[unboringuy]

I stayed home today to receive shipment of my new Ti. The UPS guy brought the box to the door and said, "This must be a nice bike, it is so lightweight." I said, yes, and I appreciate that your colleagues did not torture the box (the box arrived in good condition.)

I removed everything from the box, and my only surprise was how the front wheel was simply jammed inside without any protection. The rest of the bike seemed to be packed well.

Assembly was simple and straightforward. The wheels were true and needed no adjustment. The rear derailleur will need some playing with. I think I'll take the bike for a ride tomorrow and then adjust as needed. It is times like these that I wish I had a stand.

Although originally I planned to get the Heat with the SRAM setup, BD was sold out in my size, so I went with the Ultegra.

I'll report back after my ride!

 

[johnny dollar]

need pics

 

[dolomoto]

Congrats on the new bike. Here's mine at Troup Square last month...

 

[Cville700HT]

stand for adjustments

Just fwiw, my "stand" is a piece of nylon strap that I hang from my rear deck at home, so that with the strap looped around the seat the bike is at a convenient height. If your house has a basement or garage there is usually something overhead you can hang a rope or strap from, works fine. I've also read about folks using their car carrier rack to support a bike for tuning.

The trick on the rear deraileur is to set the limit screws with no cable tension. Get the chain centered on the small gear, then manually shift the deraileur (by hand manipulating the deraileur itself) to check/set the limit on the big cog. Then crank in some cable tension to get the indexed shifting aligned. It's easier than I expected.

I've been following your bike selection saga, keep us posted! I'm quite happy with the Corvus Al, think I might have liked a 58 better than the 56 I bought (I'm 5-11 but long armed and legged). The 56 is fine but I'm still playing with the fit some. My bigger concern is a crank creak I can't figure out, not a big deal but I'd like to make it go away. I have a Kalloy adjustable stem on order ($20 at Jenson) so I can experiment with bar height. Bottom line, I'm happy with both the Corvus and 700HT I picked up from BD this summer.

 

[unboringuy]

Post Ride and Photos

Ok. So here's the skinny. As I mentioned, setup was straighforward and simple. Fit and finish are very good. The bike looks great! Took it out for a ride yesterday, and the darn FD would not shift into the large chainring! Brought it home, and I still can't get it to shift into the big chainring....increased cable tension, adjusted barrel adjustment, and adjusted the limit screws; it simply won't shift over. So, I guess I'll take it in to LBS and hopefully they can make the adjustment on the spot. The place I generally go to I don't really like, so I'm going to try another one that is further away. Hopefully they can get things running right.

One minor little thing, and it's certainly not a big deal but it is strange. As you can see in the posted pic, there is some kind of brown particulate matter actually embedded into the tape. What's that all about???? I've included a pic of the box and the bike, too, so that everyone will know that I am not a shill.

I really love this bike; I just need to get it running right!

 

[biken]

That's a really good looking bike.. Congrats on the new ride! Those brown particles in the tape are common. It is cork grip tape and it has that type of appearance. Also, you may want to adjust you handlebars, looks like you may have them rotated forward too much, may want to rotate them back some. Most people tend to aim the bottom of the drops at the rear brake. If they are comfy the way they are then don't worry about it.

 

[johnny dollar]

yeah, some professional adjustments from the LBS might be in order.

As biken said, the brown particulates are normal in bar tape/cork.

Great looking bike, even with the low quality pics, steeply angle handlebars, and the plastic cover behind the cassette, .

When it's dialed in it should be fun.

 

[unboringuy]

yeah, some professional adjustments from the LBS might be in order.

As biken said, the brown particulates are normal in bar tape/cork.

Great looking bike, even with the low quality pics, steeply angle handlebars, and the plastic cover behind the cassette, .

When it's dialed in it should be fun.

I took the pics when I got the bike. Handlebars already have been adjusted before my ride yesterday (but thanks for the tip, anyway). I was told to leave the "plastic cover" (what I was told is actually the chain guard) until the RD is properly adjusted to prevent possible damage to the spokes.

 

[unboringuy]

Just curious....will most LBS make dr adjustments on the spot while you wait? I know it's supposed to be simple and quick, but I just can't seem to get the FD to shift onto the large chainring.

 

[Cville700HT]

deraileur adjustment

can you hang the bike so that you can spin and shift? really does just sound like the limit screw needs to come out a turn or two. if the LBS is not busy they'll usually toss it up on the rack, shouldn't be a big deal, 5 or 10 bucks maybe?

