How hard is it to do a frame swap??
 

I'm fairly new to riding and decided to go to a local guy who works out of his garage for a "basic" fit. The numbers he came up with show I have long legs, but a short torso. As a result I need a 55cm frame and no amount of "adjusting" will get my current 58cm frame to work. The adjustments now show i'm 20cm too short for the length of my bike. Even adjusting the stem and seat I would still be around 10cm out of perfect fit with my current frame now and will eventually have back problems. However with a 56cm and small stem and seat pushed up I would be fine.

So we discussed options and since I paid next to nothing for my current bike the best plan is to keep my dura ace / ultegra parts and just get a new smaller frame.

Is this something a newbie can pull off with little mechanical experience and a guide / book? Or would it be worth it to pay the $100 for a part swaps by a mechanic.

I already have the 2 below tool kits I picked up so I think I would already have all the parts I would need, but not sure as to the difficulty level in trying to DIY this project my self.

Spin Doctor Essential Tool Kit

Spin Doctor Team 33 Tool Kit

I say go for it. You have tools, I have confidence in your ability to remember which way something comes off then goes back on, if you can unscrew / screw bolts without breaking them, you will do fine. any snags along the way, you know to ask here. That's what I do!:lol:

The biggest things you'll run into doing a frame/parts swap that you'll want someone with the right tools/know how to do is setting the headset bearings and the bottom bracket.

You can DIY...but if you screw either up you can toast a frame.


Both of those toolsets have useful tools it is just good to have around as an enthusiast...but if a shop is offering a frameswap for $100 labor, I'd bite myself. Being able to get 4 hours of riding in beats being cooped up in my garage for 4 hours anyday in my book.

NOTE: It is a good experience to have under your belt...

I just did exactly that two weeks ago so I can provide my 2c.

Two tool kits linked probably have everything you will need, with the possible exception of bottom bracket removal / installation tools (these are specific to each BB type).

While you can do a frame swap using allen wrenches, this is considered poor workmanship and doing it properly requires a torque wrench and a set of metric hex sockets. Failure to tighten things properly can result in various unpleasant experiences like the handlebars twisting inside the stem clamp while riding, crank arms falling off, or (if you overtighten instead of undertightening) in permanent damage to frame or components.

You'll need to get a new set of brake and shifter cables.

If you don't get the exact same frame that you have now, there is a possibility that the new frame will have a different bottom bracket type, so you'd have to buy a different bottom bracket and your current crankset may be incompatible with the new frame.

In addition to tools, you need some sort of lubricant (I have a can of Red Devil grease, it can go anywhere) and, if there are any carbon parts, a graphite paste.

Ok that puts it into perspective. The tools I have include hex sockets and torque wrench. I planned on replacing both brake and sifter cables anyway so that's good to know. Not sure about bottom bracket tools though. I do have some high end lube I use for my fishing reels so that may work, but no graphite paste.

Do you know of a book or site that has instructions on doing a frame swap or should I just comb through various you-tube videos and hope for the best? I want to do it myself not only to save $$$, but to also get the knowledge and experience of fixing parts so I can be self sufficient for the future as well.

Yeah I'm really thinking about it a lot. Do I really want to deal with the hassle or just DIY??? I know very little about bikes so getting to know more is good, but trashing a $800 frame in the process is not the best way to learn either.

It is a nice learning experience...and like I said there's really only 2 things that can kill your frame or ruin your day if done wrong...headset bearings and BB bearings. First build I did back, geez, 10 years ago I had a shop do the BB and headset (and cut the steerer tube) as I didn't have the tools or the desire to screw it up and did the rest myself.

It's all pretty straightforward. Much of what you need can be found on SHIMANO Dealer's Manual / User's Manual (look up your individual components), torque values are usually written directly on parts you're installing.

Graphite paste: Robot Check Your LBS will have this (or equivalent) in stock.

My last 2 frames had headsets that did not need to be pressed. Bearings just slid onto the fork and into the head tube. The hardest part was making sure not to install one of the bearings upside down. :)

The situation with BB bearings is frame-dependent. If it's BB30, bearings are pretty hard to install (I won't say impossible, nothing is impossible - but hard) without either an expensive bearing press or a general-purpose shop press. I'd recommend to defer to professionals.

Already done complete Bike overhauls ?.

