Assembly

[Noel M.]

Hi eveyone, this is my first post.

I don't own a Rivendell just yet; I'm still in the process of
(patiently) saving up for an AHH or a Sam. I'm constantly on their
website to explore and learn. I'm not too keen on the various
components so I'll take whatever the folks at Rivendell suggests..when
the time comes to order. Currently, I ride a Trek 7100 (hybrid) which
I bought about a year ago...I love to ride!

For those who have done it, how easy/complicated was it to assemble
your Riv yourself?

I'm somewhat mechanically inclined and armed with just basic tools.
The only other bikes I've assembled was my daughters' bikes and my
wife's Schwinn bike ordered from LLBean. I've also watched Riv's
Youtube video (several times) of one of their bikes being assembled.
They make it look easy..but then again, the guy's a pro!

Would assembling an AHH/Sam be any more complicated than assembling,
say, my wife's Schwinn bike?

Also, will the folks from Riv instruct me as to the proper height of
the saddle and stem?

I'll would be greatful for any insight and information on this
subject.

thanks all!

[Zack]

Hey Noel -

Couple of thoughts: 

Rivendell has a "Build Fee" of $210 if you get the bike sent to you the way that you see in the YouTube video.  This, to me, was worth it, as I knew that they were going to have everything set up perfectly.  The assembly that you have see in the video will be well within your skill set, it's easy peezy.

If you decide to just get all the parts through them, the build will take longer/more experience.  Not to say you couldn't do it, but it would probably take you some time as you were doing it the first time yourself.  For people that are experienced mechanics the build fee wouldn't make sense. 

I knew it would take me a day or two to build it myself, and it's worth $210 to me to have it done perfectly and save me that time.

I am sure they can give you tips on saddle and stem height.  

The experience of talking through options with them couldn't be better, in my experience.  They are always really helpful and committed to getting you on a bike that you will love and that will fit you.

[PATRICK MOORE]

On Sat, Aug 6, 2011 at 4:42 PM, Noel M. <emarc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi eveyone, this is my first post.
>

Welcome!

>
> For those who have done it, how easy/complicated was it to assemble
> your Riv yourself?

Easy.

>
> Would assembling an AHH/Sam be any more complicated than assembling,
> say, my wife's Schwinn bike?

No; if anything easier unless your wife's Schwinn was a single speed
model. And good bikes are a lot easier to work on than cheap bikes.

>
> Also, will the folks from Riv instruct me as to the proper height of
> the saddle and stem?

Sure; ask them. Be sure to get saddle in right place (up/down,
fore/aft) before adjusting stem and bar.

>
> I'll would be greatful for any insight and information on this
> subject.

There is always, or usually, a period of adjustment with a new bike;
even after 40+ years of assembling my own bicycles I don't get
everything exactly right the first time -- tho' as you gain more
experience you will also, probably, become more picky about fit. So,
get it as good as you can, and then ride it and adjust as you feel it
necessary.

Good luck, and post photos.

> thanks all!
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
> To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
>
>

--
Patrick Moore
Albuquerque, NM
For professional resumes, contact
Patrick Moore, ACRW
patric...@resumespecialties.com

A billion stars go spinning through the night
Blazing high above your head;
But in you is the Presence that will be
When all the stars are dead.
(Rilke, Buddha in Glory)

[EastBayGuy]

When I bought my SimpleOne, I decided to build it up myself so I was familiar with everything on the Bike and to teach myself to be self sufficient on repairs. I am still fairly new to building and working on my own bikes and this helped me a ton. Instead of paying for the build fee, I took that money and bought a workstand, the needed tools and winged it.

Took a little longer but I definitely learned allot in the Process. It was well worth a few headaches along the way but very satisfying in the end.

It did help having RBWHQ a stones throw away from my office.

Dustin G

Walnut Creek Ca

[cyclotourist]

Putting a bike together is immensely enjoyable.  You should take on the challenge!  Bottom bracket and headset are the only things you might want to ask them to install as they take specialized tools.  Everything else on the bike is mostly done w/ a 5 or 6mm hex wrench!  Adjusting the derailers and cable tension will probably be your only tough spot and I'm sure you'll get plenty of advice from us if you can't get past that stage!  :-)

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/rYG9xAX46_gJ.