 

[unboringuy]

The guy at the LBS said he thought there was a kink in the cable, so they are going to replace the FD cable and housing (around $10), and then they will adjust the FD and RD. So I needed to leave it there and it should be ready around Wednesday. I miss it already!

I suspect I could have had BD send a new cable and housing, but for the small charge involve, it isn't worth the hassle. Oh, and the LBS said that the plastic cover over the cassette is indeed a spoke guard and that if they remove it the warranty from Mavic is void. I told them to leave it on there.

 

[BluesDawg]

That plastic thing is more commonly known as a "dork disc". People who aren't adept at adjusting a limit screw themselves would do best to leave it in place. Many who do their own adjustments wouldn't be caught dead with it on their bike.

 

[unboringuy]

I personally think it looks kinda dorky. Will it really void the warranty if I remove it?

 

[dr4cats]

I joined the club !

After reading about this Le Champ Ti bike on the forums, I got really interested. I sold a whole lot of stuff on fleabay and now I have the $ to buy a second bike. I was going to buy a frame and build it myself, but the numbers did not even compare to the Moto Ti bike.

I am a B rider and a climber and my regular ride is an 09 Spesh Tarmac. I wanted a steel or titanium steed to keep company to the CF Tarmac.

So I took the plunge today and ordered the Champ Team Ti with DA group. That will be my long distance/endurance riding machine. Where else can you find a titanium frame with full Dura Ace for less than $2800 ?

Bike should be here by Friday........can't wait !

 

[unboringuy]

I love mine....and I'll love it even more when I get it back from the LBS and everything is shifting properly. But you are right, the Ti frame is beautiful, and the components alone are worth the purchase price.

 

[SilentAssassin]

I have the Ti Heat version and I will say the bike rides great overall. I felt so confident on this frame, mashing on it, and the frame really does absorb bumps well. On a little 15 mile road section that I use to do on a 29er bike with slicks, I was 4 minutes faster on this bike. The frame is gold, it's extremely lightweight, and it's an awesome looking ride. Sram is truly an amazing group set as well. I'm sure the Ultegra is even better. I had some issues with mine and dealt with Bikesdirect support, and will say they are prompt in their response, and they really want you to be satisfied. I was tentative to buy a bike from bikesdirect before, but I think my next mountain bike will be from them too(as soon as they get a full suspension titanium 29er going), and I will definitely recommend them to friends and family members that want a good spec'd out bike for a good price.

 

[dstedman]

Here is my experience with my Moto Ti: I cut off my black plastic disc on the back wheel the second I got it. No problems & looks way better.

My shifting didn't work right at first because I hadn't seated the rear wheel all the way into the frame before tightening the skewer. One of those things that is easy to do if you are assembling it on a bike stand.

Your handlebars are pointing way too far forward. Also, I had to tighten the heck out of both the handlebars and the seatpost/seat linkage in order to get them to stay put. Otherwise, it's been awesome!

 

[unboringuy]

My shifting didn't work right at first because I hadn't seated the rear wheel all the way into the frame before tightening the skewer.

Your handlebars are pointing way too far forward. !

My rear wheel came properly seated in the frame and tightened. And with regard to the handlebars, when I set it up initially, before riding (and when I took the picture) I used the scale on the bars and set to 0. Before I rode and actually looked at how the handlebars were situated, I realized right award that they were pointing too forward and adjusted them accordingly. But I appreciate the tip. And as far as the "dork disk" is concerned, I will remove it once the RD is properly adjusted. Did you remove the back wheel to get it off, or simply cut it out? And will this REALLY void the warranty?

 

[Cville700HT]

dork disc warranty?

The disc is behind the cog, the right thing to do is to remove the freewheel with the proper tool and remove the disc. Far as I recall the disc has no spacer function. Warranty? Who knows, but you can be 99% sure that disc will never be a warranty issue, just keep the deraileur adjusted. If you never use the big gear in your area just adjust the limit screw so that you can't even get onto the big one and then you'll never be able to get into the spokes. I think my Corvus has a low, clear disc, hardly noticeable, so that could be an option too. Your LBS probably has many lying around, probably $5-$10 to R&R the freewheel / disc, 'specially if you just bring the wheel in.

Wed., bummer, but be good to have the big chain ring...

 

[unboringuy]

Wed., bummer, but be good to have the big chain ring...

You can say that again!