They take longer to clean only because they are typically older than most other bikes, and often times haven't been maintained, so the parts are that much dirtier and that much worse for wear.

Flushing out a 30 year old rear derailleur can take time. soak it, rinse off and rub grime/grease/dirt. soak more to continue to break down the junk. rinse and rub off grime. then work on the interior to get the grit out of the hinges. rinse. work it out. rinse. etc etc.

Perhaps so many others here just encounter bikes that are in a rougher starting point than you? Or you work amazingly fast? Or others have a different standard of clean and reconditioned than you?

If you completely break the RD down to its parts, soak and clean them, then rebuild the RD, that will suck up a good % of the time you list for rebuilding an entire bike.
How about a rear wheel- removing the freewheel, cleaning the freewheel of all dirt rust grime and grit, breaking the hub down to all the washers bearings cones and axle, cleaning all the hub components, cleaning out the hub of all old grease, then repacking the bearings and reinstalling the components should take another good % of that time you mention.

So just cleaning and servicing the RD and rear hub could take a couple hours, and that isn't even adding in the time to clean the rim and spokes.
Again, we may just have different standards of reconditioned. Or perhaps you are speaking of building up a bike once all the parts are in front of you in buildable condition.



This has gotten far off original topic- apologies to the posters in the thread!

Another use for a Repair Stand .. washing the bike Down, Outside . soap and water, brush to knock off grit.. should only take a few minutes ..

hose with spray nozzle, just dont blast right at the ends of the bearings crank & hubs.. pop off the wheels wash them separately then the frame is easier to get to.

Would that not be "thine bike"?

+1 on using a screwdriver on a starnut. A few taps and it's there. I've never had a problem doing that.

If you run into a spot where you don't have a tool do a YouTube search for the operation and include "without tool". You'll usually find several methods, all you have to do is decide if you're going to risk your parts to their ways of doing it. I usually draw the like at chain saws and claw hammers. Although claw hammers sometimes work in a pinch, 28oz Estwing framer comes to mind.

Anyhow, Still plenty of time till spring ..

Or for people like me that do not have a repair stand, but has a receiver hitch bike rack on the back of my truck, hang it on the stand. Pull out a 5 gallon bucket, a bit of dish soap, brushes (including one dedicated brush for oily stuff like chains and cassettes) and start cleaning. Might be 10 minutes but I think I spent two hours cleaning my bike after my last tour, it was pretty dirty, I might have spent a half hour on just the chain and cassette.

Hours to build up a new build can be a few or many depending on complexity and if you are building the wheels. I might spend an hour truing up one wheel after I have gotten it laced together. I know that I put more than eight hours (counting wheel building) on each of my touring bikes, but on my last tour I only needed to make one adjustment once and that took less than a minute. On the tour before that I never had to make any adjustments. The point is that if you spend some quality time to do it right the first time, it pays off in the long run when you have a trouble free bike on a tour. So, take your time, the goal is to have a trouble free bike and not to be able to brag how fast you can wrench.

Got my parktool TNS-4 in the mail last night. I'm going to wait till my days off to use it. (Tomorrow is my friday, I'll have 25 26 27 off)

Watched the L'ville CX Worlds on YT, the pit crew gets a clean bike ready to go, every lap, if the muck on the course requires it .. might be 4 minute laps.

Yes, the goal is to have a trouble free bike. But the amount of "trouble" you have after the build depends on the mechanic and not on how long (or how short) the time of the build is. My 8 hour build was...and is...trouble free 7 years and around 12,000 miles later.

My point on the inordinate amount of time people take with bicycle builds is that at some point they are obsessing and fiddling rather than getting the job done. Using your wheel as an example, taking an hour to true the wheel seems excessive. Starting with new parts and a good building technique, you shouldn't have to do that much truing a new wheel. If you use old parts, it might take a little longer but an hour would still be excessive in my experience...even for a first wheel.

I understand that jargo432 is waiting on tools but sometimes you don't need specific tools. Setting a star nut is easier with the proper tool but you can set a star nut quite nicely with just an allen bolt and a hammer. You just have to be careful to drive it straight or straighten it out properly if it starts to go in crooked.

I guess I should point out the reason I'm building my own. I want to know exactly how everything works. I'd hate to be in the middle of New Mexico scratching my head looking for the right choice of profanity. :)

I wouldn't cut the steering tube........ever. So what if it sticks up 5-10 mm. You never know when yer necks gonna be outta joint, or you decide to sell and get a real bike. LOL. Nothing wrong with a DT. When I took a 520 out for a test ride, it was great. I rode for 50 miles, decided that was the bike for me and ordered a frame for me to build using the components I wanted. For whatever reason, I could never get the handle bars dialed in with out having neck discomfort. I left the steerer uncut and have never regretted it as I am all the way at the top! Just my 2cents. (In Canada, my opinion is worth a nickel as we don't have pennies anymore!)

