John stopped by a few days ago to pick up his newly built Moots Vamoots CR. We build up plenty of Moots frames but not many have been as complex as this S&S coupled Vamoots with internal Di2 routing. Check out the assembly process below!
First, the S&S couplers allow the entire bike to pack down into a piece of luggage not much larger than your standard suitcase. Doesn’t sound like much, but once you open it up to find both wheels and a frame in two pieces, it all starts to make sense.
The next challenge was to set up the Di2 system in a way that would be most conducive to frequent assembly and dissassembly. Fortunately, this was rather easy as Shimano offers many different wire lengths and junction boxes to bring it all together, or take it all apart for that matter.
On the front portion of the bike you find the Di2 STI shifter/levers, remote climbing shifter and the main five port junction box attached to the stem. This comprises the first half of Shimano’s E-Tube wire system. Out back you have the seatpost-mounted battery and both derailleurs. Connecting the two halves of the system is a junction box in the down tube, just below the lower S&S coupler, providing the disconnect point.
Getting everything together does require a few specific steps so we decided to compile a photo gallery of the process. The order of operations is generally flexible, and is probably more dependent on access to a bike repair stand. The order prescribed below is assuming you don’t have a repair stand, and therefore begins with coupling the frame followed by installation of wheels. Take a look:
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- The suitcase
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- What the suitcase looks like once opened
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- Unpacking the bits and pieces
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- Remove the protective frame padding
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- Junction box connecting the two halves of the Di2
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- S&S coupler interface
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- S&S coupler specific wrench to secure the two halves of the bike together
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- Install the wheels to create a rolling chassis
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- Di2 seatpost battery slides into seatpost
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- Di2 seatpost battery inserted leaving the plug exposed
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- Check the saddle height to ensure proper fit
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- Tighten the seatpost clamp to indicated torque
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- Loosely attaching the stem to the steertube
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- Attach the handlebar to the stem and check for correct angle
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- Compression bolt gets tightened lightly to apply proper preload to headset before tightening stem onto steertube
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- Rear brake bolt receses into the front and rear mounts
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- Make sure the caliper is straight and not rubbing on the rim
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- Ensure there is enough slack and rubber grommet is secure
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- Attach the rear derailleur to the derailleur hanger
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- Make sure the little screw is resting above the hanger tab
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- Plug in the rear derailleur
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- Insert the drive side srank arm/spindle
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- Attach the non-drive side crank arm and install plactic preload nut
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- Press down on the non-drive side crank arm safety clip
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- Dropping the chain into the derailleur cage over the lower pully
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- Routing the chain through the derailleur cage
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- Routing the chain around the upper derailleur pully
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- Routing the chain over the cassette
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- Connect the reusable chain link
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- Fully assembled rear derailleur and chain
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- Fully assembled front brake
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- Fully assembled cockpit
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- Fully assembled seatpost and rear brake
that is an enviable ride! nearly makes going thru the airports something to look forward to…
…and this is why I take my bikes to Cyclepath.
Moots Cycles She ended up super sweet – thanks for another amazing frame guys!
Good job!How did you go about the warranty peocrss? I’ve had good luck with my Schwalbes and generally just wear them out. However, when I decided to replace my Delta Cruiser on the rear of my Raleigh, it indeed had a broken bead on it:So I wonder if there is any recourse for that?While we’re discussing tire warranty issues, the one I hated was the Specialized Armadillo I had on the rear of my LHT. I got it while I was in Baker City, OR on a bike tour in June of 2010 to replace the wearing-out tire. About six months later I looked at the tire and I noticed that it was delaminting. I had never seen that in any other tire I’ve owned, but learned it’s a common occurrence with Armadillos. I went to Bike Gallery in Portland to see what to do. While they weren’t the original shop, they are a Specialized dealer. They told me that they couldn’t do anything without the original receipt. And since it was on a bike tour, I didn’t hold onto it. I thought about contacting the shop in Baker City, but it was too much of a hassle. Besides, Bike Gallery didn’t even know if they could get it replaced, and would I want another Armadillo?
Sexy
HELLO
nope.