SurferRosa

These clips have to be among the lightest in the cosmos. They read, MIRA Light Alloy. Hopefully oven cleaner will do its job.


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noglider 

Last night was fix-your-own-bike night at the bike coop. I went without thinking about what I needed to do. Then I got there realizing I've been waiting to install a new headset, as my headset was worn. I even bought one and had it lying around at home, but duh, I didn't bring it. Well, I made use of the time and resources. The coop has a bunch of Chin Haur headsets. Never heard of the brand. They're handsome enough. Made in Taiwan, which is now a place of high quality manufacturing, so what could go wrong? The crown race was loose on the fork, but I decided to proceed.

It all went well. The coop has some terrific heavy duty tools. I'm happy, and I now have a surplus headset.

RiddleOfSteel

Since becoming a temporarily flightless bird with a cooked IT band (at the outer left knee position, as per the usual injury location--bumming me out!!!) due to surprise overuse or ??? I've been dinkin' around the place, mostly cleaning the apartment up and trying to sort out in my head what to sell. During this time, I've nearly completed a Di2 component build on my Schwinn Prologue, and it looks HOT. I've had a few things that have hindered completion of it, not electronics related. And by the way, I took this 4-7 year old electronic shifting groupset (with some visual wear), hooked it all together, and not only did it have a charge, but it worked perfectly. Japan. That's all I have to say!

I've been selling some parts, which is great, because I have many more to sell as well. But my '85 Paramount, which I've had powder coated and (I) re-decal'ed, has been sitting unsold for a long time. I pulled it out from behind several other (carefully laid) frames to show a friend, and it's just-too-small self got me thinking (and longing) again....if I use a normal quill stem set at a normal height, plus compact profile bars (no classic drop bars that set the brake hoods low), then it will have the same hood height as some other "normal height" 63.5cm frames/bikes I have. Therefore I keep that and sell the other frameset (that parts were on) for cheaper. High-end Schwinn fan boy here.

SurferRosa

That is great. Feels like (c&v) things are back to some normalcy around here. All it took was another month of summer...

I sold two bikes recently and got a really good offer on my Schwinn I declined. So I bought another bike.

randyjawa 

Bought this Trek from Bicycles for Humanity and spent part of the day setting it up for my youngest grand daughter. The bike surprised me with an option for where to install pedals. One point if for kids seven and under while the other is for eight and older.
Anyone ever run into this and are there inherit dangers that I should be aware of..?

RiddleOfSteel

I am near exclusively a Craigslist seller, and that market is alright here. I need to find a decent wheelset for $100 to mount to my '90 ST400 so that I can take the asking price to $600 or a touch less to get it more sellable. It's been at $650 and now $625 with it's hand-built touring wheels and no bites. Yeah, it's a 25", and yes I am making zero dollars on it (with 'compression' pricing of finishing kit and some components) at that price--with really nice and capable components. I am undeterred though.

There are a couple of frames/bikes in my size that are stupid cheap on CL right now--great shape, too--and though the opportunist in me sees the total deal that they are, I have to constantly remind myself of the number of gems not named Prologue and P15 Paramount in my possession that need to be built or could be ridden more. I want to love all the bikes, but I can't fit them all in my place.

And though I am glad to be selling, meeting three out of five days right after work has denied me the ability to visit Recycled Cycles. It's been about two weeks, which seems like not long, but it's a really long time. Rhythms of life and all that. Will try to get there tonight after work.

brockd15 

I don't have a lot time for working on bikes lately, but my 1983 Sequoia is slowly coming along. That's an Ultegra 8000 FD, RD, and Shifters, along with a Dura Ace 9000 crankset and Suntour Superbe brakes to keep a bit of old school in there (thanks @jeirvine for those). The seatpost is original and I might swap it for a Nitto S65. Otherwise, it's just time to put on a chain and run cables (bleh....my least favorite part). Here's a quick in progress shot of where it stands now.

On the stand just to the right, but not visible in the picture, is a 1984 Sequoia with a similar setup and also slowly coming along. It has 6800 RD, 6800 shifters, 8000 FD, 9000 crankset, and also Suntour Superbe brakes.

BFisher

Just fenderized my Peugeot:



Those are Wald fenders. I also swapped in a Cinelli CMX saddle in place of my leather Assmann model 52. Bit more all-weather now.
The fender install required some trimming and drilling, but was a simple and enjoyable task.
Can't wait to get stuck in the rain.


Not!

SurferRosa

Ran into a couple snags while overhauling the front Pelissier high-flange hub on my '70s Dawes. One of the locknuts was loose, so I immediate thought something might be ruined. Sure enough, the tip a cone has crumbled, so I'll need to find another. Fortunately, the races look good.

