zacster

When she came back from her ride she was giddy about being able to ride that bike so hard and fast. She's never really ridden a road bike. On the flip side, when I was showing her the cluster it only then dawned on her that that is where the gear changes occur. 4 years of college... sigh...

I ordered these:

And these:

I hope the color difference is just the lighting.

She also brought a friends bike over to have me check it out. Her front brakes aren't great and her rears don't work at all she says. My fear though is that it is the suicide levers that cause the problems. I can cure her problems but it will cost about the same as the above. The old brakes on that bike are even more flexy than the Dia-compes on the C'dale. Also the cables are sticky and the rear pads are old. And on top of that I think they are steel rims. No wonder they don't work. This old Bianchi is super tall too, and I'm not tall myself so taking it for a spin will be an adventure.

70sSanO

You can replace the suicide levers with cross/inline brake levers that mount on the tops of a drop bar. I put some one my wife’s bike. They work well. The only issue, is there is a little bit more brake lever travel on the drop bar brakes, so I adjust the brake pads closer to the rim. The rims need to be pretty true.

John

zacster

I've seen those and wondered if they work. I'm not going to do anything though with it. I could recommend that but a shop should do it, and most shops are swamped at the moment. Pads are the one thing I could look at. The front pads are new but aren't well aligned, so that can be fixed maybe, but then I see that the pads don't have rounded adjustable nuts. The meet the rims at a bad angle. Basically the bike is a mess.

70sSanO

The work on the opposite principle of a typical brake; pulling a cable through a fixed housing length.

Inline brakes work as two cable housing stops. When you pull the lever the housing effectively gets longer and actives the brake.

Working on bikes is great fun. Between the C&V and Bicycle Mechanics subforums thete are a lot of people who have worked on bikes for years.

John

zacster

I've been working on them for about 50 years myself. I bought a tube of Phil grease about 40 years ago and I still use it, but it sure has lasted a long time. What I don't do is work on anyone else's bike. Only my own or family's up until last week when I first looked at my neighbor's bike and then this one. The neighbor's bike's symptoms were a clicking from the crank and he said it felt loose, I took off the drive side arm, saw the 20 point splined BB and told him I couldn't help him since I don't have that tool. He wanted to regrease the loose bearings but this is probably a sealed cartridge BB and would either need new sealed bearings, or the arm itself was loosening. I didn't feel any friction or looseness myself in the bearing. This is why though I don't want to work on anyone else's bike, you just don't know what you'll find and I don't want to be responsible nor do I want to buy the tools.

I went to the local bike coop to volunteer after I retired, and after an "orientation" that was about "safe spaces" and other role playing, I left and never looked back. I went to help with bikes, expected an orientation about how the shop works, where tools were, etc... not a lecture on personal interactions.

As for the inline brakes, this sounds like a decent solution for her. But there again, it'll cost her. She's yet another currently unemployed line chef at a very popular high-end restaurant in NYC. It is actually my favorite and I didn't know she was working there.

I just read up on the install of inline brakes and it is an easy job. Maybe I'll recommend that. And they are steel rims. I had to look it up but C&V forums confirms it. No wonder they don't work.

zacster

It took what felt like forever, but the last of the parts finally arrived today as I was installing the levers. These brakes really work, they should, they're Campy. The Tektro levers are great, and the cross levers also work really well. It's almost a shame that this bike is for my daughter, note the flat pedals. The quick release seatpost is nice as then I can ride it, and I can always swap on my Assioma pedals and give it a good workout.

There is one other free upgrade I can do. I have a 10sp Campy Vento pair of wheels, and a bunch of extra 10sp chains. I could do that and have a really nice 10sp bike out of this. As it is the 6 speed shifts ok, but 10sp would be a huge improvement. I'm just a little leery of the 10sp chain on the chainrings. It could have a lot of chatter and ride over the teeth. I'll have to check if I have any rings.

One question, how would I buff up the stem and exposed bars? They are all pitted from sweat from when it was on the trainer. I always used a towel but my son never did.

zacster

She took it for a ride today and almost did an endo the first time she applied the brakes. She was so used to squeezing hard on the old ones. But she got it figured out. She said when she first saw it that she'd ride the tops most of the time but with the brakes working the way they do she rode the hoods mostly.

Mr. 66

For the bars and stem, one could fine sanding, like 600 grit, to get the pitting. Graduate to 1000 grit, and then a rubbing compound will make it pop with a shine.