Part 2: Bike Disassembly and Component Weight
After disassembling the bike, what we have here is now the bare frame of the Wheelsport Fantasy 2.0 mini velo bike. Before installing the new components, this is the best chance to clean up the frame and make it look brand new again!
With no components on the bike frame, it is easy to give the frame a good clean up, using some wet tissue and rags to wipe away the dirt and dust. Once that is done, the Hi Glaze 88 Car and Bike Polish was used to give the frame a really nice shine. Multiple layers of the polish can be applied to give the frame a high gloss finishing!
The very clean frame after polishing the bike twice
See how glossy the surface is!
I am very satisfied with how clean the frame is, as the shine of the frame as been restored and looks just as good as new. With that done, the next phase is to install all the components on the bike. Some of the components are the original ones that came with this bike, while most other upgrades are from the Dahon MuEX which was recently upgraded to Ultegra/XTR Di2.
BB cable guide reinstalled on the frame, under the BB shell. This low friction plastic part guides the externally routed shifter inner cables as they pass under the BB.
Here are the original bike components that will be going back onto the frame! The groupset is not shown here as it will be a completely new groupset, taken off from the Dahon MuEX.
Previously, while disassembling this bike from the stock condition, I found that the RD hanger seems to be a little bent. This would have a negative impact on the shifting performance, as the RD and the cassette will not be aligned properly. Now is the best chance to fix this issue once and for all. With a special RD hanger alignment tool, the offset of the RD hanger can be measured and also fixed with the tool. For a detailed guide on how to use this tool, refer to the Park Tool guide found here.
RD hanger alignment tool. The M10 x 1mm thread on the right side will be screwed into the RD hanger, while the ruler on the left will be used to measure the distance from the tool to the wheel rim.
First, align the ruler to a selected point on the rim. Usually the valve area is used for easy identification. Measure the distance at this position (6 o'clock).
Next, rotate the wheel and the tool to the opposite side, which is the 12 o'clock position. Again, measure the distance from the rim to the tool, at the same point on the rim. Using the same point on the rim ensures that the trueness of the rim does not affect the measurements.
Do the same for the other two positions (9 o'clock and 3 o'clock). The measurements at these 4 positions should ideally be the same for a perfectly aligned RD hanger, but practically, a difference of less than 4mm is good enough.
Once the measurements are done, here comes the tricky part. The way to adjust the RD hanger is actually to pull or push on the alignment tool to bend the RD hanger manually. It must be done gently and gradually, to prevent breaking or cracking the aluminium RD hanger. If the RD hanger is already too bent, it cannot be repaired safely and needs to be replaced.
The measurements confirmed my visual observation that the RD hanger is bent inwards slightly. This probably happened when the bike fell over onto the RD side, as I also found some scratches on the outside of the original RD. After manually and carefully bending the RD hanger, it is now straight.
With this repair completed, we can now continue to install the rest of the components. The new 10 speed cassette is first installed onto the rear hub. As this bike uses a 451 wheelset, with a wheel diameter of approximately 22 inches (instead of 20 inches on 406 wheelsets), a 12-30T Tiagra 4600 10 speed cassette is used to lower the gear range slightly for more practical usage. As a flat handlebar bike, the gearing does not need to be too high.
12-30T Tiagra 4600 10 speed cassette. Rather heavy at 329 grams, as compared to a more high end Shimano 105 or Ultegra cassette.
With the cassette installed on the Wheelsport Sunny 451 rear wheel!
Next, the headset, fork and handlepost can be reinstalled onto the bike frame. No change of parts here.
With the fork, handlepost, stem, handlebar and front wheel reinstalled!
It is always a good idea to tighten the bolts to the recommended torque, using a proper torque wrench. These are the two clamp bolts at the base of the handlepost.
Sora road caliper brakes, in glossy black colour to match the frame
Sora brake levers, with adjustable lever ratio to match with the road caliper brakes
Shimano SL-R780 2x10 speed flat handlebar road shifters, taken from the Dahon MuEX
New set of shifter outer casings for the bike. The two longer ones are used from the shifters to the stoppers on the frame, while the shorter one with the aluminium end cap is used from the RD to the stopper on the chainstay.
Plastic end caps with a long nose to improve sealing and prevent the polymer coating on the inner cables from wearing off.
Grips, brake levers and shifters installed
Original stem and handlebar, along with the Cateye Strada wireless cycle computer taken from the Dahon Boardwalk
View from the front. New brake and shifting components, in glossy black to match nicely with the frame.
The installation is now half complete! The remaining components would be the crankset, RD, FD and other miscellaneous components. To be continued in the final part of this bike upgrade.
Click here for the 4th and final part of this bike upgrade!
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