Pimp My Ride

It was time to pimp out my ride!

Lucy and I have been sitting there thinking about my upcoming ride and the condition of my bike. So we opted to put some shiny things on the bike and make sure it would last the journey. I knew I needed a new chainset, at least some rings, the standard Shimano 105 chain rings are nasty and already they were looking like little sharks teeth. The option I was throwing around was a compact chainset; 50 teeth on the main gear and 36 on the smaller.

After some shopping around Rob did a deal on the Raceface Cadence set. I also went for a new saddle by fi’zi:k after riding Dave’s bike the other week end. So far I did not have enough cash for the carbon and ti version os settled for a black Arione.

This morning I took the bike over the for ‘pimping’, well watch Rob work whilst I make the tea. The Cadence set uses the newer style external bearing cups; X-Type which means the bottom bracket shell needs to be faced to ensure the bearings run smooth.

Of course Rob has all the tools for this, and as his way looked more professional than my idea of a file and block of 2x4" I put the kettle on. Once the shell was aligned it was time to install the cups which have a more rounded look to them than the Off Road cups. More aerodynamic? The chainset has the main axle on the non drive side of the crank unlike the Shimano Hollowtech II which has this on the drive side. I’m not sure on the reasoning behind this but the best part in my mind is the self extracting crank bolts and the fact that you only need two hex keys to fit the unit, not some plastic puller that breaks.

Once the chainset was done we moved onto the saddle, but before we finished I knew Rob had a blue Arione sitting out the front so I rushed to try that out. I first thought that a blue saddle would be too much and look a bit in your face, but when it sat up there the decision was a positive one. So black was swapped for blue (cheers for that Rob I know Blue cows are more expensive) and the option to really pimp it up.

Now all that is left is a set of my own wheels…