in Feb, but we'll see how money goes. It's a 16" frame. Any suggestions?

 

[29inch]

Looking for help on a decision I need to make. I just purchased 05 Dos Niner and am psyched to ride it. I'm trying to decide whether or not to build it myself. I don't have much (any really) experience working on bikes. Any thoughts?

Also, I 'm trying to decied on parts for the niner. Hoping to ride it in a race in Feb, but we'll see how money goes. It's a 16" frame. Any suggestions?

I would do everything you can, and then go for help on the rest.

Here's the only parts that'll be hard w/out previous experience and/or special tools:

*Headset installation - although you can do it safely for about $1.30 worth of parts from any hardware store

*BB installation - although you can buy the tool for 10-15 bucks at a bike shop - or
depending on where you get your cranks, and what type they are, it may come with the tool - Related: if you're using modern 2-peice integrated cranks, final assembly is a bit messy, have to fuss with spacers - but it's do-able.

*cable/housing cutter - but it's valuable to have one, and they're only 10 bucks or so

*use hairspray for grip installation (or carb cleaner really works well, or compressed air if you have it)

*cutting the fork's steerer tube if you're getting a new fork - but you can use a traditional hacksaw - file sharp edges down when finished

*final adjustment of derailers can be a bit fussy for first-timers.

However, all that said, the total "tool investment" is less than a pro-assembly, and you can teach yourself to do it in the meantime. While bike shops usually don't like assembling someone's ebay purchases, they DO like showing you how to use tools you buy from them.....and it's hugely satisfying to build your own bike - heck, if you have a digi camera, take pic's of your problems and progress, post here for tips/tricks/help/etc. I would buy the tools, do the build, ask for help as you need it, and maybe ask the shop (or an experienced buddy) to do a final check-over/derailer adjustment prior to your first ride.

Enjoy, and report back often.

 

[j_gantzer]

The park tools website will have all u need to know and more on it to put together your new bike.

http://www.parktool.com/repair/

also you should not have to mess with the spacer on HOLLOW TECH II cranksets see-http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=95 i know my $hit i work in a bike shop

 

[Axis II]

Sine you are posting on a forum where it's probably difficult to find someone who doesn't do their own work (we are all helpless obsessives about building and tinkering with our rides) I'm guessing you probably already knew the answer that you were going to get. DO IT YOURSELF. The experience you gain will be priceless as you find that parts on this new bike will need to be adjusted, replaced, bent back into shape, etc., etc. The headset tools are expensive so you may not want to plunk down the ching for that now. Buy the tools as you find that you need them. I have found that this strategy offsets the impulse to save that money for the premium six pack on the way home from the bike shop. I have found that bikes are fairly simple machines that are forgiving of minor mechanical ineptitudes. They know that your trying to get better. They want you to succeed and overlook the occasional fumbling and misadjustments all the while rolling along, albeit in a noisy and clinking fashion. And if all else fails and you make a really big mistake it can almost always be remedied by a quick thip to the LBS.

 

[lanpope]

Do it yourself!

Here are some quick pointers:

- Go to your local book or bike store and buy "Zinn and the Art of MTB Maintenance". It will guide you through your first build.

- Keep and refer to the book for a year and then give it away to a new biker.

- Have a shop do or supervise on anything that stumps you. (remember this is not necessarily a free job on the shops part - always ask what you owe, don't expect to get free labor especially when you buy the parts on the web)

- Go slow (take the whole weekend -its winter no need to rush) and don't force anything. Everything should go together smoothly.

- Use too much grease. You can always wipe excess grease away, but you can never add it to the threads after a part is installed.

- Have fun and again take your time!

I really do not trust anyone to work on my or my wife's bikes (Ok maybe one guy in the city). You will find certain things you like just so, and certain things you don't care about. For example, I am a FREAK about bar tape on my road bikes/Jones bars. It has to be just so. Takes me like an hour to wrap the bars, but its my bike, and I want it my way. That is the beauty of working on your own bike. It makes it more "yours" IMO.

And remember pretty much everybody on this board is a crazy, over the top, off the deep end, bike nut...what else would you expect us to say?

Good luck and ask any questions you have on the forums. You will very likely get help regardless of how obscure or mundane the problem.

Finally - Post pics when done

LP

 

[RobW]

Go slow (take the whole weekend -its winter no need to rush) and don't force anything. Everything should go together smoothly.

- Use too much grease. You can always wipe excess grease away, but you can never add it to the threads after a part is installed.

- Have fun and again take your time!
LP

You've recieved a lot of good advice, but this stuff right here bears repeating. Have fun!

 

[Yunkie]

Also, you want to make sure the headtube has been "faced". As a beginner, I've has many a headache trying to install headset cups into headtubes that weren't faced. When faced properly, it takes little effort to sink the cups. Also, as a relative beginner, I may be better able to speak in laymans terms (thingy, whooziewhatsit, thingamgig et al), so pm me if you need any pointers. The biggest headache I've had so far has been adjusting the derailleurs. There isn't that much info on how to do it that's easy for the beginner to understand - but it's actually really easy. I don't know whether this is common amongst cyclists or not, but I've always had a very hard time understanding what the heck most "wrenches" are talking about when explaining the workings of a bike. Could just be me.

 

[Lutarious]

My Thoughts...

Grease will not make a cross threaded bolt work properly, nor will it align a crooked headset cup. Grease will also not protect dissimalar metals from galling under very high torque loads.

Although it is true that threaded parts like to have some protection form electolysis between dissimalar metals, it is not a good idea to slather every part in grease. Buy a tube of anti seize compound at your auto parts store. It's cheap, it smells like crap, and it is the correct tonic for valuable items like bottom brackets, crank bolts, and other items requiring higher torque values. Anti seize is the stuff you use when you want parts to go together smoothly and stay together until you decide to remove them. As the name implies, it will also facilitate the removal of parts which might otherwise have become seized by corrosion or galling of metals.

Use a very small amount of grease (very very small. Thin layer only.) on things that you intend to move or adjust as you go, like cable adjusters, brake lever pivots, and so on. Moving parts require grease to keep them operating smoothly with less friction. Grease attracts dirt and grit, so use it sparingly and wipe all of the visible excess with a rag and WD-40. (WD-40, by the way, is NOT a lubricant. It is a solvent with some lubricant in it. Never "oil" any moving parts with WD-40. Not ever.)

There is a difference between anti seize and regular grease and usinf the right stuff will make for a much more reliable build.