To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.

--
Cheers,
David
Redlands, CA

...in terms of recreational cycling there are many riders who would probably benefit more from
improving their taste than from improving their performance. - RTMS

[islaysteve]

Noel, IF you are mechanically-inclined and would like to get to know your bike and come away with an extra sense of accomplishment, I would second Dustin's recommendation to assemble the whole thing yourself.  I've picked up these skills and tools over the years of riding and being interested in bikes in general, even to the extent of having my own bike repair business at one point.  But Dustin is correct; for the $200+ build fee, you can just as easily buy a workstand and tools.  In the end, you have a bike you've built yourself, some good tools, good knowledge, and the pride of having done it.  So if money is worth more than time, please consider it.    Also, there are many online resources for bike repair/assembly.  Including, of course, this forum.  Best of luck, Steve

[Thomas Lynn Skean]

I rode a Trek 7300 for a year or so (and over several eras of a couple years each, a few other Treks) and had never done *any* work on a bike ever. I bought a Samuel Hillborne and wheels over a year ago and, after spraying the frame's insides with rust-protectant and letting that "steep" a couple days, built it up over a weekend. I am *marginally* mechanically inclined. I made several mistakes that required me to re-do things along the way. But nothing meaningly harmful. I was riding my new bike a week after I got the frameset (two days of actual building up). In my case (and probably in yours; ask RBW to confirm) my frameset came with the headset installed (not adjusted). Already-installed headset is good; I think installing a headset would be a little tricky for a layman without specialized tools that cost scores of dollars. But *everything else* is *very* doable by a layman. Some things will require special tools (at least: housing cutters, bottom bracket tool). And a set of Allen wrenches will be essential. But nothing that costs oodles of money or takes particular skill to use

If you are mechanically inclined, are generally engineer-y, are willing to spend *some* money on tools and supplies, and are *interested*, then you will greatly benefit from putting it together yourself.

I've put >5,000 miles on my Hillborne and have not discovered *anything* I've done wrong except that I misadjusted the derailer before the first time I rode it and as a result the chain came off; temporarily disappointing but I was able to fix it in >30 minutes and continued my ride. Nothing since. Putting together a quality bike like a Rivendell production frameset is indeed easy.

If you *aren't* interested in how your bike goes together and fully intend to have your local bike shop fix anything that goes wrong that's more serious than a flat tire... then RBW's $200-ish assembly fee (maybe somewhat higher now; check!) is a *great* deal. Given their expertise and care and interest, it'd be worth $400 in my book. (Disclosure: my local bike shops have all disappointed me; perhaps I'm bitter.) And it's fine if that's how you view your bike; you own it, it doesn't own you.

Enjoy!

Yours,
Thomas Lynn Skean
who is getting a second Sam frameset and will build it up himself

[EricP]

Agree with the others, if you feel like it's something you'd like to
try, then it's not a bad investment to get the tools and a stand. I
did that for my Sam Hillborne. Spent a day in the garage putting
things together.

Now, the end product did not look as nice and neat as what comes out
of Rivendell. So that is a downgrade. But as it was my first full
build, it was fun. Besides the Rivendell videos other places like
Park Tools also have repair/building videos. I also invested in the
Park Tool Blue Book which comes in handy from time to time.

Personally, would love to be able to spend the extra money and buy a
bike built up from the good folks in Walnut Creek. Not sure it will
ever happen. However, it is a nice wish.

Eric Platt
St. Paul, MN

On Aug 7, 5:33 pm, Thomas Lynn Skean <thomaslynnsk...@comcast.net>
wrote:

[Noel M.]

Thanks for the input, everyone!

I originally was wondering the degree of difficulty of assembling a bike after paying the build fee.  So basically, just attaching the stem, saddle and wheels to the frame.  But now, with the suggestions from you fine folks about assembling everything from scratch, you've got me wondering whether I should take on THAT challenge.  There's just something that sounds so right and so personal about putting together, from scratch, a bike of this caliber.   Hmmmm....

