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Blatant small brag: I rescued a bike, but I may have to give it away! (And a rant about bottom brackets)
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I got a Cervelo S1 that was in bad shape and the mechanic said it was not worth repairing. The crank was broken. Wheels, brakes, cassette. It was all garbage. But, I could not let it go. It was my first love. So, the challenge was: How difficult would it be to restore it myself? And to make the challenge slightly more interesting, I wanted to repair as much as possible and use second hand parts.

Short answer: It took about 5 short days and a lot of youtube to get it to this point:


Lessons?
- Park Tools has a lot of good videos. Thanks!
- It was surprisingly easy to change the cables on the S1 despite the internal routing (well, half-internal)
- Get a proper tool box and a bench (and good light!)
- It is a lot of fun.
- And obviously you learn a lot and it gives the very justifiable feeling of superiority that also allows you to look down on those who cannot repair their own bikes. Not to speak of those who cannot adjust gears and brakes! (Never mind I was almost like that a week ago)

Now, the rant.

Can somebody please, please create a revolution and standardize the bottom bracket mess. The S1 has a threaded bottom bracket. English, not Italian. Fine. I am happy it is not one of the million press fit systems (which would require expensive tooling and be a pain). So I get a Shimano Bottom Bracket that fits and a crank that has the same dimensions (68 mm) and looked a lot like the old crank. Discover that the tools I have do not fit this BB, and that the adapter does not work. Not only are there lots of BB, there are lots of different tools to install even those that are similar. Come on, Shimano, was miniscule weight you saved by introducing a smaller external BB really necessary? Anyway. Back to the shop to get a tool. Ended up buying a box (of course). Installed the BB.

But there was some play? Not a lot, but more than acceptable. Was it my mistake? Not tightening it enough? Experimented with this for a few hours. Turns out that some cranks that fit the English threaded BBs have asymmetric dimensions (24mm/22 mm), while some have 24/24 mm. The crank required the asymmetric BB. Great, now I have to buy SRAM BB! Did that and it finally worked.

In short, there are three parts here: The bike has to fit the bottom bracket, that has to fit the crank, and the work can only be done with specialized tools that may or may not fit with the other systems. The compatibility charts take a few hours to work out if you are unlucky or stupid like me.

The rest was just ok. Except for one issue, which unfortunately may make me give it away. The seatpost is stuck! Violence might solve it, but the seatpost on the S1 is the one part that is very difficult to get if it gets broken. So unless ST has magical advice, it will go back to my tall brother who has this crazy seat position.

Anyway. It was (mostly) fun.
Last edited by: Hans Olav: Nov 20, 20 16:39
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Re: Blatant small brag: I rescued a bike, but I may have to give it away! (And a rant about bottom brackets) [Hans Olav] [ In reply to ]
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Hans Olav wrote:
I got a Cervelo S1 that was in bad shape and the mechanic said it was not worth repairing. The crank was broken. Wheels, brakes, cassette. It was all garbage. But, I could not let it go. It was my first love. So, the challenge was: How difficult would it be to restore it myself? And to make the challenge slightly more interesting, I wanted to repair as much as possible and use second hand parts.

Short answer: It took about 5 short days and a lot of youtube to get it to this point:


Lessons?
- Park Tools has a lot of good videos. Thanks!
- It was surprisingly easy to change the cables on the S1 despite the internal routing (well, half-internal)
- Get a proper tool box and a bench (and good light!)
- It is a lot of fun.
- And obviously you learn a lot and it gives the very justifiable feeling of superiority that also allows you to look down on those who cannot repair their own bikes. Not to speak of those who cannot adjust gears and brakes! (Never mind I was almost like that a week ago)

Now, the rant.

Can somebody please, please create a revolution and standardize the bottom bracket mess. The S1 has a threaded bottom bracket. English, not Italian. Fine. I am happy it is not one of the million press fit systems (which would require expensive tooling and be a pain). So I get a Shimano Bottom Bracket that fits and a crank that has the same dimensions (68 mm etc) and looked a lot like the old crank. Discover that the tools I have do not fit this BB, and that the adapter does not work. Not only are there lots of BB, there are lots of different tools to install even those that are similar. Come on, Shimano, was miniscule weight you saved by introducing a smaller external BB really necessary? Anyway. Back to the shop to get a tool. Ended up buying a box (of course). Installed the BB.

But there was some play? Not a lot, but more than acceptable. Was it my mistake? Not tightening it enough? Experimented with this for a few hours. Turns out that some cranks that fit the English threaded BBs have asymmetric dimensions (24mm/22 mm), while some have 24/24 mm. The crank required the asymmetric BB. Great, now I have to buy SRAM BB! Did that and it finally worked.

In short, three are three parts here: The bike has to fit bottom bracket, that has to fit the crank, and the work can only be done with specialized tools that may or may not fit with the other systems. The compatibility charts take a few hours to work out if you are unlucky or stupid like me.

