So, my T1500 arrived in the NY, my wheels arrived from Light Bicycle. All in all, I'm really happy with the T1500 frame and the wheels from Light Bicycle.
I didn't go with the Winspace handlebars, mainly because they didn't have my size at the time, but partly cost. The other components on the bike are:
- 105 disc groupset (mechanical shift)
- FSA stem
- Prime X-light handlebars (not aero, no internal routing) - mainly got these as they were cheap, light, recommended, and temporary (once, I'm happy with the sizing and fit on the bike, I'll at some point switch to a fully integrated handlebar and move the prime's to my old bike, if I like them).
Given no internally routed handlebars, cables are routed through the headset, everything goes into the down tube except for the front break (obviously).
OK, so I took on this project with virtually no bike mechanical experience. Before this, the most I'd done was change my cassettes and chains. I generally don't even look under the hood of my car.
In terms of the build, I've completed the following, none of which I'd ever even tried to do before:
- cut carbon steerer tube down to size (seatpost was OK, just!).
- installed forks, stem, handlebars, shifters.
- installed seatpost and saddle.
- routed brake hoses, cut hoses down to size, installed new barbs and olives, bled brakes.
So all, in all, the only things I had left to do were:
- bottom bracket installation
- crank, chain and pedals installation + tune everything.
I'm really impressed with the T1500 apparent quality (haven't ridden it yet). My only feedback is:
- I'm a bit concerned that there is no plastic guard separating the gear cables from the carbon on the frame as they run under the bottom bracket area, as the cable for the front derailleur comes out of the frame, and where the cable comes out of the rear chainstay above the thru axle hole. I'm worried about the cables cutting through the frame where there is contact. As a result, I've left some of the plastic routing guides in those particular places.
- The seat clamp is really fiddly. It's a struggle to attach the saddle if you don't have 3 hands. You have to use their seat clamp because the seatpost is proprietary.
Today was press-fit bottom-bracket installation day. Everything seemed to go really smoothly. The whole thing seemed to be straight and I thought it was done. However, when I tried to put the cranks in, they wouldn't go out the other end. I looked inside and found that the centre tube had not attached to the other side and while the bearings might have been OK, the centre tube had pressed in crooked (see photo).
So, I'm guessing this is not easily resolvable? I'll need to somehow break the centre tube (which felt like plastic before I installed it) so that I can get a bottom bracket removal tool into position, then remove the BB and install a brand new BB (even assuming the BB is reusable, there's probably no way to just buy the centre tube?
Any suggestions appreciated.
Thanks