new frame

[tubbylee]

hello all,i have a sirrus elite which im planning to add drop bars to in the near future ive done my homework and read posts on this site so i know all about the vbrake issues and how to rectify it,the thing is i was planning on changing to a carbon road frame from ribbles in the winter( a birthday present from the wife i hope)i was planning on using my deore lx drive train on the new frame for a while until i could afford to change it out for the 105 group set,at which stage i was planning to reassemble my sirrus and use as my winter bike,my question is my deore group set comes with square taper bottom bracket and the 105 comes with hollow tech bottom bracket will both of these bottom brackets be compatable with the same frame or are they treaded differently also is this a job for an amateur or does it involve tapping a thread in the axle of the new frame,i know your probably thinking just buy a road bike but to by a carbon bike with a descent groupset ,would take me a couple of years to afford anyhelp would be apprechiated thankyou

 

[Sittingduck]

They should both fit the same frame, I think. Should be a description of something like "English 68mm" referring to the bottom bracket shell width and the threading. Some frames are Italian threaded and you would need to get an Italian threaded Bottom Bracket to match, if you had one of these frames. No need for tapping threads.

You have mosty likely already thought about this but the gearing will be a bit odd if you use the Deore Chainset and cassette (eg. really low, for a road bike). Also, What are you going to do about shifters, for the drops?

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

Am not sure which vintage your Sirrus Elite is, and hence its spec. But to see whether parts will simply transfer you might want to check the two frames' respective sizes for
a) seat tube (for front mech),
b) bb shell width and thread (for bb),
c) rear dropout distance (for rear wheel)
d) chainstay length (for chain)
e) fork/rear triangle tyre clearance (for tyres)
f) seatpost (for seatpost)

It seems the 2010 Elite has mini-Vs which the Ribbles might not be able to cater for.

That is assuming both forks cater for the same stem size and that you will put flat bars on the new frame initially.

If you are to change the flat to drop bars first then what shifters (bar end or brifters) and brake levers you are going to use will have consequences on whether you can keep your front mech e.g.

 

[tubbylee]

i will be using tiagra sti shifters according to posts on this site they will work with deore drive train,travel agents will cure the extra leverage needed for vee brakes,on the new frame i will change to caliper brakes and then eventually replace the drive train for 105 and 105 sti lever,i should have said forks come with the new frame,the tiagras will then be used back on the sirrus with the deore drive train as my winter bike,i should also of said i will be eventually purchasing new wheels for the carbon bike,thats great news about the bottom bracket i read somewhere it was a specialist job to fit a bb to a new frame which would have ruined my plans thankyou

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

A drop bar (road) front sti shifter would not index properly with a Shimano front mech that works with a flat bar shifter, with the exception that a kludge exists if the shifter is for a triple then it should pull enough cable in 2 clicks to drive a flat bar front mech across a double chainset.

It seems to me calipers including Sora calipers at CRC are cheaper than travel agents, so I do wonder about the benefit of the latter.

 

[PpPete]

On the brakes - rather than travel agents to get the extra pull, replace the v-brakes with some cyclo-X cantis. They work fine with road levers, and look neater than v-brakes

Tektro CR720 get good reviews (if you change the stock pads for Kool-Stops).

If you are on a budget and can only afford one set for the front, this is another option for the rear. Bit of a fiddle to set up, stock pads are ok, but with kool-stops they are almost too powerful. Don't whatever you do put those on the front.

