zukahn1 

A bit of rainy day wrenching and I got the Mesa GXS MTB sorted out. With the silly boat anchor heavy suspension post tin the junk bin and slightly shorter normal post on the bike it rides a lot better. Basically all the issues with the bike stemmed from this piece of junk.

Ounce changed the bike rides great including the suspension fork without the double bounce wobble effect the suspension post gave.

RandolphCarter

Repacked the wheels, they were from a different bike and didn't have too many hard miles on them. Bonus! They aren't a matched set!

I don't need pedals, the set on the bike are in pretty good shape. Turns out I did toss the brake levers, so I dragged my last matching pair of levers out of the parts bin. Still have lots of other levers, just no complete sets. Seatpost, cranks, chainring, and bars are rustier than I remember so they get some cleanup and paint. I don't have anymore green, not going to spend more money on paint, so it'll have to be something else.

Chain's soaking in paint thinner too.

zukahn1 

I have bunch off early BMX MTB brake parts and levers in my parts bin if you need something.

Classtime 

I wasn't going to but then I started searching for 100 dollar completes with tires that held air and sellers wouldn't get back to me. Then I saw this offered at pre-Carona prices and offered 100 bucks: seller says ok.

I think it's a 86 Allez SE SIS. Missing a bunch of stuff so the plan is to use a box of shimano 600 that came off an 86 IM that was too big for me and I sold the frame for what I paid for the whole bike. I don't know yet how I'm going to work out tires and I can't remember if I let the IM's seatpost go with the frame. I think this Allez takes a 26.?

Narhay

Unabashed pandering to the judge's sensibilities.

RandolphCarter

I appreciate the offer but I have all needed parts.

Non-drive side bottom bracket bearing cup and bearing cage/bearings had enough rust to make them unusable, so I swapped them out for more parts bin stuff. The cone on that side was fine, and the drive side stuff was fine. Crank spindle also fir fir purpose.

Since American bottom bracket one-piece crank parts are at such a premium, I'll say $2 for the cup and bearings/cage.

Bottom bracket and headset/detangler all cleaned up and ready to put back in to the frame.

Andy_K 

At long last, the Nishiki has paint!

As originally purchased in June 2016 (minus the parts).



Here's a pic I took in September 2018 while I was in the middle of stripping it.



It was mostly rust-free at that point. I finished stripping it to bare metal that month and then it sat in my unfinished projects pile for nearly two months. This weekend, I dug out the rattle cans I had bought for another project that never happend sometime around 2008 and got to to work.



Primer? I hardly knew her!


Lemony freshness!


And the fork...


Once the paint has time to dry, I'll need to get the paint stripper back out becase...



My choices are the original post (which I used to hold the frame while I was painting it) and a Campagnolo 2-bolt post I bought at Eroica a couple of years (which would put me more than a little over budget).

Classtime 

AndyK I have a 26.2 SR Custom or some such other good looking post that I was thinking of shimming for my 26.8 Clunker Allez SE. If you had something I could use, we could collaborate on our clunkers if that is within the rules. I'm already at $100.
edit: a little screwdriver/prying action let me use a 27.0 but I could use a couple worn out booted 700c tires.

Would look nice in a freshly painted seat tube.

ryansu

Who you calling Yella? Nicely done AndyK

Andy_K 

I've got a 26.8 Ultracycle seat post I could send your way, but if you got a 27.0 in there, that's probably the correct size for the frame. I have a pair of 700x28 Panaracer RiBMo tires with about 2000 miles on them. I haven't ridden them in about 10 years, but I've put them on a couple of bikes. I'm pretty sure they'd be safe to use. I quit using them because I used to have this theory that when a commuting tire got three flats within 250 miles or so it wasn't robust enough for commuting anymore. It only ever happened with tires that had over 2000 miles on them, but I'm now of the opinion that I was letting coincidence sideline perfectly good tires. I kept these because they seemed good enough for other uses, but I didn't like them enough to use them for anything else.

Oldsledz

I put 21.26 miles on my Centurion Sunday getting photos of the sights in my home town.

Oldsledz

Some more photos from sunday. I am now at 92.05 km

Oldsledz

And one more this is probably where this bike belongs!

nlerner

Your bike has become the Zelig of BF--it's everywhere! Well done!

Unca_Sam

I've ridden 47.4 km on the Schwinn 3 speed since the challenge was announced. I'm at 70+ miles after I bought it. It's a cushy ride! Like a vintage Lincoln or Buick!

Take me to the river!

Development continues apace on the Supercourse:

Zut alors! The axles in the wheels I need to use are difficult to turn by hand, and feel crunchy. Oh, and the installed freewheel is a Maillard large ring model with 24 splines.

Thankfully the extra space lets me undo the NDS cone and extract through the DS... or so I thought. Everything was loose, which means the cones had over-tightened on the hub. I adjusted the cones so it rolls as smooth as butter, and addressed the front hub.

