Hello weight weenies, this is my first post on this forum. I have lurked around for a few months. You guys seem to know a lot more about bikes than I do, so what better place could I go to for information and help with the bike I am about to build up. I bought my first road bike last year and quickly became hooked. I quickly became interested in building up a bike from scratch, but ofcourse I don't know a lot about the mechanicals of bikes. I am very mechanically inclined though and can do most anything I set my mind to. I just ordered a frame off Ebay. It has shipped and should be here soon. The frame is a Rocky Mountain Solo 50 ac. From what I have read this bike can be built in the 17-18 pound range very easily. I guess you guys may not feel like that is a super light bike, but compared to my 30 pound Haro Amos it will be pretty light to me. The frame comes completely bare. It has no head set or bottom bracket installed. My first question for you guys is what would be a good light weight bottom bracket. I researched a few Solo 50 ac builds on the internet. A few people have used FSA Mega EXO brackets and a few folks used a Tiagra bracket and I saw one with a octalink bracket. Ofcourse I have no idea about these brackets or others. Are these brackets similar to GXP and BB30 brackets? Im pretty sure the latter are press in brackets. I hope you experts will help me pick a high quality bottom bracket. I hope to use information here to build an awesome bike. I will post pictures and info as I go along. Thanks for your help.

There's so much to learn/answer for a first build that it can't begin to be answered in a forum like this. Your bike has one of several common BB shell standards - they're generally not brand specific you can't just judge the BB by what brand others are using. BBs of all brands come in different threads (English, Italian, press fit, BB30, BB86 and a bunch of newer ones) and several other specs within each brand. You need the specs from the frame manufacturer as to BB standard, seatpost size, head tube size (and fork specs if steerer is tapered/oversize), front derailleur attachment type, etc. After getting that info, I suggest buying one of the common entry-level bike repair manuals (Zinns or Bicycling Magazines) and/or reading on parktool.com and sheldonbrown.com. You will everything you need to know among them. Be careful, read carefully, and go slow. There are some things on most frames that are reverse threaded and you don't want to ruin your frame trying to force an English BB shell in the wrong direction, etc. Same for L sided pedals. That being said, like anything else in life, experience complements books knowledge, so don't hesitate to check in with a shop if everything's not going together so well for you. There are also many aspects of assembly that require bike-specific tools, which can add cost and negate the savings of an online purchase - especially true for headset and BB tools. Happy building and check back in with any specific questions.only

Another thing to consider is that most cranks require a certain type of BB. For example, Sram cranks don't work with Shimano BBs.

Once you have the frame and know all the specifics, then start working on the build plans.

Finally, are you sure it doesn't come with a headset? If you bought a frame and fork, I don't see any reason for the seller to remove the headset. It originally came with a generic integrated headset, so it's not like it's a valuable part to pull out before selling.

Tell us the ebay item # so we can go look at the frame and start making recommendations. Do not post the ebay link, just type the item #.

You might also want to give us some sort of rough budget. We don't want to be recommending a THM crankset when you can only afford Tiagra.

Congratulations - you will learn a lot.

Based on my experience with a variety of BB's my advice is that the TruVativ/Sram GXP system is the simplest to install & works well. With any system you will need the right tools, this needs a common BB tool and a 8mm hex.

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Thanks guys for all your kind and helpful replies. If any of your are interested in looking at the frame the Ebay item # is 120922870105. I have kept my eye out for a Solo ac for a while and was actually looking for some shoes for a kid when I happened to just look at the bike frames and found this one with 5 minutes to go. perfect timing I guess. I even got a red one, my favorite color. I'm not gonna be your average weight weenie, I weigh 240 pounds, but I weighed 291 before I started riding a year ago. Hopefully this year I can drop some more weight. I guess I should look for cranks with aluminum arms and stay away from carbon, but I want to stay as light as possible. Thanks.

