Bianchi Oltre XR4 Disc build

[JhnBssll]

I've mentioned in another thread already that I recently traded in my 2019 Oltre XR3 Disc frameset for the 2020 Oltre XR4 Disc I was lucky enough to be in a position to put it on the cycle to work scheme which brought it within my grasp I thought it was about time I started up a build thread for this bicycle, since most of my others seem to have one now

My XR3 was Graphite and CK16 or Fluro Celeste as it's better known, the latest incarnation of Bianchi's trademark colour. Here's a photo of it just before it went off to the lbs for 'redistribution'

The XR4 standard colours didn't excite me so I've gone for a Tavolozza paint scheme, which allows you to configure the colour combination from a number of options. I've decided to go for something similar to the XR3 but with a nod to the past; I've stuck with a matt finish and with Celeste and Graphite, but I've opted for the Classic Celeste in place of the CK16 and I've swapped them round so the frame will be Celeste with Graphite inserts and graphics Here's the image generated by the Bianchi Tavolozza page before I ordered it

I'll be transferring most of the components from the XR3 over to the new frame including the Dura-Ace Di2 groupset and Cosmic Pro Carbon wheels. All parts are relatively new but I'll give them all a good clean and touch up any bits that need it while they're on the bench. I'm also rather looking forward to seeing what my orange Hope brakes will look like against the classic Celeste - I thought they looked fab with the CK16 but some in the Bianchi Owner Club may have disagreed Many still argue that an Italian bike should have Campag rather than Shimano but for me that argument holds no water when the 'Italian' frameset is made in Taiwan. I also realise there are a lot of people that dislike Celeste but I have to admit I've grown rather fond of it - perhaps I'm just wearing my Bianchi-blinkers

Anyway, I should already be building the bike if it weren't for this pesky global pandemic and I'm getting restless It was ordered back in early Feb with an estimated delivery date of mid April but with the Bianchi factory being situated in the heart of the Italian Covid-19 outbreak of course their plant was rightly closed. I'm told they're now coming out of a 5-week enforced shutdown and that my frameset is at least 3 weeks behind schedule, but I've basically told them not to sweat it and to stay safe and wash their hands - It will turn up when it wants to, like the Italian Diva it is 😊 In the meantime I'm going to start cleaning parts and laying them out on the workbench to decide if anything needs replacing or fixing. I've started stockpiling bits like hydraulic hose and fittings and need to purchase more Di2 wires as I used them on the wife's Bianchi Di2 install recently This will be the first time I build a bike with fully internal cables and hoses - they run through the integrated bar and stem, through the steerer and in to the frame so I'll need to work out the routing and lengths.

I'm also looking to buy a CeramicSpeed oversize pulley for the rear mech - I've got an unbranded one currently fitted but it's a bit flimsy and I'd be gutted if it failed and damaged the frame so don't want to risk it!

 

[JhnBssll]

Writing the original post has given me some impetus to get cracking with cleaning some components up. I've just come in from the garage after a good few hours of cleaning and polishing and the parts are starting to come together nicely 😊

I started off with the bottom bracket. It was at the top of the pile, no other reason A nice Wheels Mfg. unit with ceramic bearings, it cleaned up quickly with minimal effort. As with most of the components on this bike, it has only done around 1700 miles so should be good for some time yet

Next in the pile were the brake levers. When stripping the bike down to trade in the frameset I had cut the hoses for expediency, knowing that I'd almost certainly need to replace them anyway with the new routing. First job was to remove the hose and any remaining brake fluid to prevent it making a mess during storage or later assembly. With all the oil gone and the insides cleaned I popped the hose bolt back in so I don't lose it and repeated for the second lever...

Both levers done, they came up really nicely

Next up, rear mech. With a CeramicSpeed OSPW cage on the way I removed the existing one and gave the mech body a thorough clean and degrease - I'll regrease it all on reassembly. Again it's come up well despite being left dirty for a few months since it was last ridden - oops

So on to the front mech - again a bit of a state to begin with, but after some degreaser and plenty of time with a rag and a small allen key to get in to the tight spots it's come out shiny again 😊

 

[JhnBssll]

Next came the brakes - the first orange bits Here they are before I started, a bit of a state - the photo doesn't really show how grimey they were but you'll have to take my word for it. Again I'd cut the hoses off to speed up the strip down and minimise the fluid leakage at the time as I'd just cleaned the frame ready to trade in.

Starting with the front caliper I removed the pads to clean up seperately then checked all 4 pistons moved freely, pushed them fully in and cleaned the remains of the fluid off. Then they were nicely degreased, rinsed and dried. They've come up rather nicely

Same again for the rear caliper...

I also cleaned up and layed out a few other bits and pieces ready so I can work out more easily what's missing and/or needs replacing

Whilst it looks like I'm almost done now with the prep there are a few outstanding jobs; the chain needs a thorough clean which will take a bit of time plus theres the small matter of painting the parts...

Wait, what? Painting?

It wouldn't be a proper project if I didn't paint some stuff now would it I'm not going to go wild, but I'll be spraying a few small bits here and there as I did on my previous Oltre. For example the Di2 junction box surround will be getting painted, as will a few other small bits of Di2 trim. Nothing major, nothing large, and certainly nothing expensive On that note I ordered some RAL metallic yellow orange paint last Monday along with some etch primer - should be here at some point next week 😊

This was the closest match I could find to the Hope orange in standard RAL colours, or at least it seemed to be in flat colour on a computer screen I'll spray some test bits when it arrives and see how it compares and adjust my plans as needed

That's all for now! I'll update as and when

 

[Gunk]

I’m looking forward to seeing this come together, makes me want to build up my ex Team Sky Dogma 2

 

[JhnBssll]

I’m looking forward to seeing this come together, makes me want to build up my ex Team Sky Dogma 2

Ooh, that would be a great project! You have to dress up like Cavendish when you ride it though for maximum effect

I've had another session in the garage this afternoon. I started by dunking the chain in a tub of degreaser to soak before moving on to wheels...

