Bella Build

[UpWrong]

Chain on, FD cabled and gears adjusted. Thought I was done but the I have knee interference from the rapidfire shifters at the height I want the handlebars to be. It looks like I need the shifters to be outside my knees in a vertical plane. I have various handlebar options to try but I've cut the cables to length now so may find them too short for mounting the controls outside my knees.

[UpWrong]

I changed the handlebars and stem. The bars are wider and have vertical grips. I've added a single sided quick-detach rear mudguard. Just need some better weather to test ride it:

Can you identify the transmission part I have deliberately omitted?

[deejayen]

It looks great! Hopefully, you'll be able to take it for a test ride soon.

My eyes are dim, and I'm not sure of the Bella's standard chainline, but it looks like you're running it without a power-side idler and chain tubes.

[UpWrong]

My eyes are dim, and I'm not sure of the Bella's standard chainline, but it looks like you're running it without a power-side idler and chain tubes.

Correct. A power side idler on an LWB is tantamount to sacrilege. I've put some plastic tape on the chain stay to protect it from chain slap, and some helicopter tape on the idler post. In biggest sprocket and small ring, the chain almost touches the (empty) idler post. Will see how it goes.

[UpWrong]

Just went up and down the road. Tweaked the bars and seat positions slightly. The fork geometry seems right, giving a stable, almost hands free ride with no discernible fork flop. Not sure about the seat. I end up sitting on the horn at the front edge. It's a hammock seat with no base, hung from three points I think, like a tripod stool.

[UpWrong]

I laid the seat back a bit more (to around 48 degrees) and went for a pootle around. It was rideable and I was no longer on the front edge of the seat but overall it would handle better with a more upright seat and I'd be more comfortable and more confident so I have agreed to buy a Recurve seat from D.Tek HPVs. I also found the return chain was rubbing on the main stand in large-large so I'll revert to a side-stand.

Am thinking it's undergeared with the 32-42 rings, so might switch to 32-44 rings on the current 165mm cranks or fit a lightweight double with 33-44 rings. The double has 150mm cranks though which would increase the gain ratio further and has no guard. I still need to fit the rack I bought with the frameset.

[UpWrong]

With the Recurve seat fitted. Haven't ridden it yet but I think the more upright position is better than with the more reclined RANS sling mesh seat. I've changed the stem and fitted a rack too. I bought the Bacchetta Universal rack with the frameset but it's not lightweight and is designed to fit on the inside of the dropouts, sharing the bolts for the seat stays. I wasn't happy with that. They are only M5 bolts and having them support the seat and the rack is potentially stressing them, and the failure mode would be catastrophic. So amongst my collection of racks I found one that fitted a second set of mounting points. That's no mean feat with having to accommodate the rear disk caliper too. The rack prevents ideal position of the single-sided rear mudguard. I shall probably glue a short extender on to increase coverage.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the way it looks and in particular with the neat and tidy cabling I managed. I need to sort out some vibration when applying the front disc brake. Hoping the pads bed in, if not I'll try realigning the caliper again and if that doesn't work I do have a drum braked wheel to try.

[UpWrong]

Just been pottering around checking on the gears etc. I'm getting chain rub in bottom gear on the (empty) idler post and the seat clamp. It's marginal but I do need to do something about it. Options are:

1. fit the drive side idler as designed
2. fit a length of floating chain tube
3. change to a true compact double on a wider BB spindle

(1) would be a last resort, (2) is a no-cost option because I have the parts (3) would be the lightest solution but I'd lose the chain guard

Other than that, I can tell it's a stiffer frame than the XP which is both good and bad.

[UpWrong]

Simplest fix to keep the chain away from the seat clamp is to just use the outer 2 ring positions of the triple, using 33T and 44T rings.

[UpWrong]

Hmmm, since Spa will sell each crank separately, I've ordered a RH double crank and 119mm BB to try. With the omission of the chainguard that could be a weight reduction of 200g. Also had thoughts about fitting the much lighter Tortec Velocity rack. I tried it before and the rack legs holes would not line up with the frame, but I reckon filing 1mm off the fork legs will do it. Should be a weight reduction of 100g or more.

