Today was a day to make a lot of progress in getting about four bikes built and or finally prepped to be sold. Two had to essentially have most of the parts exchanged between the two of them. Got one done and tuned it (so nice), with the other most of the way there. The third is all set, and the fourth one has almost the whole distance to go--starting as soon as I can get the stem un-stuck. I am always a little bummed when I sell bikes because they work so well (only way to do it, of course) and seem to silently tell me they are happy or content in their setup. Talking bikes...I know, but you understand.
I picked up a Falcon hyperglide-like 7-speed freewheel for my '84 SS because the essentially new Suntour AP freewheel looked great but shifted like absolute garbage thanks to its bolt upright, squared-off teeth and lack of ramps. The FW was $5, so we shall see how it goes. I suspect, at the very least, MUCH better.
The SS is very much a work in progress, much to my surprise!
I sanded some build-up off the rims to try and cure my extreme braking vibration/resonance, and helped it only some, which although is progress, wasn't what I was hoping. Brake tracks are silky smooth though! Brake pads are new Shimano 105 units, toed in correctly. Brake calipers are Suntour Superbe Pro with the hidden spring. So incredibly lovely. No looseness in the caliper arms, so, apart from sanding/filing the pads just to see if that helps, I am at a loss. Also, the weld seam on the front rim produces a very discernable "blimp" feeling (read that on a different thread) when passed through the shoes-something I somehow didn't feel before. Dang it. Off to see how big a bump it is.
I think I have finally, also, gotten the SP DT shifters to stay put while under load without being hard to modulate. And I am switching the anodized 53/39 ring combo for a polished (must match!) 53/42 because I travel through the rear gears swiftly enough (hills and stop/start) often enough that I am tired of trimming the FD all the time. With that rub, I can't tell if I'm aligned in the back. You see this compounding predicament.
The bike is worth it, though. The serial number and the headbadge date bookend my birth month, and the bike is my age--it's about as close as I can get to being made when I was born as I can get. Frame geometry is dynamite, the feel is fantastic, the cockpit setup keeps the weight balanced--just gotta put all those smaller fires out!