The rest was just ok. Except for one issue, which unfortunately may make me give it away. The seatpost is stuck! Violence might solve it, but the seatpost on the S1 is the one part that is very difficult to get if it gets broken. So unless ST has magical advice, it will go back to my tall brother who has this crazy seat position.

Anyway. It was (mostly) fun.

Penetrating oil and a bit of persuasion.

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
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Re: Blatant small brag: I rescued a bike, but I may have to give it away! (And a rant about bottom brackets) [Hans Olav] [ In reply to ]
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Hans Olav wrote:


Can somebody please, please create a revolution and standardize the bottom bracket mess. The S1 has a threaded bottom bracket. English, not Italian. Fine. I am happy it is not one of the million press fit systems (which would require expensive tooling and be a pain). So I get a Shimano Bottom Bracket that fits and a crank that has the same dimensions (68 mm) and looked a lot like the old crank. Discover that the tools I have do not fit this BB, and that the adapter does not work. Not only are there lots of BB, there are lots of different tools to install even those that are similar. Come on, Shimano, was miniscule weight you saved by introducing a smaller external BB really necessary? Anyway. Back to the shop to get a tool. Ended up buying a box (of course). Installed the BB.

But there was some play? Not a lot, but more than acceptable. Was it my mistake? Not tightening it enough? Experimented with this for a few hours. Turns out that some cranks that fit the English threaded BBs have asymmetric dimensions (24mm/22 mm), while some have 24/24 mm. The crank required the asymmetric BB. Great, now I have to buy SRAM BB! Did that and it finally worked.

In short, there are three parts here: The bike has to fit the bottom bracket, that has to fit the crank, and the work can only be done with specialized tools that may or may not fit with the other systems. The compatibility charts take a few hours to work out if you are unlucky or stupid like me.


Yours is the second time today I've heard that rant:

Dear bike industry: these are the only mountain bike standards you should use

"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10, and I don't know why!"
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Re: Blatant small brag: I rescued a bike, but I may have to give it away! (And a rant about bottom brackets) [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks. (You may have made my brother unhappy. So thanks again).
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Re: Blatant small brag: I rescued a bike, but I may have to give it away! (And a rant about bottom brackets) [Warbird] [ In reply to ]
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Something else to complain about:

I don't think they make the un55 any more
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Re: Blatant small brag: I rescued a bike, but I may have to give it away! (And a rant about bottom brackets) [Warbird] [ In reply to ]
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Good article. At least he did not invent a new standard to be the standard. Cue standard xkcd reply on the topic:

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Re: Blatant small brag: I rescued a bike, but I may have to give it away! (And a rant about bottom brackets) [Hans Olav] [ In reply to ]
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16 when some total fheckwhit decides what we need to improve the 30mm axle is an axle and bearing at 29.9mm
Geez whomever came up with that really does need a right good shoeing.
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Re: Blatant small brag: I rescued a bike, but I may have to give it away! (And a rant about bottom brackets) [BobAjobb] [ In reply to ]
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BobAjobb wrote:
16 when some total fheckwhit decides what we need to improve the 30mm axle is an axle and bearing at 29.9mm
Geez whomever came up with that really does need a right good shoeing.

I have a quarq with the DUB bb. I don’t mind it because it Wil work with any bike, it isn’t really a new standard in the sense that it makes your old stuff obsolete. It just offers the same universal compatibility that a shimano 24mm standard does.

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
Quote Reply
Re: Blatant small brag: I rescued a bike, but I may have to give it away! (And a rant about bottom brackets) [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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JasoninHalifax wrote:
Hans Olav wrote:
I got a Cervelo S1 that was in bad shape and the mechanic said it was not worth repairing. The crank was broken. Wheels, brakes, cassette. It was all garbage. But, I could not let it go. It was my first love. So, the challenge was: How difficult would it be to restore it myself? And to make the challenge slightly more interesting, I wanted to repair as much as possible and use second hand parts.

Short answer: It took about 5 short days and a lot of youtube to get it to this point:


Lessons?
- Park Tools has a lot of good videos. Thanks!
- It was surprisingly easy to change the cables on the S1 despite the internal routing (well, half-internal)
- Get a proper tool box and a bench (and good light!)
- It is a lot of fun.
- And obviously you learn a lot and it gives the very justifiable feeling of superiority that also allows you to look down on those who cannot repair their own bikes. Not to speak of those who cannot adjust gears and brakes! (Never mind I was almost like that a week ago)

Now, the rant.