I could replace the folding stem and telescopic riser with a one piece aluminium tube, as long as I can get the RANS headset adjuster to work. I went with the folding stem to help with getting the bike in the car. I'm not sure if that's a viable proposition with the new electric car.

[UpWrong]

Did an actual ride today, albeit only 10 miles. The Bella was more comfortable than I was expecting but the accuracy of the shifting wasn't great. I know the hanger is aligned so maybe it's the shifter (Shimano Deore SL-M5100) or the cables are not good quality. Movement of the folding stem disturbed me when going over bumps, so I tightened the hinge bolt.

EDIT: An afterthought, I'll try it with the seat a bit more upright to reduce the tiller effect and possibly change how my back engages with the lumbar support of the Recurve seat.

[UpWrong]

I've changed the BB to a 119mm First Components DX-30, weight 250g. (Was 270g Stronglight JP400.)
Changed the crankset to a Spa TD-2 double with 33T/44T rings, weight 420g. (Was TD-2 super-compact double with 32/42 rings and a chainguard, weight 520g.)
Changed FD to SRAM 2x10 X5. (Was 3 x 8/9 Shimano FD-R443). Forgot to weigh.
Removed rack, weight 670g plus bolts.

I couldn't get the Tortec Velocity rack to fit, but I've found my old ICE sidepods fit over the seat with a releasable zip-tie to hold them.

So, a weight saving of 20 + 100 + 670 = 790g.

I could replace the telescopic riser consisting of 28.6mm shim + 31.8mm tube + 28.6mm inner with a single 28.6mm tube which I've bought. It will need slotting first. Not sure if it's worth the effort. Guess I need to weigh them to see what the saving would be. I'd guess 70g.

I need to sort out reflectors, lights, bottle cage and a bell, and might fit a dog-tooth chain keeper.

The big question is how much effort it would be to load it into my MG4. You can see the fork reversed in a photo below. The bars will fold down. I'd need to take the seat and front mudguard off at least, which wouldn't be difficult.

EDIT: gearing is about 20" to 100", about 4 to 20 mph @70rpm. Will have to see if that's low enough.
http://ritzelrechner.de/?GR=DERS&KB=33, ... &DV=teeth#

[UpWrong]

The penny's dropped with regards to fitting racks. The Bacchetta's used to have a large braze-on to support both seat stays and rack legs with a single bolt like this:

My Bella doesn't have the braze-on, it has two threaded holes near to each other in about the same position. The seat stays attach to the forward holes on each side, and the rack to the rearward holes. The Bacchetta universal rack has narrow spaced legs so that the legs fit inside the frame. The trouble with fitting a standard rack is that the legs are spaced to go outside the frame.

I could mount the seat stays on the inside of the frame, giving space to mount a standard rack on the outside. The seat stays and rack legs have to go on opposite sides because the mount holes are so close to each other. Best seen here:

[UpWrong]

Just realised I can spread the legs on racks and use spacers so they won't conflict with the adjacent seat stays. My titanium Airy rack has legs that spread easily and they curve outward so I can retain the single sided mudguard I think. The top of the rack is too narrow to mount a tail bag but can take small panniers which will then sit behind the seat. The advantage of the rack is that it's somewhere to mount an integral light and reflector. I could possibly mount a Tortec Velocity rack which can take a tail bag, but is heavier and might conflict with the mudguard support arm.

EDIT: Both racks conflict with the mudguard. I'm confident the Ti Airy will fit if I change to a conventional mudguard, so will probably do that.

[UpWrong]

This is getting annoying. I have an old hinged Bacchetta rack which does fit to the same bolts as the seat stays but on the inside of the frame, secured with lock nuts. But it does confict with the best position for the mudgard. Also, it doesn't have a light fitting. I think I need to grasp the nettle and fit a traditional rear mudguard. Then I can use separate mountings for rack which is preferable. I guess there's no substitute for functionality, so best to have mudguard with full coverage, rack with light mount. Still need to decide between the Ti Airy and the Velocity racks. The Airy doesn't have space for a rack bag but is lighter and narrower, and positions pannier bags more behind the seat.