Park tool as a pretty good website with step by step instructions

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The older I get, the faster I was

cutting cable housing before you know you have a long enough piece. the first few times i built one i did this, thought it was long enough, wrong.

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Link to my photography
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First time installing an integrated headset.... I could not get the little wobble out. Turns out I didd not have the expansion bolt far enough down in the tube. Doh!

Buy something better than the Park Tool cable cutter. Cables and cable routing are the art part of bike building.

Ok, I'll bite..... which cable cutter tools do you recommend? I had always heard Park were good, but I know nothing (yet).

I forgot to face the BB, HT and disc brake mounts. The mechanic just shook his head. Dumb mistake I made.

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Owner of a few Speed Concepts since 2011.

Check out 'Zinn and the Art of Road Bike (or Triathlon Bike) Maintenance" are really good for the neophyte with lots of step-by-steps and pics.
Of course there's SheldonBrown.com

Biggest mistake I've made so far? Finding out how little my LBS charges for a complete build after the fact.

Seriously...my wrench recently charged me only $70 to completely build up 2 bikes from bare framesets including all new cables (and one wicked cable routing mess) and tape, and the only thing I actually bought from him was the tape. No contest and not worth the headaches for me.
But good luck; you'll learn a ton from your mistakes and it will be a sweeter ride.

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Team Javelin '05, '06, '07, '08

Re-assembling the drive train went well and I went to bed feeling pretty proud of myself. Got up in the morning only to realize the chain was on the outside of the seatstay.

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king of the road says you move too slow
KING OF THE ROAD SAYS YOU MOVE TOO SLOW

Use a dremel tool with a cutting wheel to cut cable housings. It cuts quick and super clean. I wouldn't recommend it on a carbon fork steerer tube though as some have done. I'd stick with a fine tooth hack saw blade and a cutting guide.

-- Boris

Thats what I ended up using. The Park cable cutter crushes Campy cable housings and does not always cut the cable cleanly. I had to use a Dremel tool to correct the problems that the Park Tool created.

My mistakes all have to do with cables - As someone said cables are the art form of bike building.

My newest Ah HA - use super glue instead of cable end crimps. This keeps the cables from fraying, and you keeps them looking very clean.

i just did this a couple weeks ago with my new road bike.

Here are a couple tips...

• USE A TORQUE WRENCH
• the Shimano Cable Cutter is better than the Park Tool one. Pricey though, but worth it.
• wrap bar tape bottom to top (if they are road bars). Not sure it really matters on TT bars.
  
• cable to the rear derailluer needs to enter the barrel adjuster straight, not at an angle.
• Measure the cable housing twice before cutting and make sure you leave enough slack so you can turn the handlebars.
  
• USE A TORQUE WRENCH
  
• use carbon assembly paste where you have carbon on carbon contact that you don't want to slip. Seatpost, for example. TACX is a good brand.
• work slowly and carefully, its not that hard, just be patient.
• Make sure you have a bottom bracket tool, all the necessary allen wrenches obviously.
  
• lightly grease all bolts and uh, use a torque wrench.
  

My mistakes....I cut the housing too short (twice) to my front brake. Had to buy new cables and housing and recut because I couldn't turn the bars. Misrouted the fr. derailleur cable the first time and it wouldn't shift. Tore the bar tape trying to get it tight around the shifter.

Have fun. I throughly enjoyed building up my bike. I learned a lot (through trial and error).

X2 on the Zinn book and Park Tool website. If you're using SRAM, good luck...the instructions that come with the parts are shit. :-(

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JP

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Get some rotary cutters from Sears. Cable cutters are good for cables you need a good rotary cutter to cut clean housing.

make sure you get cables that will fit the brakes that you are going to use. The cable ends for STI and aero levers are different and not interchangeable.

I recall R10C putting powercranks on a fixie.

I was turned away at a bike check in at an M-dot race for this. Turns out the mechanic refused to sticker bikes without crimps, his reasons were that the cable could slip when on the brake.

One could argue that he was being over the top for a lot of things that day, somewhat of a power-trip, but even so I thought I'd add this FYI.

Installed a longer bar stem then realized I needed longer shifter cables replaced them took the bike out for a ride and when I had to make a sharp right hand turn my rear brake came on the rear brake cable was to short as well...DOH :)

Got to Sheldon Brown's site last week, but not this morning. This was inevitable given his untimely passing in February. He is quite literally missed.

Weird - I can't see a crimp holding a cable in place since my 5 y/o daughter could remove one with a pair of pliers. If the cable got that close to the pinch bolt and was sliding though - you are screwed with or without crimp.

I see the crimps doing two things - 1 dulling the end of the cable to protect from scratching 2 keeps the cables from fraying for a finished look.

I have done two M-Dot IM's in the last two years and have never had someone look at my bike before check in - but I also live near by and haven't used the onsite mechanic's. Check in for me was racking my bike.

Well - I still like the super glue but YMMV

Mike