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Lemond Etape upgrade

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Lemond Etape upgrade

Old 01-02-09, 09:00 PM
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Lemond Etape upgrade

I've been looking for parts to upgrade the components on my bike. I have a 45cm Lemond Etape Wmns.
BikePedia link : https://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/B...mens&Type=bike

This has been an on going process mainly because I've been in school and I'm slow accumulating cash to purchase the parts. Everyone tells me, just buy a new bike. But I like my frame and I've already bought a few parts. Right now I have 2200 or Sora on my bike. I want to upgrade to an Ultegra group set.

I already have:
10-speed Ultegra 6603 shifters. I read on an earlier post that 6603 can be used as double shifters.
10-speed Ultegra 6600 SS Rear Derailleur.

What I still need:
Ultegra 6600 Front Derailleur
Ultegra Compact Double Crankset 165mm
Cassette
Bottom Bracket
Chain

For the parts I still need, I'm confused about the Front Derailleur, the size of my tube is 34.9mm, but if I get a braze-on, then does the tube size matter? Or does the size of the tube only matter with a clamp-on?

With a 165mm crank, it's tough to find this online because most cranksets are 170mm or 172.5mm, is it possible just to replace the crank on a chainring? I'm not sure how the cranksets really work?

Last question, will the cassette fit with my rear hub? If I'm upgrading to 10-speed, then the number of cogs increases and will that fit with my rear hub. Right now I have an 8-speed. So what do you guys think?
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Old 01-02-09, 10:02 PM
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You are right that tube size does not matter for braze-on FD.
Are you set on having only Ultegra parts? There's plenty other cranksets out thereof similar quality that would give you more chances of finding 165mm cranks. A chain-ring swap won't help as the chain-rings mount on the crank, so you'll still be looking for a 165mm crank.
Yes, a 10 speed cassette will fit on your 8 speed hub. You'll need a spacer behind the largest cog, but they're cheap and easy to come by.
If money is tight, you could just get cassette, chain and compact crank and you will be able to run 10 speed.
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Old 01-02-09, 10:27 PM
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regarding your questions:

1. If you go with a braze-on front derailleur you will need a front derailleur clamp adapter because from wat I can tell by looking at the picture in the link you posted the frame does not have a braze-on mount for the front derailleur. These can be found online for about $15 or less. The size of the clamp will need to match your seat tube outer diameter. There are two standard sizes are 32mm and 35mm. For your 34.9mm seat tube you would use the 35mm clamp. If I am wrong and you do have the braze-on mounting tab then you are correct that clamp size does not matter as you will be buying a braze-on specific mechanism.

2. Here is a link to a site selling an ultegra 165 compact crank set:
https://www.trisports.com/shimano-ult...hannelid=PGRAB

3. I am unsure of what you mean by "is it possible just to replace the crank on a chainring?"...if you mean can you keep your existing crank and just replace the chainrings, then yes that is entirely possible to do...but since you have a triple you may want to change your bottom bracket and crank to a double to get a more dialed in chain line, save a little weight, and get a nicer crank.

4. My understanding is that a 10speed ultegra (and below) cassette is backward compatable to either an 8 or 9 speed freehub. There are many posts all over the internet the state people doing just that. If you have a bit of cash to spare then look around at the online retailers and you may find a rear wheel built around an ultegra hub (or even a wheelset) for a good price. Here is a link to performancebike.com, they have ultegra hubs built up with mavic open pro rims (great rim btw) for a decent price: https://www.performancebike.com/shop/...TOKEN=76660639
They also have just the rear wheel. Either way, the wheels will be an upgrade to what is listed as stock on your bike.

Hope all this helped.

Cheers,
-J
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Old 01-03-09, 12:33 AM
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Ah, thanks! I need to get started on getting those parts so I can ride easy spring season. I noticed my front derailleurs aren't shifting too well anymore. I think I damaged them from a fall on my last ride. I'm so bummed the Lemond website isn't up anymore because the specs on my bike aren't posted.
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Old 01-04-09, 06:07 PM
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Ok, follow up question. I have all these parts now, and I don't want to stroll into my local bike shop and ask them to install them. What do you guys think? Local bike shop etiquette?
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Old 01-04-09, 06:32 PM
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Attitudes to assembling parts bought elsewhere vary from store to store. Some will take the business and charge you whatever hourly rate, some get noses all out of joint. You can always ask, if they're snotty about it, well maybe they're not the place to take your business.
If you're any amount comfortable with tools, you could do it yourself. It's not that hard, although there are a few specialized tools required.
Here's a good place to go to get started.
https://www.parktool.com/repair/bikemap.asp
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Old 01-04-09, 10:11 PM
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Like the posting above mine the attitude of shops varies from place to place. The thing in your favor right now is the season. Many shops, particularly in colder regions, are struggling to get through these winter months and will most likely not be swamped and otherwise welcome the work. To cut down on labor cost, the stuff that requires special tools is as follows:

Bottom Bracket-removal and installation tools are specific to type of bottom bracket

Crank set - if your current crank set and bottom bracket is a square hole/square taper then you will need a special tool for removal, to reinstall you only need a 14mm socket and ratchet wrench. The new Ultegra crank set should be even easier to install without any fancy tools.

Chain- requires a special tool to push the pins out and into place

Cassette- requires a special tool to remove the lockring holding the cassette on the freehub body, plus a chainwhip to grip the cassette to keep the freehub body from turning while removing the lockring.

Cables and housing- it is best to cut housing and cables with a tool designed for the job (though a dremel tool with a cutoff wheel works suberb as well)

For ultegra the tools you will use most often to install and setup components are a 5mm allen wrench, a needle nose pliers (or any kind of pliers to pull on cables with), and a phillips head screw driver (to adjust hi-low limit screws on derailleurs). None of the ultegra parts on my wife's bike use a an allen key larger than 5mm and the only thing I can see that needs anything smaller would be the derailleur pulleys and the small adjusting screw on the side of the brake calipers which both take a 3mm allen wrench. The only thing on her bike that needed anything larger than a 5mm allen wrench were the crank bolts on her square hole dura-ace crank arms that needed an 8mm allen wrench. Pedals most often use a 15mm open end wrench but a an adjustable wrench will do in a pinch. So for very little investment in tools you can do most of the install work yourself.

I recommend picking up a copy of Bicycling Magazine's complete guide to bicycle repair. I got started repairing my ride back in 1986 with a copy of this book after watching the mechanic at the shop I bought my bike from adjust my brake by sidekicking my bike (no ****). I have built up many a bike with the knowledge I learned in that book years ago, and refined that knowledge with trial and error. With a good book and all the information on this forum and other webpages at your disposal you should be able to set your bike up just fine.

When I started working on my bikes I was scared to break open my hubs, headset, and bottom bracket...but after the first time doing an overhaul following the guide book step by step that fear quickly went away. The only time I go to a shop for work done is to have a headtube or bottom bracket faced as these jobs require a very expensive specialized tool to be done right and since it usually only needs to be done once in the lifetime of a frame it is hard to justify the cost of the tool for a home workshop.

I don't know where you are located but if you are near RI, you can bring your bike by and I will be happy to walk you through the installation of your parts. My wife is very happy with the Ultegra/dura-ace bike I built her a couple of years ago.

-J
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