Kommisar89

My 1988 Panasonic PT-3500 rebuild is finally finished. It's been my daily commuter for the past 11 years. I took it for it's first ride after the rebuild this morning, taking it to work. The Panasonic PT-3500 was an excellent mid-range touring bike of the mid to late 80s. You can probably see the major cosmetic difference - the original catalog spec was black tread gumwall tires, black bar tape, black saddle, and white cabling but I always found that rather plain with the gray paint and no chrome. Then a gray Campeur from Velo Orange appeared in my Facebook feed (see here: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/21...g?v=1511204504) and I thought Aha! that's the color scheme that I'll use.

Modifications include the following:

• Cold set the rear triangle to 135mm spacing
• 9-speed 12-36 rear cassette (replaced 14-28 freewheel)
• Shimano Ultegra 9-speed long cage derailleur (replaced Deore 6-speed)
• 9-speed Dura Ace downtube shifters
• 700C wheels (Shimano LX hubs laced to Mavic A319 rims replaced the 27")
• 700x38C tires (Fairweather Touring "Cruise" Tire, 700x38c replaced the old 27x1 1/4 from Velo Orange)
• Shimano UN-55 cartridge bottom bracket
• Kept the original 50t Biopace outer ring but changed the middle and inner rings to standard 36t and 26t rings (original was 50/46/28 Biopace)
• Randonneur handlebar fom Velo Orange
• Brown micro-fiber saddle from Velo Orange
• Gran Compe Roller Straddle Cable Hangers from Velo Orange
• Dia-Compe front Cable Stop with Quick Release from Velo Orange
• Shimano SM-CB90 In-line Brake Cable Adjuster
• Cantilever Brake Shoes w/ Squeal-Free Pads, Unthreaded Post from Velo Orange
• Nitto Deluxe stem

Original Catalog picture:

As bought back in 2007:



And here it is today:

• 

due ruote 

TenGrainBread 

Nice job sprucing it up. Like the housing colors. I've used those tires before and they are incredibly light!

Shorten those brake cables though

Kommisar89

Yeah, the cables are a bit long. I need to make a few adjustments. I'm pretty sure those tires are made from Panaracer Pasela molds.

Kommisar89

Much like their cars, the Japanese did an amazing job of building those bikes. When you consider that bike has sat outside locked to a bike rack 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 11 years, and has over 10,000 miles of commuting behind it, it's held up amazingly well.

TenGrainBread 

Yeah, it's the Pasela mold but with a much thinner tread and sidewall. They are made by Panaracer.

Kommisar89

If you look at the second picture of the bike as I bought it back in 2007 you'll notice it had a Brooks B17N saddle. That was the first tensioned leather saddle that I had ridden and I loved it. Unfortunately is was in pretty bad shape and the leather split about week after I got the bike. Shortly after that I bought two new Brooks saddles: a Champion-Flyer (sprung with B17 top) and Team Pro. Well, the Team Pro was awesome and I still ride it on my Bottecchia Gran Turismo but the Champion Flyer and my backside never got along. It was just too wide I think. I also later got an Ideale saddle for the Peugeot. I think it's a model 45 but I wouldn't swear to that at the moment. At any rate, it's narrow like the B17N and also fits me well. I seriously thought about getting a Brooks Professional for this build but as it's a commuter that sits outside all day I figured the microfiber would be more durable or at least cheaper to replace periodically. Same with the bar tape. Elk hide would have been nice but not for a bike that sits outside a lot. I also considered a set of porteur bars with guidonnet levers and who knows, I may put those on one day.

tonesss1

Nice job with the restoration! I'm considering picking up the exact same Panasonic off of CL. Do you think it'd be able to fit 700x35 tires with full fenders? Based on your photographs I suspect the answer is yes, but I'd appreciate your opinion...

Kommisar89

Oh yeah, it will easily fit that. I'm running 700x38 tires and there is plenty of room. The tightest part is between the chain stays and the fenders don't go there.