QuangVuong

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-au/....the.masses/3/

Looks like it was first introduced in 1987, but my model would possibly be from 91, from the serial number on the BB(GC101241 and 9J30). When it was first realeased, it had red writing with a white 3D shadow. From 1990, the shadow changed to blue like on mine. And in 92, the writing changed to silver with a red shadow + additional colourful shapes. So its from the same year as my Peugeot, and 2 years older than the Centurion. Anyone know their stuff on Giant serial numbers, or have this frame and can confirm the age?

Giant Cadex 980c Frame - $100 - 1723g
Giant Composite Fork - $0 - ????g
Shimano 600 Headset - $0 - 108g
Rolls Titanio Saddle - $0 - 309g
Sakae seatpost - $0 - ????g
Sakae Stem - $10 - ????g
Carbon Drops - $20 - 290g
Bar Tape - $2 - 45g
105 Groupset(Mix of 105SC and 5500) - $65 - ????g
KMC Titanium Chain - $35 - ????g
Fulcrum 5 Wheelset - $50 - 1755g
Rubinos - $30 - 500g
Cables + Housing - $15 -????g

Total Cost so far: $327
Weight as of now: ????g

Anyway, got the frame this morning








Bottom bracket with weird looking corrosion.


This fork, Im pretty sure would be from the CFR1. The original fork would look exactly like the one on the Centurion. So got to work on the forks first of all. It had the label composite on it, and I was hoping that it would be a carbon fork. After sanding down the paint, it turns out that it is, but theres an issue. Theres water on the forks so I could take clear pics otherwise itll be kinda foggy.


Right side fork is all good 3k weave.


But left side is unidirectional.


Well, thats all I got done today. But there is a question. What should I do about the lugs? Polish(however, I dont ewally wanna go through hours of polishing again), brushed(something unique, but in which direction?), or black painted(easiest method, but kinda boring)?

Germany_chris

Scary bike would get polished lugs if it were mine.

ebow3d

I have just recently cleaned and built up a Cadex. Mine came with Shimano 105 8speed. However, the hoods were knackerred and I can't seem to find any new ones. So, I replaced it with nos Ultegra 9 speed.
Allround a very nice, light bike. I really enjoy it, even though mine is a bit small for me.
Here are some pics of mine.

And here it is the day I bought it.

QuangVuong

Whats up with those drops? It looks so weird. Other than that, looks good man!

I reckon yours is a 92 or 93. Whats the serial number? Itll confirm if my theory is correct.

non-fixie 

GL901802. Not sure about the year.

georges1

the cadex was a very good and nimble affordable carbon road bike. With better components, it can be a very competitive bike

Chombi

Weird white corrosion is probably Aluminum oxide from the aluminum BB shell. More eveidence on how CF/Al frames just hate water....
Very similar to a Centurion CF frame recently posted up being restored in Australia. He had similar looking top clear coat delamination/peeling problems with his frame. Looks like his stripping and refinishing with clear polyurethane is working very well so far. You might consider doing the same with your Cadex if your frame has the same surface problems.....
BTW, what's the weird looking depression/ding(?) near the tip of the CF fork blade there?? You might watch out for that one as it can be bad if there's a crack there too.....

Chombi

QuangVuong

non fixie, yours would be the newest out of the 3 types of 980c i have seen. But i still cant work out the serial numbers. Oh well.

Lol Chombi, Im the same guy. I am gonna do the same on this as well, however the coat on this is very good. Only a very small section near the BB of all areas.

That depression in the fork is normal. It gets thinner there so the wheel can fit in. I dunno what to do with the fork though, it's 2 different CF weaves on each. Maybe I'll just paint black/gun metal over the top or find another CF fork.

Chombi

Actually, I'm talking about the dimple or dent above the front dropout that shows up on the 7th, close up picture of the fork leg end.... It does not look normal.....

Chombi

macbethpoe

Awesome bonded carbon frame! Jealous yours shows the weave, very cool.

