Firefly FF028 Ti Road

[dwaharvey]

Threads in BB shells are typically cut on a lathe before the bike is made. I have heard talk of tapping PF30 shells for T47, and the sizing of both makes it plausible... but on a hard titanium shell already welded into a bike... it seems a challenging and risky process. If Firefly are pulling that off, kudos to them.

[jbaillie]

Just to be clear that wasn't my post - I have no plans to touch to BB shell and I doubt Firefly would do it. The PF30 installed is still doing its job for me, so I'm sticking with it. If I ever do want a switch I'll just get one of the Enduro/Wheels Mfg adapters.

[dwaharvey]

Yep, understood. Be interesting to hear more about donnydino's story. I think you're 100% right in what you said: trying to tap threads into an already functioning BB seems like a pointless and unnecessary risk... except as a last ditch solution to a creak that persists after all non-surgical avenues have been exhausted.

[thedonnydino]

did you just had thread cut into the existing pf 30 shell ?btw, great to see bike love that last longer than a season or two, my colnago and i are shortly have a our ten year anniversary ! (-:
thanks.

Yes, it was an existing PF30 shell.

It was tapped by hand, and requires a special tool. My mechanic informed me that it was a very long, drawn out process that required patience, and a lot of cooling as the titanium builds up a lot of heat in the process.

It can be done, but it is labour intensive and carries some risk I guess.

My opinion would be to approach the builder, and see if they will tap the thread for you.

[thedonnydino]

Yep, understood. Be interesting to hear more about donnydino's story. I think you're 100% right in what you said: trying to tap threads into an already functioning BB seems like a pointless and unnecessary risk... except as a last ditch solution to a creak that persists after all non-surgical avenues have been exhausted.

To be fair - both myself and my mechanic were keen to see how it all worked, and whether he'd pursue it on the frames he designs (which he now is). He now has the threads tapped when the bb is a shell in the manufacturing stage

Otherwise, I agree - if it's not making a noise, then don't bother? I actually think that pf30 on titanium runs less risk than PF30 on carbon frames as the two cups are pressed in to a pretty stiff, one piece shell.

I actually like the ceramicspeed solution that screws together int he middle. Very pricey though.

[jbaillie]

Boston just had our hottest February day in recorded history. Signs of the apocalypse aside, it was a great day for a ride.

[jbaillie]

Quabbin Reservoir Road Race was this weekend. Probably the most scenic race I've done, certainly at the start/finish area. On the down side a fair amount of it (routes 202, 122 and 9) involved 18-wheelers getting impatient behind the pack which was a little disconcerting.
Tough race -- 104 KM with 5,340 feet of climing (according to my Garmin anyway). Fell off the back midway through and finished with a small groupetto after about 3 hours 30 minutes. Fun, but very exhausting.

One interesting note was that the SRAM NRS vehicles all had Canyon Ultimate and Aeroad bikes on the roofs, which seems interesting considering that they still aren't selling in the United States yet.

A couple shots from the tower atop Quabbin Hill Rd.

[fa63]

At the Roswell Criterium yesterday, SRAM neutral support also had a bunch of Canyons as spare bikes.

[bleui]

OP any reason you didn't go full flat/level on the top tube?

[jbaillie]

I was transitioning from a Scott CR1 and I liked that position & geometry, so we used that as a starting point. I don't mind the semi-compact frame geo, although you're right with full custom I could have gone more traditional.

[jbaillie]

Some fast riding in Connecticut last week. Also just ordered some new training wheels, anxiously awaiting those.

[jbaillie]

Had a chance to get a set of new training wheels insanely cheap so decided to give them a go. Vision Team 35 clinchers with ano brake track. After 3-4 training rides and one hilly-ish road race I can say they seem just as solid and unspectacular as one might expect. Hubs seem decent but the rims are heavy. And while they looked nice and stealthy at the outset, the brake track is already wearing and they just look sort of dirty now. I'll probably give them a few more weeks then try to resell them.

They come with a nearly 270 gram penalty over my Belgium C2 set which has a much higher spoke count (16/21 vs 24/28).

[titaniumdan]

This bike is pure class - awesome to see it being raced as well.

[jbaillie]

Took part in my fourth Pan Mass Challenge earlier this month, a ~190mile/300km weekend ride across Massachusetts raising money for the area's primary cancer hospital. It was the first year I've done this ride that weather wasn't ideal, and about 80 miles into day 1 I went around an unmarshaled corner in a steady rain and slid out. The most banged-up things were, in order, my shoes, then my face, then my bike. Fortunately everything was in good enough order to continue and finish the ride.

I got a few stitches in my jaw at the end of day 1 - I know some people don't like to see that stuff so I'll just link to the before/after photos here and here. Day 2 was beautiful and far less eventful and we got to the end of Cape Cod without incident. After surveying the bike damage it's clear that these are cosmetic issues only, but I'd already been considering making some changes. The scraped up shifters and crank are going to be replaced - I found some solid deals on 2012/13 SRAM Red bits online. The crank is an eBay purchase, the shifters are NOS. Hoping to get this all built up this weekend so I can do some riding.

[KCookie]

Enough respect to you for finishing the ride for a great charity.

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