KeremMacias

Hello everybody, finally I have all the parts bought from the auction site. Save a ton of $.
I am a very good car mechanic but this does not mean i will be a good bike mechanic.This is my first build. I have a carbon frame and 2010 Campagnolo SR 11 components. Could you give me advice on what are the critical details of putting a bike together? I have a torque wrench and a few specialty tools. If you think it is better to take it to a LBS tell me so, I will not be offended. Thanks in advance!

cranky old road 

If the components did not come with their installation instructions, instructions are downloadable on the Campagnolo website.

HillRider

Talk about starting at the top!

As recommended, Campy's web site has installation sheet in downloadable form if you didn't get the booklets with the components. Also, Park Tools' web site has tutorials covering almost all types of components and I recommend you spend some time there also.

DaveSSS 

Unfortunately, Campy still has some poor instructions published. Installing the UT BB cups has a few critical requirements. The BB width must be 67.2-68.8mm in width and the BB shell faces must be square to the threads. Remove any paint from the faces and measure the width at several locations. Most modern frames don't require facing, but it's good to check for thread to face squareness. I do this by screwing in the cups until they contact a .010 inch feeler gage and then use .008-.012 inch feelers to hunt for larger or smaller gaps. If any area exceeds these limits, then facing the BB shell is a must, but the amount of material removed should be kept to a minimum, so the shell width is not compromised.

I use grease on the cup threads and torque the cups to 35Nm. Never use the loctite method. Campys fails to mention that their factory applied thread locking material has to be removed before using loctite and the idea of hand-tightening the cups is very bad advice, aimed at getting the bike assembled, without the proper thread squareness.

KeremMacias

Thanks for the advice. I read the Campagnolo instructions. They are ok. I will follow them. Thanks again.

Kimmo

Might be a bit dicey assembling a carbon bike with no experience...

There can be a very small margin of error between too loose and too tight on a lot of fasteners, and torque specs for bikes aren't as reliable for bikes as they are for cars, due to the much lower tolerances and vast scope of unknowns, eg how do you determine a seatpost clamp torque when you don't know what seatpost will be used?

Suffice to say, experience counts for a lot here. Increase your margin of error with carbon assembly paste, which will allow lower torque without slippage.

fietsbob

Lesser bikes are more suitable to shade tree mechanics.. perhaps more practice on a few of those..

I reccomend using a Pro Level Bike Shop services.

Auto repair shop rates are still higher than the Bike shop rates , so You can afford them too.

Drew Eckhardt 

For nearly all practical purposes "lesser" bikes are nearly identical mechanically.

Other external bearing cranksets also have premature wear issues where the bottom bracket shell is out of tolerance or has non-square faces.

I don't. This stuff is _not_ rocket science. The specialized tools you need (apart from cutting tools which may not be required and bearing presses which can be improvised) are relatively affordable and it's often (if not usually) less expensive to buy the tools and do the job yourself the first time than to pay a shop.

With a background in auto mechanics the original poster should already understand things like torque wrench accuracy and lubricating threads to avoid galling and galvanic corrosion.

It may be worth noting that not all torque wrenches click in reverse when tightening left handed threads like most drive side bottom bracket cups.

He can pickup everything else from manuals, the Park tool site, youtube, etc.