Bianchi Oltre XR4 Disc build

[ianrauk]

Loving the orange. The Bianchi green not so much. Though my partner who has a similar coloured bike would disagree.

Great thread @JhnBssll

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Lordy, that is going to look absolutely gorgeous.

Nice write-up too.

 

[Ridgeway]

This thread is sponsored by Tango

That clip looks excellent, well done on that.

 

[JhnBssll]

We like the same pedals, I've been using the Ultegra version for years, I've got a nice brand new old stock set in the box waiting for my current pair to wear out!

That's a great idea, I may have to look around to see if I can find a pair going cheap to squirrel away They've replaced it with the PD-ES600 now apparently but it doesnt get such good reviews, I'd imagine they'll discontinue the PD-A600 at some point now

Loving the orange. The Bianchi green not so much. Though my partner who has a similar coloured bike would disagree.

Great thread @JhnBssll

haha Celeste is certainly a marmite colour. I wasn't overly fond of it at first, but quickly warmed to it and now really like it. I wonder how much of that is due to the tradition and history behind it rather than the colour itself 🤔 I guess I've just been sucked in by their marketing

Anyway I've built the pedal back up 😄 Lots of lovely fresh grease on the bearings and some copper slip on the threads so it's nice and easy to service next time around

And the axle assembly refitted to the pedal...

I've stripped the right hand pedal down and sprayed the axle, now waiting for the final colour coat to dry before I lacquer it and reassemble it later this evening 😊

 

[BianchiVirgin]

Thanks mate The main benefit of the ceramic pulley is it looks cool It also gives very small efficiency gains, equivalent of 6W apparently, which I immediately countered with an extra crumpet for breakfast this morning I'm not even sorry...



I have considered spraying the pulley I'm still tempted... I wondered about just spraying the inner surfaces, but then they'll be first to get damaged so it would look good until I pedalled for the first time I'll continue to consider the options

Paint arrived today! I've been on 'holiday' since last Wednesday, although have totalled about 15hrs of skype calls and meetings in that time I managed to get in to the garage either end of a skype call this afternoon which has allowed me to prime, paint AND lacquer the 3 first bits

Here they are after a clean and degrease, 2 coats of etch primer, 3 coats of colour and 4 coats of satin lacquer...

View attachment 518596

The big question was paint match. I'm never going to get it perfect as the parts I'm trying to match are anodised orange rather than painted. With that said, I think we're pretty close! Certainly close enough to get away with Here they are next to an orange Hope stem cap:

View attachment 518595

They're a shade lighter than the original, but like I said - close enough! Now I just need to resist the urge to paint other things... This always happens

You'll be going so fast no-one will notice.

 

[JhnBssll]

You'll be going so fast no-one will notice.

Thats the plan Actually thats a good point, I should really get in shape ready for the bike to be finished

I've finished the second spindle but the paint isn't hard enough to assemble the seal on to yet. I'll pop it together later once I'm done on the turbo

I need to get it back together tonight so I can clean the workbench down again as I need it for work tomorrow This working from home malarky has got a lot to answer for

 

[JhnBssll]

70 mins on the turbo gave the lacquer long enough to harden a bit. Seal on and pedal assembled

Looking forward to popping them back on the crank arms tomorrow to see how they look - the orange should really pop against the black

 

[JhnBssll]

I fitted the pedals to the cranks at lunchtime. Also test fitted the orange bits to the front mech 😊 Pretty pleased with it so far

 

[ianrauk]

Looks really smart

 

[Duc gas]

So when you finally get this thing nailed together can you give us a report on how it rides compared to the xr3 please? Genuinely interested as I have an xr3 (rim braked) ,I couldn't justify one to myself as I'm too old and slow 😂 Loving your work 👍

 

[JhnBssll]

So when you finally get this thing nailed together can you give us a report on how it rides compared to the xr3 please? Genuinely interested as I have an xr3 (rim braked) ,I couldn't justify one to myself as I'm too old and slow 😂 Loving your work 👍

Thanks 😊 My trick is I stopped trying to justify things Interest rates have dropped to nothing so there's little point having much more than rainy day savings at the moment. You only live once

I will certainly give some thought to comparisons when it arrives and goes together My XR3 is the nicest bike I've ever ridden so I have high hopes I'm expecting it to be a little lighter and a little stiffer but time will tell 😊

I'm still waiting to hear back from Bianchi UK about their production plan and therefore an ETA for the frameset but I've noticed a few people posting pictures of brand new Tavolozza framesets in the owners club so that must be a good sign

 

[Duc gas]

Thanks 😊 My trick is I stopped trying to justify things Interest rates have dropped to nothing so there's little point having much more than rainy day savings at the moment. You only live once

I will certainly give some thought to comparisons when it arrives and goes together My XR3 is the nicest bike I've ever ridden so I have high hopes I'm expecting it to be a little lighter and a little stiffer but time will tell 😊

I'm still waiting to hear back from Bianchi UK about their production plan and therefore an ETA for the frameset but I've noticed a few people posting pictures of brand new Tavolozza framesets in the owners club so that must be a good sign

Keep up the good work 👍

 

[JhnBssll]

The replacements for the replacement wheel decals arrived yesterday. This evening I had a couple of hours spare so I set about removing the replacements and fitting the replacements for the replacements

This peeling was the reason for the new set:

Here are the replacements for the replacements:

I planned to do the same prep as last time - peel the old vinyl off, clean with rubbing alcohol, dry thoroughly then apply the new decals. What I hadn't planned on, was how well stuck down 95% of the decals were 🤔 There were 3 or 4 corners that wouldn't stick at all, but the rest was stuck fast so I had to get the heat gun out and gently warm the vinyl and adhesive to get them to budge Once they were all removed from the first wheel I applied the first set of new ones. This took a while, as I decided to cut the decal sets in to individual letters so I could align them all as best I could with the slight discolouration in the gelcoat. This worked pretty well, it's still possible to see in some places but is generally pretty well hidden now, following the lines of the new vinyl

Looks good, so went ahead and did the other side. Here's the back wheel finished hung up next to the front wheel with the previous set still fitted...

I can't tell which I prefer, but it doesnt matter as I don't intend to fit a third set anytime soon if I can help it, so I took the front wheel down and got to work with the heatgun A little while (hour) later and both wheels had been returned to standard(ish) decals...

Job's a goodun 😊 I hope to hear from Bianchi this week with an ETA for the frameset as there's not a great deal more I can do until it arrives

 

[JhnBssll]

I had word from Bianchi today that my frameset will be painted between the 15th and 18th and should be with me by the end of the month Pretty exciting to have a timeline again

 

[MrGrumpy]

Looking forward to seeing the final build, much prefer an understated look rather than bling but each to our own!