Carbon vs alloy cranks is more of a budget issue. either will be fine for you. swapped over several frames over the past few years have been these which have been fine for me at 200# + http://www.sram.com/truvativ/products/truvativ-rouleur-carbon-crankset#/path/term-id/8

For the external BB's you should get this tool or similar: http://www.parktool.com/product/bottom-bracket-tool-bbt-19

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From what I can see you will need a 1 1/8" internal head set and 1 1/8" fork, and "band on" FD, and a English threaded BB.

Seat post I'll guess and say 27.2mm? But that is easy to measure. When buying off ebay be careful. Some cheaper ones might use GF mixed with CF, and often they can be CF wrapped around an Al tube. They are not as light and don't ride as well.

Dura ace external BBs are pretty good value for money if you go with a Shimano or FSA crank. You can get 7800 BBs pretty cheap.

Headsets I'm not so sure of. Plenty of good brands around. Forks - stick to a name brand, plenty of nice forks around.

The FD you'll buy with your groupset.

You will need to research how to fit a headset. Might be an idea to buy through your local bike shop and have them fit it. If they are happy to do it ask them to "face" the BB for you. You will need a cheap specialised tool to fit the BB though.

Buy a torque wrench that goes done to 3Nm and can fit both sockets and allen head fittings (with an adaptor). You will want torque everything to spec so they don't come loose, but not over tighten and crack things.

If you have a budget, reserve a good amount of it to buy good wheels and tyres. This is where you will "buy the most speed". I just bought some fulcrum racing 3s off wiggle for 500AUD/~500USD. I then upgraded them with ceramic balls (i'm in the biz) and they run sweeeet. ANother upside fo these wheels is that more than likely, you will only need to swap to a longer shimano cassette body in the future to upgrade to 11spd.

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I think I am going to budget about $1200-$1500 for this build. I think I should be able to buy the few tools I need and still have plenty for the build. My next door neighbor also has a full machine shop in his back yard.

I have been leaning toward SRAM force for my group set. I think I read somewhere that the entire group including the crankset is less than 2000 grams. I think I can improve on that weight by using a lighter weight cassette and crank set. What do you guys think?

the cassette is probably the last place on a bike to loose weight.

the cheapest way to buy components is as a group.

can't help you too much on Sram as I'm a Campy person.

I note that Veloce at $484 is almost $100 less than Rival on Ribble's site. http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/groupset.asp?action=GenerateConstructor&part=GSCAMP2011VELB10D&sub=conf_GS_CAR&bike=1

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well I have not ruled out Campy. I just don't know anything about it. I couldn't tell you whats better quality in the Campy line. Does Campy have a light weight group that is comparable to Sram Force in weight and price?

Force/105/Centaur are not bad places to start.

Groupset is a best way to buy, then you can upgrade/replace the cassette later when its worn.

As I said above the best place to try and save weight is in the wheels. Trade weight aero and stiffness against price.

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I was comparing the specs of Veloce & Centaur recently in answer to another post, and apart from minor finish differences, I can't see any worthwhile difference to justify the price difference.

I'd agree that in the past the differences were significant - but not any more.

I don't think the group weight differences will be huge, and I'd agree with Phil that the wheels and tires are what needs attention.

Although I'm a Campy person, given the commonality of Shimano/Sram I'd be leaning that way for the OP. The ergonomics are an individual thing, with some loving the Campy levers. If OP is comfortable doing his own installation and maintenance, then Campy is fine. If not, there is likely to be more LBS support for the others.

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OP you may have some difficulty finding a fork - not impossible, but it appears to me from looking at their website that it may take a 40mm rake which is less common. A larger rake may lead to less stable or unstable handling.

You could end up paying a lot more for the fork than the frame. And don't cheap out with this. The problem is that this style of frame is by now quite outdated, and not really worth spending a lot to build up.

Alternatively, and I don't like to say this, but you would have been much better off buying a full frameset that includes a matching fork & headset. Perhaps think about this before going any further.

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