[andyo]

I am currently piecing together my mojo...(a long, long time coming). Anyways I have the Easton Monkeylite XC bars...they seem a bit wide right out of the box. Should I leave them or trim them down a bit? Curious to know what other mojoians have done with their handle bars.

Also, is it crucial to use a torque wrench when building up a bike? After spending so much money on parts adding another expensive tool to the list is a bit tough to swallow, any opinions?

And lastly - any advice from folks who have put theirs together? Do I grease everything with a thread on it? I never built a bike from scratch so I am a bit apprehensive...btw I had my local LBS install my cane creek 110 IS headset/Talas fork...so thats out of the way. Thanks.

 

[littlejohn]

1. Yes you can cut them down to suit. BUT, in the absence of a dremel, use the finest hacksaw blade you can get... at least 24tpi, use an old lock-on clamp as a guide, and wear a mask.

2. Not crucial, but if it's your first build then I would highly recommend it. When you get used to how tight a particular torque setting is, you won't need it as much. But until then.. better to err on the side of caution.
Another perspective is.... you've just spend a load of cash on a nice bike, what another $100 to ensure things are done up right.

3. You pretty much have to put something on if there is a thread involved. Blue threadlock for anything to do with the brakes, Ti-Prep for anything to do with Ti and light grease for everything else.

 

[glovemtb]

Why Not Do Right First Time On Such a Nice Bike

what another $100 to ensure things are done up right.

Yup >>> Torque tool (ex. tighting front der clamp on carbon -use the carbon lube here also on bar at least for stem clamp.. btw) and many other tools.
On the Monkeylights- area at ends are reinforced for bar ends usually most guys don't cut beyond that. -I do but that's another story. Put them on first as you may get used to them. Measure and do conservative cuts if you decide to cut...I think there is pdf on Easton website on cutting. Also use water as a light lube with carbon blade or atleast new blade (as John described) hacksaw or dremel. Get cut straight ...

...never built a bike from scratch so I am a bit apprehensive

Apprehension is your friend $....can you ghetto it together pretty easily...yes....are you smarter than that...we will see. :thumbsup:
If you have never built a bike before you would do well to pay an (experienced at least 3 years exp) mechanic to come over and help get all the various things right since it is such a nice bike and you have waited so long. Or another option is to pay a bike shop guy to do it at the shop and watch the first time. You will still have lots to do with routine maint. and there is more to it if you want it done right. --- there is probably an Ibis dealer near you perhaps Allston ?
Plus, they will appreciate it....include beer !
Threadlock, carbon lube (included in shipment), chainline check, alignment check > some der. hangers show up a lil bent., ferrels, cables correct length, cable cutters, steertube cutter (Hopefully the lbs that installed fork left a little on the top until you decide correct stem height...Most don't but, tas...) etc.
If you won't use the resources at to do it right, at least buy Lennard Zinn's book....

 

[ddraewwg]

I've never used a torque wrench....ever. Never had a part fail because it was over tightened, never had it loosen because it was not tight enough. I've been building/maintaining my bike(s) and other people's bikes for 5 years. I tighten everything very snug.....and never torque on it so hard that I feel like I'm going to pop a blood vessel. :thumbsup: Works for me. I do lube all major bolts/threads when I rebuild my bike (i.e, BB threads, pedal/crank, pivots, etc), but I won't lube the "minor" bolts like brakes, stem, seatpost, shift levers, etc. That is not necessary IMO.

Also, since you're building your bike for the first time, there are times when you shouldn't tighten bolts per specs. A good example are your brake levers/shifter pods. You'll damage your bar, especially a carbon bar, when/if you crash. A lot of "experienced" builders will tighten them just enough so that they will rotate on the bar w/o causing too much damage to the bar as well as to the lever/shifter pod.

 

[ghawk]

I 2nd the get a GOOD mechanic and pay em about 100 bucks to give you a hand for such and awesome bike. You'll learn a bunch, just like you do from all these post and it will be fun. Oh yea, and beer.
Oh yea, on the der. hanger...go ahead and order a spare and you will have no down time if it gets bent if you don't have alignment tool.

 

[sangmatt]

tape

I cut my bars down--for a clean cut of the cf, it seems to help to wrap the bar with tape (I used blue painter's tape), mark the tape and cut through the tape with hacksaw.

 

[pastajet]

Geez glovemtb can you use a smaller font, some of us have 50 year old eyes!

I concur that I would find a good mechanic (my Wife calls mine my other girlfriend since I spend money and time with him) and have them do the build. After all they do it for a living!

The art and skill of bolt tightening on the stem for the proper torque will come with time. It's complicated even more with carbon bars, a stem and Ti bolts. Ritchey sells this very cool tool 'Ritchey Tool Torque Key' for M4 heads, else you need to spend some cash for a decent 2-15 Nm torque wrench. The best wrench going is the Syntace but it's pricey. You can go with the much cheaper beam type such as the Park TW-1