Love that black lightning!
Just finished (re)building this up. Up until about 3 weeks ago this was still running around on the stock RSX 7 speed, downtube shifter drivetrain. Still had stock RSX hubs and everything.
I got a smoking good deal on some 7800 brake/shift levers, so thus starts a re-build, won't be too hard right? *sigh*
I wanted to replace the bars anyway, so got a set of Origin 8 ProFit 26.0 compact drops (which are FAR more comfortable IMO), new bar tape, new jagwire cableset. Once that came in, I quickly realized that I needed to get a 10 speed cassette, and turns out that just wont fit on the 7 speed RSX freehub. Off to craigslist to find a set of new, take off, wheels/tires/cassette from a Specialized Allez. They are lighter than my old set, and they even come with a 10 speed cassette.
I get all of that installed, and go for the first test ride. Front shifting does NOT play nice. the front derailleur seems too *wide* and I cannot nail down the high limit at all. It would either drop the chain or not shift at all. On downshifts, the chain would often get caught between the cogs, skating along and the chain was not catching on the teeth. Sigh. Off to ebay to get some 10speed rings (matched the stock rings in tooth count, 46/36) and a NOS Ultegra 6600 front derailleur that Shimano says works with the 7800 shifters nicely. Note: Still running stock RSX rear derailleur, that works great!
After installing all of that, it is a brand new bike entirely. This thing is awesome. Super light and no one believes me when I tell them it is 20 years old. Only thing that will happen at some time is a new large chainring. 46/12 is my top gear now, and have already hit a few downhills that have caught me being very close to spinning out.
As found, Early 2013.
and as it sits today. Notice how the bike fit has changed. It is far more comfortable now, and my knees no longer hurt
Next up, I need a new (black) headset. This one self centers on the stand pretty bad. Not bad riding, but it shouldn't do that. Black brake calipers may come in the future as well as a new (black) rear mech. The eventual goal is to have everything that is shiny, swapped out with black versions of the same bits.