ridesalot
new member
Reged: 03/19/08
Posts: 3
Loc: Davis, CA
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Hello,
This is my first post here. A friend of mine is selling his 2002 (or 03) Tetra Pro frame because it is a tad too big for him. I have ridden it for 200 or so miles and have determined that I love it! The catch is he needs all the parts off of it and I will have to build it up with my own components.
I prefer to go with the newer style external bearing bottom bracket and crankset because that seems to be the only thing available these days (especially for compact cranks). My question is, does anybody know if this will work? Will I need to face the BB shell? Is there any other potential for problems?
I am hoping somebody out there has done this already and might be able to share what they went through to make it work. Maybe I'm just being paranoid.
Thanks in advance! It's great to see so many happy Calfee owners out there.
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Umlungu
contributor
Reged: 03/04/05
Posts: 187
Loc: Plano, TX
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Welcome!
My initial thought is you shouldn't have to face the BB at all, but then again I'm no expert. I ride both a Luna and a Bamboo and use Campy UT cranks (external bearings) on the Bamboo. The BB area did in fact need some adjustment, but not because of the cups; I had a slight clearance issue with the innermost chainring.
Anyway, you might give Calfee Designs a call and ask them what they think, or drop them an email. One thing I love about riding Calfees is that I can pick up the phone and call the guy whose name is on the bike.
Just out of curiosity, what model is the frame and what year was it made?
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ridesalot
new member
Reged: 03/19/08
Posts: 3
Loc: Davis, CA
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Thanks for the response. It's a Tetra Pro (60cm) from 2002 or 2003... not exactly sure on the year. It's in great shape and has only about 4,000 miles on it.
I'll give it a shot and see what happens. I have heard that there may be issues with chainring clearance so I guess I'll find out soon enough.
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Lowdog
new member
Reged: 01/01/04
Posts: 6
Loc: Wyoming
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I have a 60cm Tetra also. I installed the FSA compact crankset with external ceramic bearings with no trouble. My LBS said he wanted to face the BB shell to make sure it was square. He also said the chainline was a little out of whack, but I have had no issues with it and really like it. I use the 38/52 rings. No shifting problems whatever.
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dfcas
contributor
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 143
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LOWDOG-
How old is your tetra? You have a compact crank with 38-52 rings?
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Lowdog
new member
Reged: 01/01/04
Posts: 6
Loc: Wyoming
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About 5 years old. Yes, I'm using FSA 38/52 rings. No problems at all.
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sobrien
new member
Reged: 04/02/08
Posts: 1
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I have a much older Tetra (from the threaded headset and "carbon frames" era). I just upgraded to Campy UT cranks and had one issue. The drive side chain ring bolts would hit on the reenforcement buttress fin behind the bottom bracket. The q-factor of the Campy must just be tighter than that of the Dura Ace 7400 it is replacing (a bb issue I'm sure). The Campy design of meeitng in the middle give no adjustment in the distance between crank arms. I was told that any clearance would be OK and that I could jsut file down a little of that section to create the clearance I needed.
Hope that helps. Actually, I hope you don't have this issue as well.
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bfd
journeyman
Reged: 12/22/03
Posts: 77
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I too am running an older Carbonframes/Calfee. Its a 1994 model that I bought used in 1997. Its great!
Since my bike is from the 90s, I have a 90s theme going - Campy 9 speed ergos, 90s CK silver headset (with NO LOGO), Avocet saddle, Kestrel EMS steel-tubed fork, Campy ti seatpost, White Ind. ti freehub and axle "beercan" hubs AND a Sweet Wings crankset. One of my friends describes my mutt bike as an "eclectic" mix of parts.
For those of you too young to remember Sweet Wings, it was one of the original external bearings crank/bb combo. The external bearing is only on the left/non-drive side.
Back to my frame, it is one of the older Calfee with the Italian threaded bb shells. Herein lies the problem. With the Sweet Wings crank, it sits too close to the bb shell. The only way to get it to fit is to put a spacer on the right/drive side cup to bring the bb out just enough so the crankarms clear. Here's the test - who makes a bb spacer for Italian threading (70mm wide versus standard english size of 68mm)? Answer - NOBODY!
I found an LBS that had a machine shop custom make a spacer for only $2 or 3. Bargain. I was able to fit the crank without having to file down the frame! Good Luck! Brewster
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CalfeeJames
new member
Reged: 11/12/07
Posts: 15
Loc: Santa Cruz, CA
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Hi! I think Sobrien's response is very accurate. Chainring clearance is only dependent on when the frame was made and what clearance measurement tool we were using at the time. Our tool looks like a BB with a short crank arm on the drive side only. The arm is wrapped with carbon fiber, to which we add more material when the tolerance changes on new parts. Then we file down the fiber to exactly the clearance needed, and in the case of Campy UT, the tool must pass the chainstay without contact before the frame is shipped because, as Sobrien aptly pointed out, there is no room for spacers on that spindle. If you have a frame that was made before the UT stuff came out, we were using a different version of the clearance tool, so adding a zero-tolerance BB to your build will likely mean you have to send it in to us, and let us trim the stay for you, according to the updated measurement tool. It sometimes requires only 1mm of trim- or up to 4mm- especially if you are switching to a new English-threaded BB shell, which takes out 1-2mm right there... CalfeeJames, Repairs Guru.
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ridesalot
new member
Reged: 03/19/08
Posts: 3
Loc: Davis, CA
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Thanks for all the informative posts. I haven't visited this site in a while but I wanted to update how the installation went. The bottom bracket installed fine and my crank operates very well. The only issue I have is when I am in the small-small combo. The chain will rub slightly on the bigger chainring. I rarely use this combo so I don't think it is an issue at all.
I love this frame, and look forward to riding many many miles on it. I may send it in for a repaint in the future, however.
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