Andy_K 

I put parts on my red Gitane Friday night for a Saturday test ride. Before I got too far, I had my junior mechanic check it out for basic viability.


Ezra checks out the Gitane (click for video)

I'm still trying to convince myself this frame fits. It's definitely on the small side. It's fine when I'm riding it, but that's a lot of stem.



If I keep it around, I'd be looking for a black stem and saddle. If not, I'll be looking for another red bike to put this 105 drivetrain on.

52telecaster

Ezra looks quite like the budding wrench.

Mr. 66

Andy_K, a bike stand in the living room...

You are the man!

Andy_K 

It was too hot to work in the garage, and my wife wasn’t home to tell me she wasn’t happy about it.

steine13

>> It was too hot to work in the garage, and my wife wasn’t home to tell me she wasn’t happy about it.

Lol right?

Did that last year when Madame was out of town, except in the kitchen.
That is not a good move unless you're all alone, but it's got hands-down the best light in our house.


On Topic: shown below is was my "wrenching" last night. By some miracle, the campus bike shop had hoods for the old Dia Compes off my new-to-me 1978 Trek 710 in stock.
It's mostly because the guy runs the place is a fan of vintage bikes AND a hopeless romantic.

I've decided to ride the Trek as it sits, but I'll have to upgrade the 40 cm handlebar that is more like 38 at the hoods.
Bars I've got, but the stem is the wrong clamp size, and too short.
Time to invest in yet another Technomic; the days of having the bar 4" below the saddle are over.
And viola -- instant Chino/Eroica bike.

So far, patient scraping seems to work well enough. Is there a trick for this job?

cheers -mathias


.

m.c. 

I found a NOS Schwinn Short Rack and installed it on my Suburban. I think I over tightened it and bend the mount a little. I'm trying to figure out what the spring loaded part is for. I've only ever seen bags that clip on the sides.

JohnDThompson 

Household ammonia solution will dissolve gum rubber. Might be quicker than scraping, if you can stand the smell. Maybe drop the levers in a sealed bucket with ammonia for a while and see what's left of the rubber later.

N.B. if you try to wrestle the new hoods on over the lever blades, there's a strong possibility that you'll tear the hoods. Remove the levers from the bars (you can leave the anchor bolts on the bars if you want; just remove the nut securing the lever body to the anchor and pull the lever off the anchor). Then install the new hoods from behind, rather than over the lever blade. Much safer that way.

steine13

JohnDThompson
Thanks! I'll give the ammonia a shot to do a final cleanup of the remnants. I know we keep some around. And I did remove the levers and got most of the crud off, and the new hoods mounted fine. They're Cane Creek.

I also got Soma campy replacement hoods for my 87 Triomphe levers... beautiful fit, rather thin, sticky feeling, but just fine once mounted. I'll post pictures when (if?) i finally get my ST600 shipshape.

merziac

AND you had supervisory staff approval so, all good.

jdawginsc 

You’re fortunate that it only the hoods. I had various hoods, glues and something else melted into the inner workings.

Wish I knew the ammonia trick before tossing the levers into the “to be gotten rid of bin.”

daverup 

Just finished up changing the double front crankset on my Lemond Buenos Aires over to the triple version. Changed crankset, BB, front and rear Derailleurs.

steine13

@JohnDThompson said it:

>> Household ammonia solution will dissolve gum rubber.

And it worked like a charm, with a little added elbow grease. Submerged overnight in a weak solution -- didn't measure, maybe 2 to 5 % of whatever came in the bottle plus water to cover -- and this is how the levers now look.

Thanks again!
cheers -mathias

capnjonny 

I just finished building up this Trek from a frame donated to the Bike Exchange and it is a beauty, Everything on the bike except the cables, covers, and cassette is a used / donated part. It has a 9 spd. Sunrace 11-28 tooth cassette and a 42 tooth chainring for both good low and high range. Hopefully we will find a tall buyer eager to acquire this


gem.
.

etherhuffer 

Wrenching on odds and ends, but this was my score of the week. I have limited space but needed a drill press. 40 bucks, like new, from a garage sale. And a Foredom grinder for 10 bucks! Still needs a control unit but I can run it full power via a small DC converter if needed. Time to get some bosses, a torch and go ruin a fork! Hahaha.

steve21108

Hey Paul! Sorry, your bike got scrapped, but I need the bars and stem. Sir Walter is watching over it all.
Hey Paul! Sorry, your bike got scrapped, but I need the bars and stem. Sir Walter is watching over it all.

non-fixie 

There was really no need (except for the brake pads) to replace anything on this recent build, as I was pretty happy with how it rode, but I did so anyway.

