Recovered from COVID to the point that I started some reassembly, which became a long slow process, and added some new expenses.
The headset bearings were fine for reuse. There were some bad bottom bracket bearing balls, so I replaced all 14 with new loose balls, using the original cages (some kind of plastic material that was easy to replace balls). $
Closer inspection of the crank spindle found rough pitting on both sides. I hate rough bearings, so I used a Dremel tool and polishing bit to try to clean up the pitting.
Pics inside bottom bracket showing weird details where tubes and stays are attached, apparently pinned in place(?). Might also see a spot weld if you look close.
Supply chain problems? Didn’t feel like trying to de-rust the chain, so I went into my chain supply to find a not-so-rusty specimen of the appropriate width. I mention only because I wanted to make a pun. $$
Brake calipers and brake pads almost reusable. One of the four pads was worn badly, so required a donor replacement.
I was tired of fiddling, and wanted to ride a bike that shifted and braked reliably, so I decided to absorb the expense and to replace all cables and housings with new. The Huret stem shifter is nifty enough, I’ll keep it. But the cable barrel end was some uncommon standard (Type C in picture) that I had only one of. So I had to reuse the rear shift cable, repurposing it for the front. $$
More cable woes. The shifters had cable stops with little metal ferrules fitting in little holes at the base of the shifters. Those holes were worn through, so the cables would just slide right through. I had to improvise new cable stops repurposing old mountain brake lever parts.
Likewise, the brake levers had little plastic ferrules that would no longer keep the cables in the right place, they would just flop sideways. So I had to improvise and custom make some replacement ferrules. Same with the centerpull cable stops. These little details somehow take hours.
Replacement wheels turned out to be no bargain. Front fork on Green Mirage is for some reason (maybe foreshadowing?) narrower than standard, so I had to customize the replacement front wheel. Removed the cone lock nuts and spacers, and installed the thinnest locknuts in my box of loose parts. Then, I had to take a grinding wheel to the a front wheel axle to narrow it and enable quick release to tighten. That led me to look closer at the replacement rear wheel, that’s when I noticed the axle was actually bent. So I had to replace the rear axle, and do a similar grinding job to get it just the right length.
Bike now ready to test ride.
Oops: Almost forgot the seat. Could not easily change the seat post, due to original using a small diameter and sleeve, but for my own sake I had to replace the original seat.
I had a spare seat or two on my shelves donated by old bikes and thrift stores. So to price my replacement seat, I researched the previous Clunker 100 Challenges, and found four other instances where entrants (other than me) charged expenses to a bike seat. The values were: $5, $6, $15 (included seatpost), and free. Average = 26/4 = $6.50. I’ll charge $7 this year.
Bike now ready to test ride.