I haven't had Pelissier hubs before, so I assumed the dust caps are removable. The first I tried to pop off with a small screwdriver was quick and easy. The other seemed stuck, so I used a thin cone wrench, which usually works better, anyway. Well, the thin cap snapped, broke, and stayed in place. I then had to hammer the upward dimpled cap back in place. It worked. I also had to hammer back in place the one that was removed, which went back easily. Whew. This is the hub (from velobase):

Bearly sane

Picked up and worked on my old Diamond Back today. Converted it to a six speed, added some Bell grips, tightened and oiled it up.

HPL

"New" drivetrain and stem to install.

noglider 

I WAS going to continue building my gravel bike, but I took a nice long bike ride in the sun and heat on my road bike. No regrets.

I keep the bikes in a barn, and there is no vapor barrier, so it is taking a toll. My chain is starting to rust. I oiled it for the second week in a row. Oh well. But I didn't inflate my tires. I should check the pressure, because whatever it was worked out, and I hit some bumps pretty hard. The pressure is probably lower than I thought, so if I know I can ride 28mm tires at, say, 60 psi, then that's good news. They felt fantastic. They're Continental GP4000S-II tires.

HPL

But Tom, won't that cause premature/improper wear if ridden at too low of a pressure (without knowing what your tires are spec'd at)? I do ride a little bit softer for the trail with road tires, for the bumps and traction; but I re-pump for the tarmac, or more often than not, just leave them hard (my back and butt still able to handle it for a couple more years maybe, as I am in the +50 club. I do regularly ride my Raleigh 3 spd for that "Jaguar" type of cushioned ride, but getting it's getting to where I don't want to do the 10 or more miles on that "boat anchor" when in the Florida heat and still haven't gotten home from work. The Raleigh tends to make me hit the pub for cool refreshments (maybe a good reason for riding it!).

Take care, ride fast, be safe,

noglider 

Yes, if it's too low, I will wear the tire out prematurely. But I didn't see deflection, so I think I'm good.

Ged117 

Brought my big frame Pug up to riding condition. It needed a drive train degrease and new chain, brake cables, and tektro levers. I freed up the stock stem and seat posts after some argument. It rides nicely. Its running commuter duty while my touring bike is out for maintenance. This winter I'm going to build my first wheel set for the Peugeot. I picked velocity dyad 700c. Maillard 700 'team issue' front hub and 1953 sturmey archer FW 4 speed for the rear. For the summer and fall ride at this point I want to swap out the old pads for mafac koolstops. I really like the red in the sun.



The simplex derailer shifts smoothly.


The saddle has been adjusted since this photo was taken

merziac

You really need to relax the tubes and get the valve stems in proper position.

Ged117 

Yes that is as it came from the previous owner. A few days of commuting and it'll go back to bed until winter when I'll be fully rebuilding it and disposing of the old rims which are in poor cosmetic shape.

merziac

Well flats can be dangerous, inopportune and a pita if they ruin a tube in the middle of a ride, very little effort could avoid all that.

2cam16

Decided to turn my unused chainring on my '01 Stumpy Pro into a chainguard today.

IMG_9182 by 2cam16, on Flickr

Jack Ryan

Pulled the wheels off my Specialized a few days ago. New rear tire, new front tube, new valve core in the rear tube, added slime to the new front tube and put liners inside both tires. So now both tires have the anti flat Slime AND the anti flat liners. That tire that was flat when I started, I pumped it up and put soap water on it as it spun around and it had so many holes in it before it looked like a Chia Pet.

Made 3 rides and 75 miles now with out a flat. Not sure if that is a record for me but compared to lately, it seems like it.

Frejus53

Finishing the restoration of a 1965 Raleigh Sports; cleaned and lubed the drivetrain of a 1987 Trek 560 from a garage sale (all original components and rides great!).

rustystrings61 

I've started riding my '02 Mercian Vincitore again. I wound up removing the 18T fixed cog I use for dirt roads and swapping in a 17/19T Dos Eno freewheel I picked up used. Yesterday and today are the first times I think I've ever ridden this bike with a freewheel instead of fixed cogs. I plan on flipping the wheel back around to the 16T fixed cog tonight, but I'll keep the freewheel because I can see how having a 60 or a 67-in gear and the ability to coast could be a good backup.

Cl904

I noticed that my pro tour had a bad headset, so decided to take it apart and get it ready for a new headset install. Got to the bottom bracket, and didn’t like what I saw...
😕


Finished nicer than some... tubes aren’t mitered like the Miele I had.


😕

audiomagnate

I switched from downtube shifters to "period correct" RX100 brifters on my 1990 Cannondale 3.0 Criterium Series. I just took it out for a test ride in the rain and the dark and am very happy with the change.

FujiSam

Beautiful bike!! I've been thinking about getting a Dos Eno, but haven't felt like paying that much for a freewheel. Sounds like you ride mostly fixed, but how did the Eno feel compared to any other single speed freewheel you've ridden?