The first thing I'd do is go to another fitter for a second opinion. The phrase I highlighted in red concerns me as you shouldn't move a seat forward to compensate for an overly long top tube. Seat position is relative to crank position, not cockpit length. If you are going to go through all the trouble of swapping out a frame just to go down 2 cm and you will still need "a small stem and the seat pushed up" to be "fine", why not go to a 54 cm frame with the seat in optimal position in relation to the crank and pick a stem to fine tune cockpit length for a "perfect" fit? Are you staying with the same model of frame? If not, be sure to check the overall geometry, including top tube length, not just the size. My road bike and touring bike are different sizes by 2 cm but due to the differences in geometry, both fit me well.

As far as DIY, it is certainly possible, but quite a project for a newbie with little mechanical experience. Swapping the major components is usually not the problem, the devil is in the details and getting all the bits to work together properly.

This is a two step process.
1 Remove all parts from old frame.
2 Attach all parts to new frame.
2a Tweak all parts attached to new frame.

This has worked for me countless times!
Remember practice makes perfect, you can do it!

It's not rocket science. You can do it if you have a reasonable punt of mechanical aptitude.

Depending on the particular frames, not everything may be transferable, though. Seat tubes could be a different diameter, requiring a replacement seatpost. Bottom bracket shells could be different in type/size/threading, necessitating a different bottom bracket and maybe even a different crankset. Headsets could be a different type. The frame's head tube might call for a longer steerer tube on the fork. Depending somewhat on the frames' ages, they might call for different steerer tube diameters or even different types (threaded vs. threadless). If you're going threaded to threadless or vice versa, you'll need a different headset and stem.

Park's Blue Book is outstanding. Youtube for the rest.

I am suspicious of the '20cm too short' comment in the OP. Bike sizes usually go in 2 cm increments, so a 58 is only 1-1/2 sizes too big, and a person 20 cm (or 8 inches) taller would not use a 1-1/2 size larger frame - he would use 3 or 4 sizes larger at least.

That was the option I have if I decide to keep my current bike and just ride it as is knowing it's out of adjustment. However I don't want to go that route so that's why I'm looking to just find a better fitting frame. The info I was given showed a 55cm frame would be the sweet spot, but I can't find too many frames in 55cm and only a few in 54 so I'm considering 56 simply because it's more common. He said I can go either 56 or 54 and adjust accordingly. I will post my measurements for review once I get an e-mail from the fitter for more advice.

Just like with bike tires, it's probably a matter of us Americans typing "cm" when we mean "mm".

My apologies if I didn't explain it correctly. The current setup seems to be far too much out of reach and the fitter explained I have a few options just to get by with the current bike which means a lot smaller stem and moving the seat forward a bit because right now I have it pushed all the way back. However for a good fit I need to go down to 55cm as a starting point and then make adjustments as needed.

I understand the logic and reason behind your project, and if the original frame is indeed too big then replacing with one closer to ideal is a good solution. However, if the '20cm too short' was taken from any document or data sheet provided by the fitter, then the entire fitting process, as well as his competency, is suspect, IMHO.

Could be, but if that is the case, then the OP is only 20mm off, which is less than an inch, and generally shouldn't necessitate going to a different size frame.

Do it yourself.

+1 on getting a 2nd opinion. In case you need to swap frames, it's not hard IF you have some mechanical ability and like working on bikes, and the new frame is same brand/model than the old one. If not, some parts might have to be changed as said above, better ask for advice about that.

I have a feeling I may have misunderstood or something was lost in translation as you bring up a good point in that it wouldn't really make much since to be that far off. I'm going to hold on until I get my measurements back and put them into a few of those sizing sites to see what they say. I have a feeling I didn't relay the information correctly.

Well I can probably figure it out, but I didn't realize the amount of "possible" new parts I needed as mentioned earlier. As far as the same brand / model I currently have a 2005-2006 Specialized Roubaix Comp. To really simplify the process do I need to get the same year also or just as long as I find a Specialized Roubaix Comp? Or better yet can it be any Specialized bike at all??

You should check it, but I think headset and BB specs changed. 2006 headset is 1 1/8", 2014 is 1 1/8" - 1 3/8" IIRC.

Thanks I'll keep searching online as I couldn't talk to anyone directly to confirm one way or the other.