jdawginsc 

Wait, how did you try to reattach the chain?

jdawginsc 

Looking great. I was right about the bronze looking good with the AD. Perfect!

Strawbunyan

the bronze really is the detail that sets it off.

As for the chain, i tried a lot of ways. What ended up working was holding the chaim breaker with an adjustable wrench and holding the chain in it with my fingers and the having my daughter hold the pin with somr needle nose plyers and then twisting the pin pusher to seat it and then i tightened it down and pushed it through and flush....that method took about 30 tries....i probably coulda googled it but then i wouldnt have been able to spend 45 minutes on it 🤣🤣🤣

daverup 

When you take the chain apart, you can leave the pin still attached to one side of the link. It takes time to learn the technique, but it is much easier to reassemble.

jdawginsc 

The pin was loose? I thought I left it in the outer plate so you could pop it back in? Sorry if it wasn’t. I might have left it out thinking I would shorten the chain by a few links...

Aubergine 

Oh man, I can't even imagine trying to do that! I take my hat off to your perseverance.

Strawbunyan

that makes a lot of sense. I wish you woulda been there to slap me in the back og the head when i was taking it apart.

i didnt see a pin and that chain ended up being too short so i stole one from a huffy.

I have this weird thing where i dont like to let inanimate objects beat me in a fight...never give up, never surrender.

Strawbunyan

Well. She goes, and she stops. RD and FD hooked up and tuned and shifting excellently. Rear brake is workin like a champ. I have to get an extra large cable housing ferrel(sp) of some kind for the front brake lever, it just keeps pulling the housing through and it ate one of the regular ferrels. I looked at the rear lever and it indeed had an XL in it already so it is working swimmingly.
the Gold cable looks Juicy as can be on here. Never done any cableing before so i used some old black housing on the deralliuers. Ill be switching that to the gold as well when i have a moment.

jdawginsc 

Missing ferrule.

It should have been attached to the lever. I’m surprised it fell out.


The official part is number 6

This seems to work though not as tight a fit.

Strawbunyan

The engineers had their engineer caps on for sure that day...... this wasnt difficult and awkward enough to attach, adjust and tighten down...anybody make a harder one?

Dave sent me a beautiful vintage touring saddle but i couldnt reach as well and i was getting frustrated so I Used an old saddle I had that has more clearence so I could reach and try to figure out how to work this thing before going back to period correct.

Aubergine 

Those are definitely a pain, but they work really well if you use a saddle with a perineal cutout! Then you can use a socket wrench with a short extension to reach the bolts.

Strawbunyan

you are a life saver. Perineal cutout here I come!

Strawbunyan

Not for very long and not very far but the bike has been ridden. I must say that I am impressed. I am sure that by the standard of "fast",this bike is not, but compared to everything ive ever ridden...BMX and my heavy MTB with the huge tires...it is a race car. It coasts faster than my MTB pedals 🤣🤣 maybe not, but it sure feels that way. The wheels spin for days and and the bike weighs very little..if the wind blows the bike goes with it, ill need a leash. The AD is going to see a lot of saddle time from me.

Mr. 66

Oh yes that can be tough. When you push the pin push thru one side only as far as you need, just enough to slightly pry open to pull the link out.

the reinstall is a slight pry and clip back into place and push the pin back to position.

Strawbunyan

Another mini update. I sheered a valve out of my front tube so I have some more of those on the way, test rides are on hold until then.


jdawginsc once again proved what kind of guy he is. When he saw that the lever he sent me was missing a part and the chain he sent didnt fit, he immediatly rushed those items to the post office along with the touch up nail polish and sent them to me. I wasnt upset about the hangups, stuff happens, and he didnt have to do this but his response was "I said I would send you everything you needed to build the bike"...people like him really exist? I thought guys like him only existed in stories. so when they get here i will be able to finish up and get it on the road and post some more updates.

Strawbunyan

I was not expecting these parts thos quickly but they arrived today....my wife likes the nail polish, it might be a re order for me.

I got the front brake hooked up, my tubes will be here wednesday and hopefully i can get a good ride in before work thursday.

For some reason i was able to cut the back brake cable and housing no problem but when i tried to cut it for the front it unspooled the cable and totaled the houseing. I kept trying with scrap pieces but for some reason nothing is working. So rather than continueing to destroy expensive housing and cable I put some spare black huffy housing on so i can ride this bad boy while I wait to get the proper tool for this Job. Win win, I can ride the bike, preserve the nice housing, have a new tool, and I get to obssess over the crap housing on my nice bike and then take it all back apart again and reassemble it, all the while getting to know the AD more intimatly.