MNTC

+1, outside of the right side fork blade looks damaged.
Nice frame though, should build up nice with a little elbow grease

QuangVuong

The circle? That was like that when I sanded down the paint. And I'm 100% sure that the forks are fine. This is what is under the paint. With the paint, you would say they they are fine.

Anyway, didn't get anything dime today. Gonna finish off the Centurion first.

But please let me know your opinions on what to do with the lugs. Polish, brush, black?

Chombi

My first instinct would be to polish up the aluminum lugs and fittings on the frame. I'd leave them without any clear coat, unless you can assure a clear coating you put on it will last or can be easily touched up or renewed like if it is a clear resin coating. Lots of clear coatings will also have the tendency to get penetrated by moisture and delaminating and flaking again at the edges, letting in corrosion and further finish damage after some time. You can also try to do a brushed aluminum finish instead by rubbing them lightly in a uniform directional way with some fine "Scotchbrite" pads. I've done that to a crankset I restored and it works very well as long as you do it very carefully and use a component with a brushed finish as a guide to keep things looking consistent. Good thing is, you can re-do the brushed finish easily if you con ot like how it turns out at first by repolishing the thelugs and starting over..... Please do not paint the lugs and other aluminum fittings on the frame black!...Please! They are too nice to cover over with any sort of opaque finish like black paint.
BTW, sorry for my confusion thinking you were a different person than the one that put up the thread on the CF Centurion. I forgot to read the names on the posts and I didn't thik a person could take on two projects that are very similar within the same time.
BTW, I just remembered there is another clear finish used on polished ans brushed aluminum engine surfaces by motorcycle restorer you might also check out. IIRC it's caledl "Nyalic". Suppposed to be a very tough (heat resistant) and stable clear finish.

Chombi

QuangVuong

I was referred to a similar sort of product. Its called Glisten PC from Por15. Its a moisture curing urethane(dries by absorbing moisture from the surface and air around), which is supposedly supposed to really stop corrosion as it removes the water thats in the surface of the metal. Wouldve cost a fair bit, so I just went ahead with standard curing(water evaporating) which leaves the polyurethane behind to dry.

Im thinking of doing a brushed finish as I can do it quite easily, compared to hours of polishing. Plus scratches are less visible, as well as easy worked into the brushed grain. Dunno on direction as of yet? Maybe lines going around the lug, or just straight down. What do you reckon? If I cant get anything to look good, then Ill prob polish everything up then.

Ive got a 2 week break, and Im gonna use it best I can. I am in my final year of school, so dont have much time otherwise.

QuangVuong

The clear coat on this frame was in too good condition which meant it took a while to strip it. Gonna go for a brushed finish on the lugs, so gotta sand down the lugs a bit first.

Got the tubes painted though




You guys may call me crazy, but still. Yes, these are two holes I drilled into the top tube for internal cable routing.
Underside near the headtube


Topside near the seat post.


Brushed finish is a little too rough for my liking, so I Will continue sanding, before brushing it.


As for the forks, painted them gunmetal. Decided that the odd CF weaves look weird. Prob looks better this way.

non-fixie 

Oh boy. Not sure what you'll be called ...

Standalone 

Oh jeez. Drillium carbon...

Hey, at least I hear they have good health care in Oz.

mapleleafs-13 

it needs more speed holes

Chombi

Uhmmm....you drilled the top tube???.....
Not a recommended thing to do with CF bikes or most other types of bikes unless you know what you are doing (something one should leave for the manufacturer to do as they have engineers that can confirm that the drilling would be safe.), but I guess one might equate it to drillings for waterbottle mounts on CF tubed bikes.....I hope...
You might consider at least, touching up the drilled holes with some epoxy to seal off and hold together the exposed ends of the CF weave and maybe prevent the start of cracking from stress.....

QuangVuong

Standalone, you could say that. Well at least it will be better than America's health care system. And it wasn't drilled for weight savings. It was drilled for more aesthetic reasons.