The Mavic Cosmic Pro Carbon SL UST wheelset (try saying that after a few drinks ) Is in good mechanical condition but was beginning to get a little scruffy.

It hadn't taken a lot to do any of the damage, the decals are fairly delicate The bearings were changed at the end of last year so they spin well and have never gone out of true. I had contacted my local Mavic dealer with the serial numbers of the wheels to order a couple of decal sets at the same time as replacing the bearings, so I had these in an unopened envelope in the garage ready to go On opening the envelope it seems I should have paid more attention at the time, as they're not the same decals

Nevermind, since they hadn't cost me anything (Mavic had sent them out for free - now I guess we know why!) and the originals were damaged anyway I decided to give them a go to see how they look. I spent the next hour or so carefully peeling all the original decals off then cleaning the rims with degreaser and finally wiping them down with a clean cloth and some rubbing alcohol. As you can see above, the 'cos' and the 'mic' are seperate decals so there were 16 in total, 4 per wheel side. Here's the first set applied to see how it looks...

The original decals were slightly lighter in colour to the carbon whereas these are slightly darker - I really like them! Enough anyway to finish the front wheel off... Here's a before and after...

You can still slightly make out where the old vinyls were as the UV hasn't reacted with the carbon gelcoat, but I expect that to fade fairly quickly. I realised once I'd finished the front wheel that they hadn't provided me any 'Mavic' decals with the 'complete decal set' either, but I think I prefer them as they are without the red and yellow.

Here's the same wheel with the decals finished on both sides, the hub and spokes all cleaned up and the disc rotor reassembled.

Same again with the back wheel then!

Ready to roll! It was around this point that I realised the chain had been stewing in degreaser for about 3 hours so I decided to rescue it then give it a rinse and dry

I cleaned the saddle up and found the 3 remaining Di2 cables I had from the old build to note down their lengths then bundled them up for storage. I've ordered some bar tape, and the CeramicSpeed oversize pulley arrives tomorrow so I can rebuild the rear mech. Once thats done I'll pack it all up safely in a box and put it out of harms way until the frame makes an appearance 😊 Except of course for the bits I'm going to paint, they'll stay out on the side as I'm expecting the rattle cans to arrive sometime in the week

 

[Ridgeway]

Looking lovely

It's going to look stunning once it's all together.

 

[AndyRM]

Nice! That chain is

 

[JhnBssll]

I had another play this morning 😊 The CeramicSpeed pulley arrived so I was quick to unbox and inspect it.

Pivot greased and fitted:

I've tidied the rest of the parts up in to a big bag, all individually wrapped in bubble wrap to keep them cosy until they're needed. The only parts left out now are the wheels hanging on the wall and these bits that I've masked up for painting...

Left bit is the Di2 wire cover for the front mech. Centre bit is the Di2 bar end junction box surround. Right bit is part of the chain catcher 😊 I'll start with these bits and see what else needs painting, if anything, once the build is underway Still waiting on paint at the moment so that'll have to be another day

 

[DSK]

yep, that's an impressive bit of kit!! I like the detailing on the chain too.

 

[Ridgeway]

Curious about what paint and process you'll use on those parts ?

 

[JhnBssll]

Curious about what paint and process you'll use on those parts ?

I'll clean them with isopropyl alcohol then spray them with aerosol paints; probably a couple of coats each of etch primer, colour and satin semi-gloss lacquer Paint is due today so should get a chance to get some done

 

[Ridgeway]

Sounds like that will give a nice result, interested to see them once they've been Tango'd

 

[Duffy]

Nice work (as usual)
What benefit does the ceramic pulley give?

 

[Ridgeway]

Nice work (as usual)
What benefit does the ceramic pulley give?

Nothing until it's orange

Now there's a challenge.......

Keep thinking about getting my powder coating kit out on a few bits on my bike i'd probably f..k it up though

 

[JhnBssll]

Nice work (as usual)
What benefit does the ceramic pulley give?

Thanks mate The main benefit of the ceramic pulley is it looks cool It also gives very small efficiency gains, equivalent of 6W apparently, which I immediately countered with an extra crumpet for breakfast this morning I'm not even sorry...

Nothing until it's orange

Now there's a challenge.......

Keep thinking about getting my powder coating kit out on a few bits on my bike i'd probably f..k it up though

I have considered spraying the pulley I'm still tempted... I wondered about just spraying the inner surfaces, but then they'll be first to get damaged so it would look good until I pedalled for the first time I'll continue to consider the options

Paint arrived today! I've been on 'holiday' since last Wednesday, although have totalled about 15hrs of skype calls and meetings in that time I managed to get in to the garage either end of a skype call this afternoon which has allowed me to prime, paint AND lacquer the 3 first bits

Here they are after a clean and degrease, 2 coats of etch primer, 3 coats of colour and 4 coats of satin lacquer...

The big question was paint match. I'm never going to get it perfect as the parts I'm trying to match are anodised orange rather than painted. With that said, I think we're pretty close! Certainly close enough to get away with Here they are next to an orange Hope stem cap:

They're a shade lighter than the original, but like I said - close enough! Now I just need to resist the urge to paint other things... This always happens