If you could be interested, I was thinking on changing my V-Brakes because I found a great deal on the web.

I currently have the dual control for v-brakes shifters on my bike XTR M-960 so I wanted to have the same. But those alone are around $400 list price.

So I found a pair of new dual control shifters M-965 that are the same model but for disk brakes reduced to $99 for the pair, including the hydraulic cables. and the laso new pair of matching disk brakes with centerlock for $77.

That is a great deal.

But then I discovered I'd have to change my wheels or at least the center hubs, my wheels are good so they are not just a disposable part. And I don't want to pay at least $600 for an equivalent pair of wheels for disk brakes.

Now. I don't know yet if I could just buy the xtr disk brake hubs and change them ? Looks like those hubs are also expensive.

So I am deciding the issue. If I decide not, maybe you could profit of the deal I'd give you the link to the place where they are. It is a big online dealer and ships to switzerland.

If you've got a link for good priced bike parts then post it. I'm always looking for good places to order bike parts that ship to Switzerland.

Changing your hubs would be a bit of a pain in the a$$, you'll need to get someone who is good at building wheels to rebuild the wheel for you, it will essentially be a new wheel with the only part from your original set being the rims!

I'd say just get out on your bike for the moment, enjoy it and when you decide what you like or what interests you then you are in a much better position to go changing parts.

I'm also of this school of thought. Standard cassettes on the climbs are only for the pros who can also maintain a high cadence. Us mere mortals don't climb >10% grades at speeds in excess of 20 km/h, and with a standard cassette your cadence is so low that in each pedal stroke you need to exert a huge amount of force on your knees just to keep going. It's totally a recipe for knee replacement surgery down the road.

I used to grind it out on the flats and climbs in a big gear, but due to knee problems I've had to become a spinner, and now I use a triple. It's a bit hard to get used to the high cadence at first, but I've discovered that overall it's much easier on my body: long and steep climbs are much less painful both during and after the fact than they used to be. And if it worked for Lance...

Anywho. Those are my two cents.

Heather

Yes Heather you are right on that.

But my bike I have a sweet ride on flats. I don't know if I want to convert it to a mountain bike

Maybe I could keep doing my flat road biking and stick to the MTB for the Uetliberg.

I'll try again some more times to the hills with my current setup and then I'll see.

By putting a compact on you are not turning it into a mountain bike. A compact crankset is a road bike crankset and is very different to a MTB crankset. By putting a compact on you will not in anyway hamper your bikes performance on the flat, in fact if anything you will probably take 50-100g off the weight of it! The only trade off with a compact is the slightly lower ratio when descending. But unless you want to still be able to push the pedals when you are travelling at over 70km/h then I don't think you will notice any negative effects!

Even the top pros use compact cranksets for certain mountain stages. Contador was using a 34x30 and Ricco a 34x29 in last Mondays mountain time trial. If its Ok for them, then it is certainly Ok for the rest of us mere mortals.

I will certainly get a compact at some point in the near future.

Veloplus have a SRAM Rival 34/50 compact for about 259CHF and ChrisW has a Shimano Ultegra one for substantially less then that.

I got me from ricardo a full Ultegra 6603 group

This is the triple with 52/39/30 in front and a 10 speed 12-27 cassette.

So I'll be set up with this to go with you on future rides.

I hope I could get it mounted before thursday but I doubt it. anyway the weather report is that it'll rain on thursday.

So now I will have 2 MTBs ....

With that group there shouldn't be too many climbs out of your reach!

That's pretty much the set-up on my roadie, but only a 9 speed cassette. You dont have to use the super low gears, but they are nice to have

I'll receive the set this week, but I asked to the nearest bike shop I have ( backyard ) how much it would be to have it installed and they answered me it would be 100 CHF/hour of labor. They estimate at least 2 hours work and the next appointment could be in 3 weeks.

Does somebody know about another good enough bike technician that could do this work for a lower rate and sooner ?

However, I am a good mechanic myself and I believe I could do the job. but I don't have the special tools.

