Basic advice on Building a Road Bike / Swapping Frames

jwadham

I have a quick question about building a new road bike and would like some advice if possible.
I recently bought a bargain Carrera gryphon that someone had kindly converted to a drop bar bike with Shimano Tiagra groupset. My question is would it be a relatively painless process to buy a new frame: Brand-X Alloy Frame - Carbon Stays inc Fork (from Chain reaction cycles) and transfer all the parts from the Carerra onto to it. I am gaining in confidence all the time in terms of maintenance but would still take it to the lbs for the final check, service and tune.
Has anyone had experience of this sort of thing? Half of me thinks it could be simple and then the other half sees me in the shed by torch light with bleeding fingers wishing I could put at least one bike back together!!

Any advice (even a simple 'No, don't do it') would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Jwadham

bill57

There's nothing terribly complicated about what you're proposing, but there are several areas where you need the right tools or you'll run into trouble. Older Tiagra cranks are square taper, so you need the appropriate extractor, plus a bottom bracket removal tool. Have a look at this post to get an idea.

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... highlight=

You'd probably be as well to buy a headset from whoever you buy the frame from, and get them to fit it for you. Without the proper tools you could easily wreck the frame. That leaves you with cutting the steerer, which is straightforward as long as you measure everything very carefully before you do it. If you're not happy to do it, LBS is the place to go.
Good luck!

gkerr4

agree with above - get the headset done for you - the rest is easy but might require some new tools - not that expensive mind, most BB tools are under a tenner and that's about all the specialist stuff you need (crank puller perhaps to get the old cranks off)

also - expect to change things like cables and budget for that

plus - plenty of advice on here if you run into difficulties. - don't expect to do it in an hour as you won't - but schedule in a few midweek nights and then you can post questions here at night and get sorted for the next evening session.

redddraggon

What's wrong with the carrera frame?

jwadham

Nothing wrong with Carerra frame. I would like to reduce the weight slightly and switching to a new frame and forks seems the best idea. Also, I figured that by doing this it’s almost a baptism by fire into the world of bike building and maintenence for the future.

chris1001

jwadham wrote:

I have a quick question about building a new road bike and would like some advice if possible.
I recently bought a bargain Carrera gryphon that someone had kindly converted to a drop bar bike with Shimano Tiagra groupset. My question is would it be a relatively painless process to buy a new frame: Brand-X Alloy Frame - Carbon Stays inc Fork (from Chain reaction cycles) and transfer all the parts from the Carerra onto to it. I am gaining in confidence all the time in terms of maintenance but would still take it to the lbs for the final check, service and tune.
Has anyone had experience of this sort of thing? Half of me thinks it could be simple and then the other half sees me in the shed by torch light with bleeding fingers wishing I could put at least one bike back together!!

Any advice (even a simple 'No, don't do it') would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Jwadham

Hi, I'm thinking of doing the same thing, any luck with this project? I noticed that Chain Reaction Cycles do the same frame and forks but with fitted headset for another £20, even easier!

jwadham

I saw the one you mentioned but I think the frame is fully aluminium rather than carbon chain stays. Although was tempted as I need to remove as much likely hood for c0ck ups as possible!

salsarider79

Somethings maybe silghtly different, such as seatpost size, front mech, etc...Good plan on getting it sorted at LBS. Have you asked your LBS is they have anything? They might be able to do a deal on a frame, and sometimes they have very nice offers/deals...
Always good to support your LBS...

redvee

Ditto the LBS route for frame etc thwt way if you need any help with the odd bit they are more likely to do it cheaper. LBS have been known IME to charge £30 to sort out boxed bike builds which has been half the original purchase price.