SLX chainwheel install advice

I'm replacing my Raceface Crankset with a Shimano SLX and need some advice from the gurus.

I am assuming my BB shell is 63mm as there are three spacers on the existing setup, 2 on the drive side, one on the other. However, with the SLX in place the the driveside looks about 5mm to far out and the front mech will not reach the big ring, can I simply move a spacer to the non drive side? Or should I leave the spacer as is and just re adjust the limit screws on the front mech?

Cheers.
Yeah, you can move the spacer

Someone is probably going to talk about unsymetrical Q factor... but it won't be me
Ok, getting there, now why won't the little stopper plate go down on the non drive crank? Also, should the crank rotate very freely, there is a (very) little resistance in it, as if the grease in the BB is making it drag.
Sounds normal. grease should cause some drag, but not too much. Put the spacers on the non drive side, as you have. you might still have to adjust the front mech a little.
What is the little stopper plate?
I've had the stopper plate thing before.... by stopper plate you mean the plastic spacer that the two bolts pass through.

I sorted it by loosening the 2 bolts then get the 2 of them just more than finger tight, push the spacer down into position, tighten the 2 bolts up at the same time, a half turn each until they're both tight.

As regards them moving freely, that sounds fine to me, just make sure there's no lateral movement.
That was an interesting few hours, still if you don't try you don't learn, Youtube is also very handy half way through a job.

Cheers lads, yes Colin, that is the doo hickey, no joy getting it down though, hmmm.

A few more questions...

Can someone explain what the BB spacers are for?

When installing the drive side crank how do you know when it is fully inserted into the BB? Is there any tapping involved or do you just push it through until it can go no further, the reason I ask is it still looks a bit proud of the BB on the drive side.
Just push it in till it goes no further. If the stopper plate wont go down then something is not linned up right. If you have a 73mm bb and put the spacing for a 68 on that could be your problem. The stopper plate has a pin in it that lines up with a hole on the axle. If its not lining up then it sounds like your spacing is off. Try taking out one of the bb spacers and go again. Better yet measure your bb shell and find out what size it actually is. Never assume anything.
You probably will have to tap the drive side crank home, usually a smack with the plam of your hand is enough but you can use a block of wood and a hammer, hit it a couple of smacks, don't be scared....



The BB spacers

If you have a 68mm shell you use all of them, if you have a 73mm shell you just use 1 (I think). Some setup's are different, Truvativ jumps to mind, their cups are wider than shimano cups. I just use the least amount I can get away with.
Yeah, what Al said....

Seriously though, just start hitting it with a hammer.... seriously
Yes, there was some light tapping with a hammer and wooden block, it is all the way in. It is a 68mm shell, the instructions say 2 spaces on the drive said, 1 on the other, for a 'Band Type' whatever that is.

I like Als advice about never assuming anything!
Assumptions lead to **** ups always. Band type refers to the front mech instead of the bb mounted e type front mech.
Mr Don,

I will share my many years experience. The best strategy for bike fixing is to firstly buy beer. Not loads of beer, not fall over in the shed and be found the next morning amounts of beer, just a six pack will do. Before you start there are some precautions you have to take, firstly open a beer. Drink it while standing in the shed admiring you bike, this is important as you don’t want to do anything until some alcohol has entered your system. Next get all the hammers, hatchets and hack saws, hide them somewhere where you won’t be able to get them later. I find behind the TV, in the oven, or under the seat the wife is sitting in to be the best spots. Its not that you can’t find them later, its just that when you do, well on to the second six pack, you will be beside either the TV or the Cooker or the Wife and you attention will be drawn away from bike fixing to something that seams are far better idea at the time.