With the resources available to me (e.g. RBW, internet, this forum, etc), I'm confident that I can do it!

Thanks again, everyone! 

[Brett Lindenbach]

I also put together my first bike this past winter, a used Bleriot. Mistakes were made (only a few). I figgered them out. Everything works great, and now I feel I can maintain this bike on my own. Also, as I live in the NE, it gave me something to do when the snow kept me from riding. As it sounds like your bike is at least months away from delivery, I suggest you factor in whether you need to hit the ground pedaling or whether you have the time to learn every nook and cranny of your ride. Btw, I just remembered that, as a kid, I took apart and reassembled the first bike I owned, a banana-seated Columbia, in order to repaint it. Man, talk about beausage!
Cheers,
Brett

[stevep33]

Having a pro install the headset is a good idea - getting it right
take a few expensive tools that you won't use often, and you don't
want to screw up the hs. It's sort of a moot point since I'm pretty
sure many Riv frames come with the headset installed.

Otherwise, go for it. Wrenching is terrific fun.

[Rex Kerr]

I agree with the general sentiment of the rest of the posts, but I'd like to add a few points.

I just went through a full build of my wonderful A Homer Hilsen myself, though I've done a few dozen builds and overhauls before, so the decision was easy for me..

As others have said, RBW installs the headset for you and prepares ("faces") the bottom bracket sell and cleans out ("chases") the rear derailler hanger threads, the parts requiring the most expensive tools and skill.

There is really only one thing that I can think of that you could seriously mess up bad enough to harm the bike, and that would be to cross thread a braze-on on the frame.  If you  were to start putting a screw in crooked, and tried to force it in, you'd cut new threads at an angle and mess up the hole, requiring more major repairs, possibly serious ones.  This isn't a problem if you're careful and never put much force on a scew except for the final tightening -- if it won't go in smoothly, something's usually wrong!!

Related to that, you should probably also ask then to clean out ("chase") all of the other threads that you intend to use (rack and fender eyelets, etc), as a newly painted frame will have paint in all of the holes, making the screws not go in well.  Some people just force the screw in over the paint, but it significantly increases the chance of the problem that I mentioned above.   Chasing threads is very easy, and the tool is cheap, but there's a high risk of cutting at an angle or breaking off the tool, which is made from hardened metal, which is more brittle, and can't be drilled out to extract it!  I'd ask them to check all of the threads, even the ones that don't have paint because my AHH had one DT shifter boss that needed to be chased as well as I couldn't put a screw into it without significant force (luckily I was comfortable using a tap to clean it out).

I'm not sure how much they'd want for doing this step for you, but I can't imagine that it'd be much, and it's cheap insurance.

-Rex

> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.

[Rex Kerr]

On Mon, Aug 8, 2011 at 8:08 AM, Rex Kerr <rex...@gmail.com> wrote:

As others have said, RBW installs the headset for you and prepares ("faces") the bottom bracket sell and cleans out ("chases") the rear derailler hanger threads, the parts

Er... "shell", not "sell".... typo... :-)

[Seth Vidal]

On Mon, Aug 8, 2011 at 11:08 AM, Rex Kerr <rex...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I agree with the general sentiment of the rest of the posts, but I'd like to
> add a few points.
>
> I just went through a full build of my wonderful A Homer Hilsen myself,
> though I've done a few dozen builds and overhauls before, so the decision
> was easy for me..
>
> As others have said, RBW installs the headset for you and prepares ("faces")
> the bottom bracket sell and cleans out ("chases") the rear derailler hanger
> threads, the parts requiring the most expensive tools and skill.
>
> There is really only one thing that I can think of that you could seriously
> mess up bad enough to harm the bike, and that would be to cross thread a
> braze-on on the frame.  If you  were to start putting a screw in crooked,
> and tried to force it in, you'd cut new threads at an angle and mess up the
> hole, requiring more major repairs, possibly serious ones.  This isn't a
> problem if you're careful and never put much force on a scew except for the
> final tightening -- if it won't go in smoothly, something's usually wrong!!
>

A trick I usually use when I have a screw that is being recalcitrant.