 

[PpPete]

I think you may hit a problem with the rear drop out... Deore LX hubs will be 135mm. A Ribble road frame will be 130mm. Not a problem with steel frames, said to be a no no with aluminium frames, and not something i'd want to try with carbon either.... not that I've ever owned anything other than steel

 

[tubbylee]

thanks to everyone for your advice, according to posts on this site lone rider and hi-lab have both sucsessfully used tiagra sti triple 9speed with deore chainset with no shifting difficulties, as for callipers they will not fit on the sirrus frame i will be changing to callipers on the carbon frame,i have looked at replacing v brakes with cantilevers which i would prefer but unfortunately i have no cable hanger on the rear of the sirrus,i have seen cable hangers which attach to seat clamp bolt ,but on the sirrus the seat clamp bolt faces forwards instead of to the rear,i have spent a lot of time researching every option as the parts needed are not cheap, i would hate to spend 150 euro on sti shifters to find they wont work but i am now confident they will,the only doubt i have is the bottom bracket ,sitting duck said he thinks that the square taper and hollow tech bb's should both fit, i would be grateful if anyone can confirm this and also the level of skill needed to fit the bottom brackets i have read somewhere the hollowtech bb's can be damaged if not fitted correctly.

 

[tubbylee]

pppete has just thrown a spanner in the works,he stated that the dropouts will be smaller on the ribble frame,when i looked at wheelsets they all seemed standard in size compatable with 8,9 and 10 speed shimano cassettes,will this in effect mean i will have to replace my groupset at the same time as changing my frame.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

according to posts on this site lone rider and hi-lab have both sucsessfully used tiagra sti triple 9speed with deore chainset with no shifting difficulties

It is not the chainset that has significant compatibility issue if you read carefully what I said (although actually it can be with potential chainline and ring profile issues), it is that drop bar sti's will not index properly with "flat bar" front mechs (which include all Shimano mtb and Shimano flat bar road front mechs), these mechs require more cable pull than the road sti's deliver.

pppete has just thrown a spanner in the works,he stated that the dropouts will be smaller on the ribble frame,when i looked at wheelsets they all seemed standard in size compatable with 8,9 and 10 speed shimano cassettes,will this in effect mean i will have to replace my groupset at the same time as changing my frame.

Sorry if I appear to be rude but again Pete did not talk about the speed of cassette or whether they are standard 700c (which is a rim diameter spec), consistent with what I suggested in my checklist earlier he is talking about the distance between the frames' rear dropouts that accommodate the rear hub. We don't know what existing rear dropout distance or hub you have - whether it is a road hub (130mm wide) or an mtb hub (135mm wide, i.e. all Deore hubs), what we are saying is that one has to be careful not to assume a 135mm Deore LX hub will fit into a modern 130mm alloy or carbon road frame.

You have asked a couple of times about the level of skill an interested amateur may require in doing the work, I think it is a hard question to answer because everyone's natural ability, willingness to learn and degree of care taken in doing the work is different. If one doesn't have them, one should also consider the cost of tools involved, albeit imho such costs will quickly be recouped without paying the LBS. However, working on one's bike, especially on expensive components and that bikes will be used at speed in potentially dangerous environment, is not without financial or health risks.

 

[tubbylee]

please excuse my ignorance,i now understand what you mean about the wheel hubs i have checked the specs on specialized web site they are the same spec as the allez road bike so should be ok,as for sti shifter not being able to pull enough cable to operate the front derailer,i messaged lonerider a while back,he assures me he had no issues with shifting using tiagra sti's,i have found three posts on the internet where people have coverted to drops no mention of any shifting difficulties,i must admit i am wary which is why it is taking me so long to purchase the levers i want to be sure.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

as for sti shifter not being able to pull enough cable to operate the front derailer,i messaged lonerider a while back,he assures me he had no issues with shifting using tiagra sti's,i have found three posts on the internet where people have coverted to drops no mention of any shifting difficulties,i must admit i am wary which is why it is taking me so long to purchase the levers i want to be sure.

In that case I will just leave you with CTC's take on the matter, as well as Shimano's latest compatibility chart. Bar the exception of the kludge I mentioned earlier, do let us know if you can find a front mech designed for flat bar controls that can index normally with the tiagra or 105 road sti...

 

[Zoiders]

The one problem most likely to encountered is that the reach will be too long once drops are fitted - flat bar bikes and drop bar differ by quite a bit on the top tube length.

Parts compatibility is neither here nor there if the bare bones of build is going to be wrong.

I would leave it as it is, you don't have to have drops.