The cups were in fantastic shape!

I've seen lots of pitted French hub cones, these flawless cups and cones looked great! I simply put fresh grease and the old bearings back in and locked in the adjustment.


Rusty cable stop, chrome lost. ☹
I took off the components to derust them. Or at least the ones staying for the intended builds.
??? Are they designed this way?
I'm not sure how to address this. The wheel is oriented perpendicular to the fork crown but the brake calipers look twisted to the NDS. I've seen Calvin Jones take an adjustable wrench to caliper arms for toe in adjustments, but these arms don't budge.
Eh, they'll probably still work.

ryansu

Oldsledz Once upon a time I dated a girl from Midland MI, even passed through there once in the early 90s.

Unca_Sam

I bought new rubber for the 27" wheelset, plus tubes and cables, for $35 total.

Then I fished the pedal bodies, cages, spindles, cones, locknuts, and keyed washers from the EvapoRust bucket. They got a rinse, polish, and the steel bits were sprayed with some fluid film. 40 5/32" bearings and some grease later. The pedals spin like new. I also realized that I could clean up the leather toe straps and use them for the challenge. Eucalan was my substitute for saddle soap. They'll work alright. Add $2 for the bearings.

The straps are almost dead. I'm being they'll serve me well enough for the challenge.

Catos of England cages, with scrapes and plenty of chrome lost for the left cage.

At some point, something or someone damaged the stem clamp bolt and nut. After lots of light oil and WD-40, i got them apart without rounding them (too much) or snapping the bolt!

Overtorqued? I don't know how a single thread gets moved like that.

Similar damage inside the nut. Grease your threads!

Where does one get an M8 tap and die cheap? Harbor Freight! I have a better quality m3-m7 tap and die set, and boy I could tell with how difficult it was to correct the threads with the carbon steel set from Pittsburgh tools. I did it though, and now the bolt and nut actually work together!

Threads no longer distorted. Threads on easily by finger!

I'm currently sitting at $88.14 for the project. I'll have to replace the headset bearings, but I'm pretty close to finished with materials I paid for. The attendants generally don't want to ring up ferrules and cable hangers and cable adjusters .

Andy_K 

I've been letting the paint cure on the Nishiki all week. With temperatures in the 90's today, I put it in the back of the car for a bit of extra baking. Alas, it didn't quite get to 100 inside the car. It'll do, I guess. I'll start the build this weekend. Tonight I dug out an unopened tube of silicone sealant that I bought for a bathroom remodeling project years ago and reattached the head badge.







Not bad, eh?

norcalmike

Ok as Lackluster as my entry is, ID like to play,
I bought this last December at my local Goodwill Outlet for $14 as pictured. In fact, this pic was taken before i loaded it in the trunk.
Add one 26.4 seat post from Hazetguy for the cost of shipping ($11)
and a seat I had in the junk box (value $10?) i may rethink the seat though.
The tires were practically new but quite knobby although i think i can do 100Km on them.
Everything on this bike should be serviceable as is. just some elbow grease (and grease).
Of course, i do have a little room if i decide to replace a cable or 2?
am I in?

ryansu

norcalmike I wouldn't value that saddle at any more than $5 personally. That old Hardrock should clean up nicely and I think we are only 1/3 of the way thru the 100 days of the challenge,,,,

norcalmike

ya. I was estimating a bit loose on the saddle. It's a classic though!

J-Shooter

I'm up to about 40 mi on the Worksman, hopefully early tomorrow morning I can put in some serious distance. Here is a pic with the basket and grips, both saved from a trip to the landfill. Someone mentioned putting on some Skyway wheels, I am 100% putting on a new set when this challenge is done. I can't seem to find a set for sale, much less for challenge friendly prices. I also considered aluminum BMX wheels, but these Worksman wheels are comically bulletproof and are working just fine. Good lord I hate the tires though, lol.

Sidenote: I found one possible benefit of the ludicrously low bottom bracket height, the crank acts as a kickstand!

Unca_Sam

Do you know anything about the frame style? We had a surfeit of those folding bikes, all branded differently, that I considered grabbing one. They all sold; not like I was relishing the idea of attempting 100km on a single speed with a coaster brake!
This folder is still available though:

Rare WW2 Japanese puppy folding bike
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...5929951509327/

ryansu

Unca_Sam I might get it for the saddle and the scrap value

J-Shooter

​​​​​​I know very little about folders, but I figure the frame style is just to get the footprint of the folded bike smaller. It's a tiny frame. This one was made by Worksman in NY, and I have a couple others from various manufacturers. It seems like a lot of various Italian/German brands were cranking these things out in the late 70s. I would like to fix up a Raleigh Twenty at some point, they look to have pretty reasonable geometry for a folder. I know nothing of that Japanese bike, other than if it were in my area I would have already bought it, lol.