Set the screw flat against the threads. Turn it counter-clockwise a
quarter turn until you feel the screw drop into the threads, then turn
clockwise.

Good odds you'll be lined up properly, then.

-sv

[Noel M.]

Rex and Seth (and everyone else who has contributed):

Thank you all again for taking the time to input your thoughts, tips and suggestions!  I read and reread (and repeat) everyone's comments to make sure I don't miss anything (as I often do).  

So, please, keep them coming as I'm sure it'll help many others in the same assembly predicament as me.

-noel

[Rex Kerr]

> A trick I usually use when I have a screw that is being recalcitrant.
>
> Set the screw flat against the threads. Turn it counter-clockwise a
> quarter turn until you feel the screw drop into the threads, then turn
> clockwise.
>
> Good odds you'll be lined up properly, then.

A great tip.  Before somebody taught me that years ago I lost count of how many self tapping screws (in plastic electronics cases) I cross threaded.

[Seth Vidal]

It also works with bottom bracket cups :)

-sv

[raste...@comcast.net]

+2 for Riv's assembly.

I've built up bikes on my lonesome and it is indeed satisfying and a rich learning experience.

Riv has built up 2 bikes for me and they have indeed been perfect.

My own builds not so much.  

In the end it isn't rocket (or computer science).

But I'm happy to have Riv do it. They are the pros from Dover and/or Walnut Creek.

-JimD

Now all I have to do is learn how to change a flat tire.

---

From: "Zack" <zac...@gmail.com>
To: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sunday, August 7, 2011 11:16:55 AM
Subject: [RBW] Re: Assembly

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/r_fvTnIbW3QJ.

[Seth Vidal]

A couple of useful things:

1. buy the park tool BBB - big blue book of bicycle repair
2. check out this guide:
http://cyclofiend.com/Images/pdf/RR28_bikeassembly.pdf that the riv
folks graciously allowed to be republished.

Learn how to do those things and you're doing well for yourself.

-sv

[Noel M.]

Seth,  Wow..that pdf is golden!  Thanks for the link..it's a keeper!

[cyclotourist]

You know, I think I need to retract my early suggestion about getting the BB installed.  Modern cartridge bottom brackets are incredibly easy to install and only require one specialized tool that you'll then have.  Just have it faced/chased as suggested earlier.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.

To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.

[Seth Vidal]

2 specialized tools because in my opinion you need a torque wrench.
:)

-sv

> *...in terms of recreational cycling there are many riders who would
> probably benefit more from
> improving their taste than from improving their performance.* - RTMS

[cyclotourist]

Feels about right...

improving their taste than from improving their performance. - RTMS

[Rex Kerr]

On Mon, Aug 8, 2011 at 8:39 PM, Seth Vidal <skv...@gmail.com> wrote:

Learn how to do those things and you're doing well for yourself.

 

One benefit of knowing how to do this stuff yourself is that you'll have the confidence to load the bike with a week's work of gear and to disappear into the mountains, far from cellular service and crowds.  There's a certain peacefulness to being alone with your bike, encountering maybe one or two people per day.  Being able to fix most mechanical issues that come up gets rid of one of the major objections that people have.

-Rex

Has made his loaded bike "limp home" with nothing more than a multi-tool and some roadside engineering, though still frequently asked "but what about bears!?!?"

[René Sterental]

Yeah! What about bears?

Sent from my iPhone 4

--

[Rex Kerr]

On Tue, Aug 9, 2011 at 11:06 AM, René Sterental <orth...@gmail.com> wrote:

Yeah! What about bears?

 

Last time they woke me up I got up and yelled at them, and they left quite quickly.

I guess I'm not a very gracious host, refusing to share my food by hanging it up high, yelling at them to leave, neglecting to invite them over to visit... :-)

[René Sterental]

Wow!!! I'd have been so scared!!! There are no bears in Venezuela so all I know about them are stories...

Sent from my iPhone 4

--

[dweendaddy]

I would love to be able to assemble a bike, but I don't know if I would feel confident teaching myself with a brand new Riv!

[Seth Vidal]

Buy yourself an old  universal japanese bike off of craigslist and practice with that.

-sv