Quick help identifying parts on a Bikesdirect Fantom CX
 

I just purchased a Fantom CX from Bikesdirect (http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/..._cross_cx3.htm). This is my first road(ish) bike, and I couldn't identify a few of the parts that came with it:

http://tinyurl.com/y9rm5uz

Can anyone tell me what these are?

Thanks.

I'm going to hazard a guess and say that the two black things in the middle are screws. I hope that little clue is enough for you to crack the case! :innocent:


Seriously, the "L" shaped black tube is a "noodle" for the front cantilever brake. Zoom in on one of the pix and look just below the A head stem and you will see it. It may be an extra.

As to the 4 other things black plastic things, I think they are some sort of packaging protectors. The black strip looks like it is a "spacer" that wraps around the handle bar or seat post to allow an over-sized something (reflector?) to be securely attached.

Don't know where the screws go. Did you take similar ones out of something as you unpacked? They may be extras.

Nice bike, BTW. I got the Moto Immortal Pro CF road bike, and I'm kinda looking for a CX. Looks like fun.

bobthib was partly correct in his identification of your parts. The screws are most probably for installing your front and rear reflectors as is the black rubber strip (shim). The elbow piece is indeed a cable routing noodle for the front brake. There should be a hanger bracket above the headset where it fits into. The 4 odd shaped pieces are brake lever shims to adjust the lever reach for smaller hands so you may not need them. They fit in between the lever and the upper body housing. They are right and left specific and two sizes. To install them simply pull the brake lever and insert them in the open space. You will most likely have to then readjust your brake cable. I Hope this helps.

Aw, don't tell me I mis-identified the screws! Darn, I was so sure they were screws.

I can understand your confusion. They look very "screw like".

I recommend that after you finish assembling the bike you take it to a trusted LBS and pay them to tune it up (also recommended by Bikes Direct)... the fact that you could not identify the rubber shim and cable noodle (not know the name but actually figure out what it is for) does not fill me with confidence that the bike will be safe to ride when you are done assembling it.

Congrats on the new bike! Ride it like you stole it!

I thought they were screws too. and the black 'noodle' thingie looks just like the one for the front brake on my Fantom Uno.

Thanks all. Sorry I wasn't clear, I just meant the brake-lever shims. This is my first drop-bar bike... not my first-ever bike. :)

I noticed one other issue with the bike -- there's pretty substantial scratching of the paint underneath the seat-post binder:

http://tinyurl.com/yd488lp

I don't mind the look of this, and with the frame's being aluminum, I'm not too worried about rust, but might this compromise the integrity or longevity of the bike in some other way? If the binder was way over-tightend at the factory, might the frame be more likely to fail at that joint?

The scratching is a non-issue - you will get scratches under everything that clamps to a frame, and the scratches are covered by said clamp. I bet my bikes have scrathes there, too, but I can't say for sure because there is a clamp covering it. There will also be no issue with corrosion, as you said, because aluminum exposed to air is basically nil.

If the area is very rough perhaps use a peice of emory cloth to smooth it out a bit, but otherwise don't worry about it. This was caused by rough paint or metal finishing at the top of the seat tube, not by overtightening. It is not indicitive of strructual damage.