Next get the instructions for what ever you bought, burn them, real men don’t need instructions. Turn on the radio, something rocky. Get out the allen keys and start taking things apart, balance all the bits you remove precariously on a nearby shelf, preferably one over a drain, just take things apart until you have finished the second beer, maybe the third. Then try and take off the bit you are actually replacing, realise its stuck, have another beer, for strength, take all the skin off you knuckles on your next attempt, also try to fall against the shelf with the precariously balanced bits you removed earlier, try and knock as many as possible into the drain, have another beer for the pain. On your next attempt use an enormous lever, and round the ****e out of whatever nut or bolt it happens to be. Loose the head, kick something, run to the oven to get a hammer. Its not in the over , **** it, stick in a pizza, try behind the TV, not there, pull out all the cables, the wife is shouting, that’s right, they are under the wife, try to get them, she looks kind of sexy when she is screaming about the broken TV, try and poke her, give up on that one its a lost cause, grab the hammer and get out of there quick. Get back to the shed, have another beer to recover.

When you have recovered, beat, hack or saw the ****e out of whatever it is, don’t let it beat you. When you have killed it, have another beer, you deserve it. Notice a slight smell of burning pepperoni, must be the neighbours cooking, ignore it. Lash the new bits on, if something doesn’t go on easy, hit it with something, don’t worry if you have bits left over, your saving weight. When its on stand back and admire it, have another beer, try and spin the wheel, turn cranks or whatever it happens to be, wonder why its not working, and what is that racket? Its just the wife again, seams to be standing in the middle of the garden wearing oven gloves screaming about something, tell her to **** off back into the kitchen where she belongs. That’s her back in her place. Have another beer.

Ah one of the washers is on backwards, that must be the problem, take the new bit off to fix it, its stuck, have another beer, for strength, round the *******, go mad, kick the shaggin thing around the shed, **** it and all the bits in a pile in the shed, grab the last beer, your leaving the ****ing thing till the morning.
I've only read half of it and already it's freakilly accurate.... I do more drinking while fixing my bike than I do in pubs
Ha ha, jesus Sean that's good, I'm going to print out those instructions and stick them in the oven. You can add repeated tripping over huge borrowed ladder sitting diagonally along the shed floor.
I'm replacing my Raceface Crankset with a Shimano SLX and need some advice from the gurus.

I am assuming my BB shell is 63mm as there are three spacers on the existing setup, 2 on the drive side, one on the other. However, with the SLX in place the the driveside looks about 5mm to far out and the front mech will not reach the big ring, can I simply move a spacer to the non drive side? Or should I leave the spacer as is and just re adjust the limit screws on the front mech?

Cheers.
Yeah, you can move the spacer

Someone is probably going to talk about unsymetrical Q factor... but it won't be me
Ok, getting there, now why won't the little stopper plate go down on the non drive crank? Also, should the crank rotate very freely, there is a (very) little resistance in it, as if the grease in the BB is making it drag.
Sounds normal. grease should cause some drag, but not too much. Put the spacers on the non drive side, as you have. you might still have to adjust the front mech a little.
What is the little stopper plate?
I've had the stopper plate thing before.... by stopper plate you mean the plastic spacer that the two bolts pass through.

I sorted it by loosening the 2 bolts then get the 2 of them just more than finger tight, push the spacer down into position, tighten the 2 bolts up at the same time, a half turn each until they're both tight.

As regards them moving freely, that sounds fine to me, just make sure there's no lateral movement.
That was an interesting few hours, still if you don't try you don't learn, Youtube is also very handy half way through a job.

Cheers lads, yes Colin, that is the doo hickey, no joy getting it down though, hmmm.

A few more questions...

Can someone explain what the BB spacers are for?

When installing the drive side crank how do you know when it is fully inserted into the BB? Is there any tapping involved or do you just push it through until it can go no further, the reason I ask is it still looks a bit proud of the BB on the drive side.
Just push it in till it goes no further. If the stopper plate wont go down then something is not linned up right. If you have a 73mm bb and put the spacing for a 68 on that could be your problem. The stopper plate has a pin in it that lines up with a hole on the axle. If its not lining up then it sounds like your spacing is off. Try taking out one of the bb spacers and go again. Better yet measure your bb shell and find out what size it actually is. Never assume anything.
You probably will have to tap the drive side crank home, usually a smack with the plam of your hand is enough but you can use a block of wood and a hammer, hit it a couple of smacks, don't be scared....



