Originally Posted by
jlaw
Very interesting narrative - thanks for the detailed component info. I've been looking for a silver Shimano 10 speed RD and wasn't aware of the 7700 GS - for a vintage Trek project. I found a NIB 7700 GS RD on ebay UK for the friends-and-family price of $355! I think I'll keep looking....
You've got a beautiful shine on that bike and the components. What polishing products did you use? Any tricks or things to avoid?
Those MC70 brakes are really nice - and they have lots of adjustment mechanisms. The front canti posts are very close.
Interesting to see a '531' sticker on the seat tube - maybe a replacement for the original '531 cs'?
I'll be interested to hear your impressions of how it rides - those Cadillac 470 mm chain stays are really something!
Congrats. on finding a great bike and doing such a nice resto-mod.!
You're welcome! Glad you appreciate it. Yeah, the 7700 GS is a bit of a rare bird. I forget where I picked this up from--Seattle is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to bikes and bike components. Ebay prices are largely stupid now, it seems, and have no basis in reality, IMO. There are 6500 Ultegra GS RDs, and I would assume, 5500 105 GS RDs. The 7800/6600/5600 Dura-Ace/Ultegra/105 trio of GS 10-speed RDs should do very well as well, and be polished silver to boot. Maybe even find a mint Tiagra unit, but it depends on the "level" of componentry you want for that Trek.
As far as polishing products, I used Meguiar's Rubbing Compound as well as their Carnuba Wax for the initial paint work. The touch-up paint you can get at O'reilly Auto Parts (or wherever) and it's the Dupli-Color stuff that you see in the vertical "booklet"/rack of OEM colors. Two coats of color for me, plus the clear coat applicator (it has both color and clear).
These MC70s have zero tension adjustment features, so it's just me and my tuning abilities. I'll see how I do.
As far as the 531CS goes, since it was a mix, the "531 Butted Frame Tubes" is accurate and original, since Reynolds likely didn't want to make a separate decal for such a tubeset (as it wasn't too common, I think).
Regardless, I'm looking forward to dry days and a ride. Lots of work to do between now and then!