I also understand the waiting is the hardest part. (Sounds like a song huh?) I got my frame in August as I recall. Then it went out for S&S couplers, then once it came back like 6 weeks later, I sent it out for paint, then custom logo work, then a couple more clear coats, then a clear plastic tape to protect paint finish, the build up started in February, and finished the end of March! It even takes too long to explain it all! Have fun building!

A reasonable goal. However, building one bike from parts doesn't really do that much to stop the head scratching. It helps but it doesn't stop it. You need much more practice than that to become proficient at solving problems that occur. Your build will be a good start but it's only a start.

...And expect a lot of failures along the way. I have a couple of quotes I use. First, "the difference between a beginning mechanic and a master mechanic is the value of all the parts they have ruined". Second, "no one whoever got straight A's in school learned a damned thing". Expect to make a lot of mistakes but learn from each and every one.

Damn it! I find myself agreeing with you more and more often. :)

You remind of the people who have posted here in the past that all they need is to download an app for the cell phone to fix just about any problem they will encounter on the road. Yeah, right.

I also agree with your previous posting about the time to build. Sure, it takes a little time to plan out what is needed, and the accumulate the parts. But there are so many who get caught up with the fine detail of what they are doing, including the planning, that when they finally get out on the road, the reality is somewhat different from the dream.

There's a thread going in Road about test rides for bikes and their worth. The simple fact is that someone who has never owned a bike and who goes for a "test ride" usually doesn't have a clue about what they are looking for. The choice often comes down to colour!

I have seen threads here where there has been a small fortune spent on a bike... including the waiting time for the bike to emerge from the workshop of a "reputable" builder. Everything is expensive, and meant to last.

Well, to draw an analogy with boat building, you can spend a whole heap of time building your bike (boat), but that is time you could spend actually on the road (water).

The Thorns I built to take around the world with us took all of a week from bare frame, including the wheel-build, once I had accumulated the parts over the previous month to six weeks. That's two bikes that have served us extremely well and been ultra-reliable beyond that trip.

My very first touring bike was a hybrid bought from a local bike shop and modified as I saw fit in between riding it. What I have learned from it and the bikes I have subsequently owned contributed to the Thorn project working so well for us.

And in the case of our Santana tandem and the two Bike Fridays, it was far more efficient for us to pick them up ready-built (well, the BFs were a fine excuse to travel to North America to see Machka's family and get down to the BF factory in Oregon).

If you haven't been familiar with bicycle mechanics in the past, a build experience is a definite plus. There are two other aspects of bicycle mechanics; maintenance and repair. Maintenance will help spot an item before it becomes a repair.

Brad

Cut the for today and put it all together. Left enough for 6 spacers and the stem, that should leave plenty for adjustments. It was a piece of cake with the right tools.

Now I'm waiting for my rear wheel to be built by Russ at Trinity Bicycles in Fort Worth, and I've ordered the disc brakes, cassette, cassette tool and chain whip.

WORK WAIT WORK WAIT..........

You do not need a chain whip. A few years ago I wrote up a short piece on how I use some cord tied to a short piece of chain to substitute for a chain whip when traveling.
http://www.bikeforums.net/touring/80...ip-travel.html

The thread above also lists other options that others use.

The key is making sure you do not thread the fitting that keeps your cassette on too tight, then you might actually need a real chain whip.

I have assembled my last few builds with mostly the tools that i will have on hand during a tour, this helps determine if that tool is good if I should look for a better tool. This gives me more experience with my mini tool.

I also agree with others about not cutting the steer tube until it is dialed in. I tend not to cut steer tubes unless it is excessively long. I like the idea that I can raise the handlebars easily as i get older and the comfortable position is changing. You can also use excess steer tube for mounting additional accessories with an additional stem and handlebar section.

HH; Realistically most wives are smarter that they let on (and they still married us...who would have thunked that). Bet they already know how much you spent on them. They even pretend to believe our 9" measurement assertion. Trust me, when we die they get all our stuff professionally appraised plus a second opinion before going to auction with all of it. Most wives have a secret stash of brochures on all the stuff she is going to buy (red BMW convertible, Rodriquez custom single touring bike, Microsoft Surface/3 Pad, a beach front condo, a Sybian, etc.)

[;) Hope that helps sooth the soul a bit
/K