The BB spacers

If you have a 68mm shell you use all of them, if you have a 73mm shell you just use 1 (I think). Some setup's are different, Truvativ jumps to mind, their cups are wider than shimano cups. I just use the least amount I can get away with.
Yeah, what Al said....

Seriously though, just start hitting it with a hammer.... seriously
Yes, there was some light tapping with a hammer and wooden block, it is all the way in. It is a 68mm shell, the instructions say 2 spaces on the drive said, 1 on the other, for a 'Band Type' whatever that is.

I like Als advice about never assuming anything!
Assumptions lead to **** ups always. Band type refers to the front mech instead of the bb mounted e type front mech.
Mr Don,

I will share my many years experience. The best strategy for bike fixing is to firstly buy beer. Not loads of beer, not fall over in the shed and be found the next morning amounts of beer, just a six pack will do. Before you start there are some precautions you have to take, firstly open a beer. Drink it while standing in the shed admiring you bike, this is important as you don’t want to do anything until some alcohol has entered your system. Next get all the hammers, hatchets and hack saws, hide them somewhere where you won’t be able to get them later. I find behind the TV, in the oven, or under the seat the wife is sitting in to be the best spots. Its not that you can’t find them later, its just that when you do, well on to the second six pack, you will be beside either the TV or the Cooker or the Wife and you attention will be drawn away from bike fixing to something that seams are far better idea at the time.

Next get the instructions for what ever you bought, burn them, real men don’t need instructions. Turn on the radio, something rocky. Get out the allen keys and start taking things apart, balance all the bits you remove precariously on a nearby shelf, preferably one over a drain, just take things apart until you have finished the second beer, maybe the third. Then try and take off the bit you are actually replacing, realise its stuck, have another beer, for strength, take all the skin off you knuckles on your next attempt, also try to fall against the shelf with the precariously balanced bits you removed earlier, try and knock as many as possible into the drain, have another beer for the pain. On your next attempt use an enormous lever, and round the ****e out of whatever nut or bolt it happens to be. Loose the head, kick something, run to the oven to get a hammer. Its not in the over , **** it, stick in a pizza, try behind the TV, not there, pull out all the cables, the wife is shouting, that’s right, they are under the wife, try to get them, she looks kind of sexy when she is screaming about the broken TV, try and poke her, give up on that one its a lost cause, grab the hammer and get out of there quick. Get back to the shed, have another beer to recover.

When you have recovered, beat, hack or saw the ****e out of whatever it is, don’t let it beat you. When you have killed it, have another beer, you deserve it. Notice a slight smell of burning pepperoni, must be the neighbours cooking, ignore it. Lash the new bits on, if something doesn’t go on easy, hit it with something, don’t worry if you have bits left over, your saving weight. When its on stand back and admire it, have another beer, try and spin the wheel, turn cranks or whatever it happens to be, wonder why its not working, and what is that racket? Its just the wife again, seams to be standing in the middle of the garden wearing oven gloves screaming about something, tell her to **** off back into the kitchen where she belongs. That’s her back in her place. Have another beer.

Ah one of the washers is on backwards, that must be the problem, take the new bit off to fix it, its stuck, have another beer, for strength, round the *******, go mad, kick the shaggin thing around the shed, **** it and all the bits in a pile in the shed, grab the last beer, your leaving the ****ing thing till the morning.
I've only read half of it and already it's freakilly accurate.... I do more drinking while fixing my bike than I do in pubs
Ha ha, jesus Sean that's good, I'm going to print out those instructions and stick them in the oven. You can add repeated tripping over huge borrowed ladder sitting diagonally along the shed floor.