Can somebody please, please create a revolution and standardize the bottom bracket mess. The S1 has a threaded bottom bracket. English, not Italian. Fine. I am happy it is not one of the million press fit systems (which would require expensive tooling and be a pain). So I get a Shimano Bottom Bracket that fits and a crank that has the same dimensions (68 mm etc) and looked a lot like the old crank. Discover that the tools I have do not fit this BB, and that the adapter does not work. Not only are there lots of BB, there are lots of different tools to install even those that are similar. Come on, Shimano, was miniscule weight you saved by introducing a smaller external BB really necessary? Anyway. Back to the shop to get a tool. Ended up buying a box (of course). Installed the BB.

But there was some play? Not a lot, but more than acceptable. Was it my mistake? Not tightening it enough? Experimented with this for a few hours. Turns out that some cranks that fit the English threaded BBs have asymmetric dimensions (24mm/22 mm), while some have 24/24 mm. The crank required the asymmetric BB. Great, now I have to buy SRAM BB! Did that and it finally worked.

In short, three are three parts here: The bike has to fit bottom bracket, that has to fit the crank, and the work can only be done with specialized tools that may or may not fit with the other systems. The compatibility charts take a few hours to work out if you are unlucky or stupid like me.

The rest was just ok. Except for one issue, which unfortunately may make me give it away. The seatpost is stuck! Violence might solve it, but the seatpost on the S1 is the one part that is very difficult to get if it gets broken. So unless ST has magical advice, it will go back to my tall brother who has this crazy seat position.

Anyway. It was (mostly) fun.

Penetrating oil and a bit of persuasion.

+1
Penetrating oil ('plus gas' is the brand of what I use - not just wd40).
Let it soak for a good while.
Also try to soak it from both outside at the top, and get some into the inside of the frame's seat tube. That can be either via taking the BB out (you have the tools now 😁) OR maybe try taking the bottle cage off and squirting through the threaded hole with a straw that usually comes with the can. And put the bike upside down for it to get to the joint.

Finally when you come to try to remove the post, try getting some heat into the frame's tube. Obvs you don't want to damage the paintwork by getting too hot. But maybe a hair drier ? Or at least hot water to the outside of the frame tube .
That bit of expansion can make a difference.

Next time... don't forget to grease the tube/post 😎
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Re: Blatant small brag: I rescued a bike, but I may have to give it away! (And a rant about bottom brackets) [Hans Olav] [ In reply to ]
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I think I have one of those posts in my fit studio - it's not new but you can have it if you break that one trying to get it out.

Ian

PS - yes, BB standard... it's nice to dream.

Ian Murray
http://www.TriathlonTrainingSeries.com
I like the pursuit of mastery
Twitter - @TriCoachIan
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Re: Blatant small brag: I rescued a bike, but I may have to give it away! (And a rant about bottom brackets) [BobAjobb] [ In reply to ]
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BobAjobb wrote:
16 when some total fheckwhit decides what we need to improve the 30mm axle is an axle and bearing at 29.9mm
Geez whomever came up with that really does need a right good shoeing.


A DUB axle is 28.99mm and I think they are a great idea.
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Re: Blatant small brag: I rescued a bike, but I may have to give it away! (And a rant about bottom brackets) [Hans Olav] [ In reply to ]
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This does not do you much good now but I just sold that exact seat post brand new on Ebay a few months ago. The good news is they seem to show up fairly regularly on Ebay. If you can get the old one out I am pretty confident you can get one if you keep an eye out.
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Re: Blatant small brag: I rescued a bike, but I may have to give it away! (And a rant about bottom brackets) [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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Wait until you try to fit a quarq power meter, also owned by sram. Sram went from a three bolt spider to crank interface to an 8 bolt interface and back, but quarq stayed 8. So you will have to either buy a dub crankset with an 8 bolt interface, only one top end model, or ditch your dub bottom bracket and go to the old 24mm cranks. Now try to find that out before spending the cash... Almost zero information on srams web site. You only found out when you have spent your money, an stuck with incompatible parts during the weekend with all shops closed :-(
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Re: Blatant small brag: I rescued a bike, but I may have to give it away! (And a rant about bottom brackets) [ecce-homo] [ In reply to ]
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ecce-homo wrote:
Wait until you try to fit a quarq power meter, also owned by sram. Sram went from a three bolt spider to crank interface to an 8 bolt interface and back, but quarq stayed 8. So you will have to either buy a dub crankset with an 8 bolt interface, only one top end model, or ditch your dub bottom bracket and go to the old 24mm cranks. Now try to find that out before spending the cash... Almost zero information on srams web site. You only found out when you have spent your money, an stuck with incompatible parts during the weekend with all shops closed :-(

Huh? I did. I figured it out pretty easily

Btw, the top end cranks by themselves are only usd196, a pretty good deal. The whole system, with carbon cranks, was less than a P2Max with alloy cranks.

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
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Re: Blatant small brag: I rescued a bike, but I may have to give it away! (And a rant about bottom brackets) [Hans Olav] [ In reply to ]
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Great job. Looks like a fun way to learn more about bikes.

http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com
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