Bicycle Mechanics - Just assembled Motobecane Fantom Cross Pro - not sure what two leftover parts are for

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stevehollx
10-20-10, 05:31 PM
Just finished putting my new Motobecane Fantom Cross Pro bike together. In the box there were a small (1/2" long) plastic S-hook, and a 4-5" x 3/4" rubber strip. I'm really not sure what these two items' purposes are. Anyone have an idea? Is the rubber strip for setting the brakes up?

cny-bikeman
10-20-10, 05:34 PM
Pics would help but the s-hook may be to hold front/rear cable housings together up front.
reptilezs
10-20-10, 05:38 PM
reflector and cables, throw them away

Bezalel
10-20-10, 05:40 PM
the rubber strip sounds like a shim for a reflector bracket, did you have to install the reflector yourself? The S-hook is to keep your cables organized near the headtube (these are used on cross bikes to protect the cables from hazzards but rarely used on other types of bikes).
stevehollx
10-20-10, 05:44 PM
Awesome, yeah I think the rubber strip is for the reflector--it fits inside the brackets inside diameter.

Not that there's even room to mount the front reflector on these bars with the cheater levers in the way, though. Haven't decided if I want to leave the cheater levers on yet or not.
surreal
10-20-10, 10:11 PM
ride it a bit before you decide on scrapping or keeping the levers. that's the sensible advice, b/ if you ditch them and miss them, it'll be more work to put 'em back on, plus the work you did to remove them...

if it were me, though, i'd have taken them off immediately. Maybe i've never used them set-up properly, but they felt yucky whenever i test-rode a bike with 'em.

-rob
CACycling
10-21-10, 10:04 AM
I have cross levers on my commuter and don't use them a whole lot as I typically ride on the hoods. They are nice on the occasions I want to be more upright (like riding in heavy traffic). Don't see what you have to gain by removing them (if adjusted properly they don't negatively effect braking) unless you need more space on the bars for mounting other stuff or are concerned about a few extra grams.