The White Rabbit.....an E-commerce bike.
 

This is a quasi budget project and an example of E-commerce at its best.

Having purchased a white Leader 720TT frame for use as a Time Trial/Solo distance bike I decided to post the gory details so folks could follow the buy/build process.

Leader 720TT aluminium budget TT frame $139
PZ Racing White Carbon fork 700c for integrated headset $81 (Had to try the white carbon thing.........I think that DG has infected me with something)
PZ Racing TT/Tri Handlebar set including base bar, stem and aero bars $49.99 (a classic example of Ebaying something that will more than do the job but which doesn't have any name recognition)
Except for a set of new cables, everything else is sitting here on the old road bike for reuse. This would include a mixture of SRAM Rival and Shimano Drivetrain and controls as well as a set of Maxx's Madd wheels (mild aero training wheels, CXP22 rims 105 hubs and DT double butted spokes.)

Pictures will follow similar to BluesDawg build as I progress.

Is there an easy-to-print list of all of the parts needed to build a bike out on the web somewhere?

Speaking of rabbits, I'm about to send a special rabbit to BD for Christmas.

This might help. Add cables and housing.
http://www.gvhbikes.com/kits.htm
http://reviews.ebay.com/Build-a-Road...:-1:LISTINGS:6

Keep that rodent from Caerbannog for yourself. :p

List parts in order of assembly. Some may assemble differently but this is what I do.

1. Frame: Core of the project. Need dimensions of headset, seatpost, bottom bracket and front derailleur mount.
1a. Install a dummy seatpost in the frame so you can clamp it in the workstand.
1b. Seatpost clamp: Duh
2. Headset: Install in bare frame.
3. Fork: There will be points during the assembly that want the bike to be self standing.
3a. You did remember to install or have installed the crown race.
4. Stem: To hold fork.
5. Wheels: Now the bike can be self standing. (the cassette will already be on the rear wheel)
6. Bottom bracket: Do this with the bike out of the workstand and on its wheels as I think it is easier to control the touque necessary to do the job. (home workstands may not like this much force about the mount.
7. Crankset: Might as well do it now as it goes hand in hand with the bottom bracket.
8. Brake Calipers
9. Rear Derailleur
10. Front Derailleur
11. Chain
12. Handlebar (s): Revisit the stem and stem spacers at this time. Finish the stem cap adjustments.
13. Brake levers
14. Shifters
15. Cables
16. Saddle
17 Pedals
18 Bottle Cages
19 Computer
20 Bar Wrap: after sufficient test rides to ensure that everything is where you want and that it all works.

There will be other small things that you may need such as cable ends to crimp over the wires (these may or may not be in with your new cables depending on how you bought them). Ty wraps (preferably a color that either hides on your frame or makes a statement). Electrical Tape (roadies will locate cables on the bars with this before wrapping).

There may be other things like racks, fenders etc but generally these go on last. Oh............there will be something that you forgot.

You will need to borrow something (probably a tool). There will be something blue (Park Tool blue?)..........:p.......:)

Don't know if others work the same as me- but I always replace parts before they break. Hence I have a good stock of usable parts to enable me to rebuild a bike, ot to repair the kids in the streets bikes, sitting in the Shed waiting for that bike that is too far gone to be ridable. Reckon I have enough parts to rebuild an MTB at present- but the only frames I have are old road bikes in which the frame is worth saving but nothing else.

I may have a short life on some of the parts- but they can always be upgraded before they cause problems. Give it a couple of years though and I reckon I will be able to rebuild that Raleigh Pro-Race frame into a reasonable bike for a 6'6" tall rider.

Run away!

You found Dick Chaney's secret carbon bike parts factory. I think just about everthing is made there. PZ included. Good stuff by the way. Have a stem and crankset with no issues.

Its a Factory for bike parts in China. Many of the parts look like those that I have seen under different (in many cases house brands) names. There is no distributor in the USA. The PZ Racing brand seems to be very popular in Europe but the prices are much higher. At the present time I am getting the parts from Bikewaggon on Ebay. I have done business with this Ebay store before and it is a good place. (Unabashed shill message here)
The listings of PZ equipment is worth looking at. Just go to Ebay and search for PZ Racing.

White Rabbit...any inspiration from Jefferson Airplane?

Please cross over to the "name of the beast" post...........all will be explained.




I'm not starting any revolutions here!

I'd love to see a pic of how that fork goes together. I'm building up a Leader bike myself (717 in dark blue), and I'd rather not rip-off my other bike's fork, especially if I can pick one up of less than a C note.

Being in a sleepless state at 4:30 this morning I disassembled the doner road bike (farewell roadwarrior) and placed the pieces/parts in a semi organized pile for installation onto the new frame.

Once the frame/fork is gone and the wheels are sent to the truing stand its surprising how small the pile of remaining parts is.

I did buy a spare crown race (you can buy the individual piece at your LBS or elsewhere) so that I could leave the old one on the road fork. The headset is a nice Cane Creek IS6 which will be good for a use over.

External bottom brackets on the new style cranksets are very easy to work with.

