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| *Vultures Knob>>>Cycling |
Care of carbon fiber bike? |
How do you care for a carbon fiber frame? Windex, pledge, hot soapy water? Is it essential to have a torque wrench, or will "hand tight" be ok? If torque wrench, how do you know how much torque to use? Finally, I'd like to get a little more upright. Can I add one more 1/2 " spacer if it extends 1/4" above the stem? I'm an experienced cyclist and would appreciate any other advice specific to carbon fiber bikes. Ride on! Clean your bike with something mild like dish soap and a soft brush. Harsh chemical degreasers will fog the clear coat. A torque wrench is a lot cheaper than an ER visit. Get one and use it. Torque specifications are usually in the part manual, or if it's a part that came on the bike that you don't have a manual for it will be on the manufacturer's web site. It sounds to me like you have 1/4" of steerer with a spacer over the stem, and you want to bring it up 1/2"? If this is the case, it won't work with a spacer. The top of the steerer tube needs to be within about 3mm of the top of the stem, and if you pull off the top cap you'll probably find that it's already about that far below the top of the spacer. You can get 1/4" with a spacer but will have to get the rest by either flipping the stem over or getting a new one with a steeper angle. Unpainted carbon frames have a clearcoat on them, so it's like any clearcoat paint job. Anything you mentioned is fine. Of course pledge or other non abrasive polish will make it look nicer. I'm lucky just to keep the road dust off of mine! With the torque thing, I guess you're talking about a carbon steerer tube and/or carbon stem? Both have torque ratings. If you don't have those numbers contact the manufaturer usually via their web site. Each part has different specs. I have a Easton ec90 slx full carbon fork and an alum stem. It has torque specs but honestly, I snugged the stem up without a torque wrench. Didn't want to buy one! I'm not that anal! I think my fork states that no more than 50mm above the head tube total. But again mine in about 80mm now. So there are two things to consider: 1. total steerer tube above the head tube 2. how much can the stem extend above the steerer tube. 1/4" is a bit much for as carbon steerer but if your stem has a large stack height maybe it's OK. If you don't feel comfortable with it you can order more spacers or like me cut one down. I use 2 carbon spacers and I don't like the look of 5 spacers under a stem - looks cheap. I cut 5 or 10mm off of one and sanded it flat by holding the spacer with my hand and running it over sandpaper. Mine's at about 1/16". Alum spacers would be harder to cut but can be done. I'll say hacksawing the carbon spacer wasn't as easy as I thought it would be either! Hope this helps I own a COLNAGO C40 and a RIDLEY DAMOCLES both are full carbon fiber bikes. I use a cleaner called BIG ORANGE, available at smart and final. Do not spray high pressure around bottom bracket area. It is not essential to own a inch pound torque wrench. Most componets will have torques reqired on them in either inch pounds or newton meters. As far as your stem question rather than add those spacers have you tried flipping it over? Or does that put it up too high? General (After ride cleaning): I would use hot soapy water Once or twice a month Cleaning: I would use simple green and do a total cleaning. Simple green if overused will damage the bike. I use it after every ride but I am riding 80-100 miles daily and my bike gets really nasty. CAT1 Racer |
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