Help with first bike build: Serotta Ottrott

[abeship]

Hi all, new member here! I have ridden road bikes on and off for the past 3/4 years (owned an older cannondale, specialized, felt) all at one point. Sold all of those before college and now that I am getting settled in I have decided to treat myself a little bit.

I recently purchased this frame, and will have it here shortly.



I have a seat/seatpost, handlebars, stem, wheelset picked out (on back order), so I think I have pretty much everything figure out except for one thing. I am really not sure what I need in terms of the groupset. I was looking at the ultegra 6800 (wheels have 6800 hubs) but get lost on selecting a bottom bracket and front derailleur. This will be my first build so I want to get it right (hopefully!) the first time. Does anyone have any clue which bottom bracket and front derailleur I should go with? I was going to purchase from merlin as they are well reviewed and seem to have some of the best deals.

Appreciate any help you can offer!

[Ken Robb]

Nice frame/fork. If you are getting an Ultegra "Groupset" I would expect it to have cranks, derailer and bottom bracket to be included.

[sandyrs]

BB will be a 68mm English threaded ("BSA") unit.

[Louis]

I assume he means what clamp diameter for the F-der.

[bjf]

Originally Posted by abeship

Hi all, new member here! I have ridden road bikes on and off for the past 3/4 years (owned an older cannondale, specialized, felt) all at one point. Sold all of those before college and now that I am getting settled in I have decided to treat myself a little bit.

I recently purchased this frame, and will have it here shortly.



I have a seat/seatpost, handlebars, stem, wheelset picked out (on back order), so I think I have pretty much everything figure out except for one thing. I am really not sure what I need in terms of the groupset. I was looking at the ultegra 6800 (wheels have 6800 hubs) but get lost on selecting a bottom bracket and front derailleur. This will be my first build so I want to get it right (hopefully!) the first time. Does anyone have any clue which bottom bracket and front derailleur I should go with? I was going to purchase from merlin as they are well reviewed and seem to have some of the best deals.

Appreciate any help you can offer!

For the bottom bracket I'd take it to your LBS and have them determine what you have in the frame, go from there. You want it to be compatible with a 6800 crank, assuming you're going to stay with 6800 throughout. The FD is a little easier -- just use a caliper to measure the diameter of the seat tube and get a 6800 with the appropriate clamp size.

Beautiful frame!

[abeship]

Thanks for the quick replys! The style BB was confusing me a bit (english vs italian vs BB30) and, the front derailleur, whether it should be braze on or clamp on was the other part I was stuck on.

[vav]

Nice score for a first bike and build. You sure are in the right place

You need a british threaded bottom bracket and a 34.9 clamp size FD (front derailleur)

If the FD is offered as braze on only, then you need to purchase a 34.9 adaptor

like this:


good luck and welcome.

[boconnor811]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

Nice frame/fork. If you are getting an Ultegra "Groupset" I would expect it to have cranks, derailer and bottom bracket to be included.

Think he is confused as to bottom bracket threading, and clamp size for front derailleur. I'd assume the bb is BSA, but have no idea the outer diameter of the seatpost. Could go with a braze on FD, and buy appropriate adapter clamp to give flexibility to move components between frames.

[vav]

edit: a couple of people beat me to it.

[boconnor811]

Originally Posted by vav

edit: a couple of people beat me to it.

My thoughts exactly, in the five minutes it took to keep my kid from flooding the kitchen and typing my response on iphone all the info was there!

[abeship]

Again I appreciate all the replys . I did spend some time looking for a forum and this one definitely seemed like a good fit!

Merlin offers these options:
-Shimano Ultegra 6800 Bottom Bracket English Thread
-Shimano Ultegra 6800 Bottom Bracket - Black / Italian
-Shimano BB71-41B Press Fit Road Bottom Bracket

When you say british, does that just mean the English thread? I apologize for being so inexperienced, but like I said I want to get this right .

As for the front derailleur, is there a benefit to buying a braze on and getting an adapter vs. getting the "correct" one to begin with? They are out of the clamp FDs, but I am sure I could find the groupset somewhere else if that is the better way to go.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by abeship

As for the front derailleur, is there a benefit to buying a braze on and getting an adapter vs. getting the "correct" one to begin with? They are out of the clamp FDs, but I am sure I could find the groupset somewhere else if that is the better way to go.

Just get the adapter and the braze-on F-der. Getting a clamp F-der isn't reason enough to look elsewhere.

[Louis]

BTW, welcome to the Forum.

[christian]

No one ever in the history of ever has called that English thread.

It's British Standard Cycle (BSC). 60 degree threads and 26 threads per inch (TPI) for the threading, and for bottom brackets 1.37 in x 24 threads per inch, 68mm width, and left-hand thread on the drive side.

(Yes, you want the "English" one. But give Merlin some grief about that.)

[A1CKot]

A little bit cheaper than Merlin and 34.9 clamp FD is available. Save a little bit on the group and you don't have to purchase the clamp separately.

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/gsd/ro...nf_GSAL&bike=1

Edit: Just saw they are offering free tires with the 6800 group. So maybe a better deal on Merlin. But Ribble has more options available to you if you want wider gearing or a specific crank configuration.