I'd like to do it myself as a hobby project, but I guess maybe it would be better to do it with an expert assistance.

I was wondering if it was possible to do it by myself on the bike technician's shop and with his supervision and final adjustments and pay him for that service.

Does somebody know to whom could I go for that kind of service ?

Veloplus in Wetzikon have a fully stocked customer workshop. You can go in and use their tools to do whatever repairs to your bike. They only ask that you leave the work area in the state that you found it, and since they are providing the service its probably only good manners to buy something in the shop too!

That's great, I'll call them and request for the supervision service then.

ah.. ...Salsa...

Its a DIY workshop, there is no supervision.

Well, I called them and they told me it is ok, I could come and mount the parts myself, the technician at the end could check if the bike is ok.

This check is for free. then if the technician needs to fix something I'd have to pay something for that service.

They told me also that the technicians will be very busy and they could not do the change for me, so if I do it myselft this arranges them as well.

I have only to buy something from them before using the workshop... I guess i could get the cork tape from them at least

About 2 years I replaced a 6501 group on my reserve bike with 6601. It was pretty straight forward, the only thing I had to get a bike shop to do was remove the bottom bracket ( it was loc-tited in!).

Make sure your bottom bracket bearings have the right thread to suit your bike before starting - There are two types - English or Italian. Also make sure the two screws securing the right crank arm to the crank are REALLY tight - otherwise you will strip the splines and end up needing a whole new crank.

Be aware that all Shimano mounting instructions are available in PDF on their website...or at least they were last time I checked.

Send me a PM if you need a second pair of hands...

I'll check out for the instructions on the web.

I am quite able to do many kinds of mechanical, electrical and electronics work, being an engineer and curious about how things work, and also being a severe gearhead case, I allways want to know how the technical stuff works and do it by myself.

I have done this with many things, telecoms, electrical, woodwork, plumbing, automotive electricity, tennis racket stringing and servicing, basic bike setup and repairs etc... etc...

But I never did this kind of work and I reckon it must be done properly otherwise your security on the road would be compromised.

If I got the parts on time, I could go there on Wednesday afternoon. They told me to avoid the saturday as the shop and workshop will be full.

So I was thinking on coming very early to work tomorrow and on Wednesday to cover for the time and take the full Wednesday afternoon off and then go and do it.

If you happen to be free on the Wednesday afternoon, I'd greatly appreciate your help.

It could even be am EF social. "D.I.Y on S_L's bike i.e. come on and trash S_L's bike" kind of meeting.

Given your talent then you'll knock it over quite quickly, with the right tools it is a pretty straight forward job. (Applying bar tape can be damn frustrating though... I hate bar tape...)

Damn, afternoons are no go for me this week as I am working 2pm-10pm, was hoping you'd be aiming for mornings before lunch.

Could also be, I have a flexible time scheme, So I could take the Wednesday or Thursday morning off and then pay those hours enslaving me chained to the office desk some other evenings.

In that case it only depends of when I get the package. Maybe it would be at home on Wed morning.

No worries, will send you a PM with my contact details.

There's a good video on how to wrap handlebar tape at Bicycling.com. Going to Veloplus to use their workshop is certainly a good idea, but for people who don't have one locally (I wish they'd open one in Lausanne or Geneva!) then another option is to install everything that you can and then go to your local bike shop and ask to borrow the one or two tools that you don't have to finish the job. I've done this a couple of times, and they're more than willing to lend them to you if they recognize you from having been in there before.

All the best with the switchover! Unfortunately, although the Shimano pdf's have some useful info in them, I often find that they are written in the manner of trying to avoid being sued rather than actually helping you to understand how to get the parts working well, a bike maintenance manual is far better for the latter purpose.

On a somewhat related note, have you guys seen that Shimano officially announced the significantly updated and redesigned Dura-Ace (mechanical) groupset today, the 7900 series (see here), the new look is pretty cool. It will be on sale this Fall, and so all the 7800-series Dura-Ace equipment should see a BIG price drop around that time. Details of the electrical Dura-Ace should also be released pretty soon.