my opinion: That's a great {bleeping} bike.
You might consider occasionally wiping the bike off with some kid of rust inhibitor, like PB Plaster. Others can state what they think, I would like to know. If you take the bike apart get some frame-saver spray for the inside of the bike frame and fork. (Use it out doors, it's not anything you want to inhale. Maybe even use a respirator if you can find one these days.)
some learning resources you may or may not have found yet:
- The Late Great Sheldon Brown:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/ - this is probably the greatest resource of information formatted circa 1997 Interwebs style.
- Also: the Park Tool website is quite modern and has helpful videos. It's oriented toward stuff from this millennium, but also has vintage style help.
https://www.parktool.com/
I've never owned a bike work stand. Man, just a pain in the neck not having a work stand. Get one if it's not cost prohibitive.
Some other definitions you might have already figured out:
- freewheel: the 6 gears on the back wheel. Someone already mentioned you might have a Heliomatic. There's also a version called a "free hub".
-- basically the difference is where are the bearings and clutch mechanisms are located so you can coast (aka "freewheeling") vs. being "fixed", which means you have a fixed connection between the rear wheel and cranks, like a track bike where you can never coast.
-- if the shifting problems ends up meaning you need a new chain and new freewheel, you could (now don't get discouraged) end up needing a whole new rear wheel to get the right kind of rear-hub so you can get a modern cassette.
Here's how to think of it: You now have a frame and fork, that if you tried to buy new would cost you about $2000. I know, crazy. Make that your mindset, then spending a couple hundred bucks to make upgrades once or twice a year will seem totally worth it.
- 2 gears up front: in case you didn't learn this already: Those are the chain rings, and when you bolt them to the crank arms, that whole deal is called a crankset. Those rings wear out also. They start to look like shark teeth. Shifting will slip. It will be terrible. If you have to buy new rings and you tell your shop you don't want the cheap ones, it'll kind of shock you that you have to spend $150 or something on new rings. Remember, you have a $2000 frameset (thats the frame/fork/headset)
- headset: Those are the bearings in the headtube that hold the fork in place while allowing it to rotate. If it gets stiff or feels like there is a notch, it's gotten worn out. Once you replace it you can go no-hands while you ride.
OK. I should get back to work.
I have a TREK 420 circa 1984 hanging 400 miles away at my in-laws. It's a similar, probably not as nice a frameset as yours, lovely riding bike. I changed lots of stuff on my own like going to 700C wheels instead of the 27 inch wheels. Changed to index shifting and re-aligned the rear of the bike to accommodate wider hubs (modern hubs are 130mm wide, yours is probably 126mm).
The folks that see you on this bike who are riding the carbon fiber stuff with electronic shifting will not understand. Just remember, you're riding a $2000 bike.
cheers.