Chombi, I know that CF bikes should never be drilled other than by the manufacturer. But then look at the seat tube. There are 4 holes(bidon cage and braze on tab). This tube is also in compression(as weight is applied on the saddle and hen downwards, and the reaction force will be upwards), so its unlikely that the downtube will break. If it does, then that would most likely be due to too much bending stress. Now th top tube is also placed into compression(forks reaction is towards the back of the bike, and reaction from seat stays is towards th fronts to break if the tube is pushed from either the top or bottom if the force surpasses the CF tubes ultimate tensile strength. Sideways movement will be minimal as well. So I believe that even drilling holes won't make it any worse. Bu you are right about it being a possible source if stress concentration. But then again, when I removed the cable guides, each had 2 holes for mounting. I just enlarged the pair near the seat, and drilled one opposite the pair nearest to the head tube. If it breaks then it won't be too catastrophic as the tube will push other, and it'll be unlikely the rest of the frame will fail too. It may crack but not fully break

I will try to find suitable internal cable mounts, but if I can't, the polyurethane has already sealed up the weaves. Plus, the brake cable will be there anyway, so it won't be exposed.


Oh and this frame is actually heavier than the Centurion. Most likely due to the larger diameter tubes, and maybe even thicker tubes. Which is ok with me. I'd prefer a stronger frame incase anything happens.

QuangVuong

The build begins!


But first, need to polish up the stem. Someone must have painted this stem black, as well as cut it! Little short for my liking. Im fine with a cut stem, but who cuts it right at the max height insertion point?


Anyway, sanding began with 180 grit paper to remove the paint and larger scratches


Then continued with 240 grit for the leftover paint, and smoothing out the scratches


Then 600 grit paper.


Polishing begins for me at this stage. Sure I can continue through to 2000 grit paper, but thats only if Im really bothered. I use Autosol, and some random cloth, and the process is below in the video. I really should buy a buffing wheel for the bench grinder. Thatll get me to mirror finishes in no time with no effort.


Click to play


End result. Still need to do a little more around the clamp area.


Well, got everything together, and only need to do the final adjustments tomorrow! Dont mind the BMX pedals. Need to get used to the Dura Ace toe clips first, or find a pair of road pedals.


My lovely hollow gold chain!

ebow3d

I like what you've done with the frame. However, I would worry about the hole in your top tube. Remember the holes for the water bottle have reinforcement on the inside of the tubes. Anyway, you guys do have that commie health care system down under!
Also those handle bars have grooves for concealed gear cables, ie Campy or modern Shimano. You would have to make a plan with it when you wrap your bar tape.

WNG

Hmmm, I'm ALSO CONCERNED about those holes you drilled. Be watchful of the tube for any signs of fracture. When it goes, it will break with little time or warning. unlike metal tubing. It's likely that it's a low modulus CF, and more of it was used yielding a thicker tube wall. Some margin of tolerance for drilling holes into it.

Otherwise, bike looks nice.

QuangVuong

ebow3d, Thanks, and what do you mean with a plan when wrapping? The inside groove is where I've got the brake housing running already.

As for the holes, I wanted to find those interal routing cable guides, but all of them required a much larger hole. So I sealed the carbon around the hole and reckon its alright(as I very very rarely use the rear brake).

WNG, carbon does breakcatastrophically, but I highly doubt that the top tube will break entirely. Sure there's a ossibility that'll it'll crack around the holes, but it won't crack all the way though the tube instatantly, unless it was a huge impact or something.


The thickness of the top tube is ~3.7mm. No one, other than Giant, knows the layup of the tube, so its hard to tell what the modulus is(unless there are documents around). But from drilling it, I could definitely feel that it wasn't as hard as other carbon(lower deck of 1/10 RC car). I have spoken with a mate who works with CF for car parts, and he said that small holes have a minimal effect on carbon, especially a tube. Another person, Berk Composites(check him out on FB or WW) has built quite a few of his own carbon bikes, with the 3rd iteration being a bonded carbon tube frame. He drilled holes in the top tube but reinforce it. His opinion is that the holes should be fine as the forces in the top tube are minimal to do any harm due to the holes. He doesn't know the layup so he can't be certain.

Oh well, I guess I'll find out over the coming period of times if it breaks or not. In a couple hours will finish the final adjustments, and go for its maiden ride!

georges1

very nice job indeed