I will have to look through the spare parts drawer as I may need different length nuts to mount the brake calipers on the new frame. (The SRAM Rival brakes came with a full set of different length parts)

The frame is still on schedual to arrive tomorrow with the fork and bars on Sat.

Total time invested so far 45 min.

tick-tock, tick-tock...
:)

The frame has arrived in a sturdy box with 2 layers of bubble wrap and the appropriate spreader across the rear dropouts.

1. This frame is much lighter than I had anticipated for an entry level frame. It seems well made and the workmanship is more than adequate for this price level.

2. The headset bearing area is painted (the bearings fit quite nicely though) and the faces of the bottom bracket shell are painted. I do not anticipate a problem here so will not have any further machine work done. Just a quick cleanup with some brushes to remove leftover metal chips and its ready to start.

3. Giza seems jealous as she has just finished taking a pop at the frame.

4. The new fork may be here tomorrow and then things will start to go together quickly.

Edit: Missed one of the metal chips.....damaged first thread in rear derailleur hanger. Had to clean up threads (no tap for this in my tool set so did it the old way with a sharp knife (some bleeding) and all came out well. Bottom bracket, crankset, front derailleur, rear derailleur, rear wheel, seatpost and saddle along with N-Gear jump stop installed. About 1 more hour invested (no final adjustments yet). Hope the fork gets here tomorrow.

Note: White bikes get greasy hand prints on them faster than anything. :eek:

OK...the fork and airo bars arrived on the FEDEX truck after 6pm. My hat off to these guys who are working so late as Christmas approaches.

First Impressions for entry level PZ Racing.
1. White Carbon most definately comes across as silver, but looks good with white bikes.
2. There are noticable levels of finish differences at different price points. Spend a few hundred on a fork and you will notice a difference in appearance. You will also get lighter as at the higher price point, quality control (much thinner carbon layups) and the reject rate go up.
3. If you need hand holding and detailled instructions you will do better with the higher priced US brands. I am very glad that I played around with a set of Profile Design Equipment thiss fall as I now have a much better idea what I want here and how I want it setup. (If you take your bikes to a trusted and qualified mechanic you need to treat him/her well for Christmas because all of this stuff takes time and practice to get good at.)
4. This equipment is functional without frills and fits the concept of entry level TT bike to a T (T)

The crown race is in a package coming on monday and since I dont have a setting tool for the race (I almost always use FSA Headsets with a split ring crown race that does not need a tool) I will probably take it to the LBS sometime monday. Pics will follow middle of next week. If there's anything in particular that you want to see, leave a note and I will take a closeup for you.

Here is an idea for you to save your back, neck and etc. - an ergo stem. It is a little pricey but you can adjust it to fit your flexibility today and slowly lower or raise the bar as appropriate.

http://search.ebay.com/ergo-stem_W0Q...rdZergoQ20stem

I have looked at both the Look Ergo and the Ritchey adjustable and they may in fact be in the future for this bike. (I highly recommend both for riders looking for adjustability)

Unfortunately for this stem, I also have to control the angle of the faceplate on the stem for the PZ aerobars to work (all of the mounts are attached to the stem faceplate, not clamped to the bars as on other setups.) I've already pulled out and checked my supply of parts to perform a conversion as necessary for the future.

For the time being as I learn to ride and stretch out my back, I'm starting with 50mm of spacers under the stem so that I can lower it as necessary later. (or not)

The White Rabbit was almost done for Christmas but at the last minute I ordered another part. Being an aerobar novice I decided that a 3rd brake lever on the aerobars themselves would give me a better chance at survival.

Just the Jtek cable splitter, lever and front brake cables to go and its ready to ride. I almost took it out this morning with just the rear brakes, but the trainer ride will have to do.

Do you ride with the seat like that?

How long of a time trial are you going to ride? Asking because of you stowing two water bottles.

That seems to be where that saddle wants to be for comfort. On the TT frame your whole body is rotated, feet back, head forward. I do not think that a Selle Italia Pro Link is ment for TT frames, the nose is much too hard to be laid down on the bars..:eek:
I've begun to see (feel) why there are special TT sadles...:)

Tom....there may never be a TT. There will be lots of training time. For now the bottles are just there for the picture.

More observations on the TT bike vs the road bike.

The doner bike weighed 20 lbs with pedals and bottle cages. (not exceptionally light but at its price point, not heavy either.) The TT bike weighs 21.5 lbs. 800 grams of that is in the TT handlebarsetup and the frame is all aluminium without carbon stays. TT bikes are clearly not strong suited in climbing ability.

With you weight fully on the arm rests, you do not slide around on the saddle very much. It also seems remarkably comfortable for the arms and back (assuming that you can bend down like that). One muscle group that will need work is the neck as you have to bring your head up quite a bit more to see.

Leader makes a fine frame at this pricepoint, in fact its better than many that I have seen that cost more.

Cyclocross brake levers will work fine as poormans reverse tri levers, just remember that the smallest version with a 24mm clamp is necessary for most aero base bars and many of the clip on extensions are only 22.5mm