"New" stem, bars, brifters, brakes, crank set, wheel and tires. Braking has improved markedly, and the rest didn't get worse, so I am happy.

curbtender

Saving a fixed conversion. Of all bikes, why? Getting stickers off...

VintageSteelEU

Got to say I don't quite feel the need to have fixed gear bicycle. On one level, I get it's the simplest, bare bones experience, though on another level, can't say I understand the reasoning. But conversions seem a bit of an abomination to me. I've seen a lovely Motobecane Team Champion (despite being sold as Grand Record, I think, though it was 100% C5 or Team Champion) converted to a fixie with a flat bar. Sadly, too small for me, otherwise would already own it, because the frame was in a good shape.
Anyhow, it's a lovely bike you've got here. And it looks like paint is in a very good condition, it will turn out great, I think. How are you removing the stickers?

Kai Winters

A trike...a cheap a ss internet purchase trike that was missing parts, nuts and bolts, etc, has scrapes and scratches all over it both from manufacturer's craptastic boxing and the idiot who thought he could build it and realized he was out of his depth. So we got it and it came up next when I was ready for my next repair. I almost cherry picked over it because I knew it would be a royal pain in the arse but I decided to take it on...what the hell.
I was able to find the parts I needed, that was easy, what was interesting and scary is the rear brake. It is a drum brake and the "pad" is a 3/8 wide by 3" long piece of leather that is pulled against the drum when you pull the brake lever. It works, kinda/sorta, but likely won't once it gets all nice and shiny from use.
It also has a rear bench seat which makes it roughly 6 feet long.
It is a single speed, whew, easy to set up.
Once I finished it and took it for a test ride I was surprised that it was actually kind of fun to ride around on as long as there are no hills and you aren't in a hurry to go anywhere.

cstar 

Finally finished rehabbing my '79 Windsor Carrera. I took every last piece of this thing apart and cleaned and re lubed it. The freshly greased and adjusted Sansin hubs will spin for days. Oddly enough, the Suntour freewheel body had too many shims from the factory. It was the loosest one I've ever seen. I fully disassembled the cogs and body, removed the extra shims, and added 1 ball bearing. Thoroughly cleaned, re lubed, and adjusted to have the tiniest hair of play. There's nothing better than the feeling of bearings that you've personally adjusted to perfection. Also honed the seat tube for a super smooth finish. It's not the lightest bike but is a very soft and smooth riding frame with a quick front end. The 25.8mm seatpost and 21.1 stem suggest it may be high ten, though catalogs suggest it was straight gauge chromoly. Though I have seen these features on crmo frames. I doubt there's really any way to know for sure. None the less I rather like it. The factory chain is rather hefty and shifts poorly so I think I will use a new KMC 6-7-8 speed chain for a crisper shifting experience.

VintageSteelEU

Or Wipperman 708. Same price, better chain (in my opinion)

Mad Honk 

I was once again reminded why I work on my own bikes today. A wheel picked up from my Co-Op had a reasonable MA40 rim and a record hub. Pulled the hub apart and found some black moly lube and short one bearing on each side. Cleaning the moly lube went OK but the races and cones will need to be checked for damage by running too few bearings. That old adage of filling with the bearings and then removing one got me again. I'm pretty sure the wheel will be OK for use, and will be paired with an MA40 on a low flange front from Sammie at Old Spokes Home to get a matched pair for my Ciocc build. Smiles, MH

curbtender

Most peeled easily and remnants came off with goo gone. That Bebop sticker is going to be a challenge. It is a thick, vinyl reflective material. Thinking I could wrap it with a rag and pour boiling water on it to release the adhesive. Got a better idea?

Mad Honk 

curbtender,
Most sticker adhesives soften with some heat and since the material is vinyl it should peel right off. Goo Gone or Go Jo hand cleaner should clean up the adhesive without damaging the paint. Smiles, MH

VintageSteelEU

I'd probably try low power heat gun / hair dryer. I think you might have more control over the heat application than with the boiling water.