I was worried i wasnt leaving enough cable but the handle bars turn fully in both directions and the brakes function all the way through from left to right.... the medical tape was applied because i lacked electrical tape but wanted to make sure i was leaving enough cable, it will be coming off before bartape install.

Look at the nice jagwire housing next to the worlds cheapest crap black housing....an abomination!

jdawginsc 

The black housing is hurting my heart...

For that particular housing a Dremel cutting wheel works well. I cut the silver version for the Bianchi with “cable cutters” (don’t know their official name but made for cable rather than housing) and it was very clean.

Im just glad you have operable brakes front and rear!

Glad the wife likes the nail polish. I have a good eye I guess...haha!

Strawbunyan

Not terrible for my first time wrapping bars.

My first go.

The left is much better than the right...it did it second.

The brakes are working. They are stopping the wheels and are not rubbing but i cannot get the pads to stay equal distances from the rim. I get them correct and after the first pull one always stays closer than the other. It is driving me bat S crazy.

Got the straps on the pedals and installed the water bottle cage.


Still to do: new tubes tomorrow.
ride bike
Fine tune
Ride bike
that will be phase one of this project complete.(phase 1 was learn how to build and ride an old bike)


Replace borrowed huffy practice cable housing with gold jagwire
replace borrowed huffy chain
pick new bartape color and replace.

Maybe go nuts.....

Strawbunyan

Okay. I got the front brake to even out and cooperate but i dont really know how I did it.so ill just keep messing with the rear until it is correct.

Piff 

I had lots of trouble with combining single pivot sidepull brakes and aero brake levers. Since the housing is taped to the handlebars and cannot move, the length of the housing has to be dang near perfect. If the housing is too long, it pushes the brake pad on one side closer to the rim. If it's too short, it pulls that same side away from the rim. Especially annoying since the housing also needs to be taped down. Ugh. I went with non-aero brake levers and my issues were solved. Also, single pivot side pulls simply take some deft handling in installing them so that they stay centered. Tight enough so there's no play, but not so tight that there's unnecessary friction.

Read this thread, too: https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-m...-calipers.html

jdawginsc 

Coming along very nicely! I assume the ferrule worked...

Bars look great!

Strawbunyan

I seems to be holding nicely

I am a big fan of the bars but I might be biased because j'aime les choses qui sont françaises....know what I mean, Vern?

Strawbunyan

That may explain how I fixed the front. I tightened it down so hard that it stopped functioning and then backed it off just enough to let it move again.

Strawbunyan

look at that ugly mug next to that gorgeous bike.


Got the tubes in and got a ride in as well. Being strapped to the bike is super weird but ill get used to it. Definitly helps to have something to lean on to get strapped in for now, however, i was able to get a foot in while on the move a couple times, just have to ve careful or my toe clip slaps the ground if i miss on the first pass.

Shifting is also going to take some getting used to but i really like it. It is like the difference between a standard manual and paddle shifters....I fumbled to remember what was what before a big hill and missed my shift and ended up having to walk that bad boy instead.

The bike is SO FAST on the flats compared to the ole MTB, even on the gnarly roads I am riding on it gets down. I even Cycled IN the road instead of over the white line...mainly because with my smaller tires i dont want to accidently end up in some garbage(wasnt a big deal with the big ole 29x2.5 hookworms) or off into the grass...but also because i was actually moving fast enough to feel like i was able to share the roadway.

The brakes are working well enough but i still need to fine tune them.


in the 1980s, would people have considered it some sort of faux pas to slap japanese parts on a euro bike? I just want to know if i would have had to fist fight anyone over back in the day...🤣🤣🤣

Having said that. I think I am starting to have thoughts of a stable. Id like to full euro this bike....get a french bike...and get an all Japanese bike.
The AD
a Peugeot
and maybe a panasonic?
Someone please stop me....seriously stop me cause on of them is gonna get the full neon treatment to match my watch..

jdawginsc 

And so the rabbit hole begins!

Starting down the road in toe clips is largely dependent on getting the hang of it from a stop. the toe clip buckle is on the outside of the pedal allowing you to tighten and loosen at the stops. Some folks like to pull down to tighten and flip the buckle to loosen. I tended to do the reverse as a youth...so I threaded it in the opposite direction!

European bikes were using Japanese parts starting the 70s. Motobecane, Raleigh, AD, Gitane, Bianchi maybe? Others can help me with the list. What the AD is wearing this actually an upgrade from what it came with!

It’s definitely a sport geometry. Not quite racing but more sprightly than a tourer.