jamesdak 

Well....it's not really "wrenching" I guess. But I just managed to fit 30 bikes into the bike cave. I had Krapf in the living room, the Raleigh in the one hall by the spare bedrooms, and the Motta, Merckx and Peugeot in the front room. Having a total knee replacement tomorrow so I wanted everything out of the way so a hobbled up ol' fool could get around. Hopefully about six of these go to new homes here locally as soon as Spring decides to show up.


Can't believe I've got 30 bikes in here. Too many for when I'm really riding. I like being able to grab any one of them for a ride without moving others.

bikamper

I've done the 3ST many times since 2008. It's a good time. The hard parts are the Bay City Hill and staying sober after the hill.

I usually camp in Wabasha, MN Friday thru Sunday but this year I've decided to stay at Camp Holiday Inn Express in Red Wing on Friday and Sunday nights as I have a boatload of hotel points to use before they expire. It's also the tail end of the Syttende Mai festivals in MN, so the hotels fill up for that.
I will be tenting on Saturday in Wabasha. I will be using the front Karrimore bags on the front to carry my Saturday night gear. Much of my camping gear is compact and lightweight backpacking stuff. If it all fits in the front, I won't be using the Frost River bags on the rear.

I'll throw the bike on the back of the Ural and head up late Friday morning. It's a tad over 300 miles.


There are more 3 speeds in the attic. The 68 Superbe on the right is my usual rig for the 3ST. Giving it a break. The 64 Dunelt on the left, aka 'The Tetanus Express' was my commuter/alley cat rig when I was in my 50s. It's a 2 speed fixed gear.

bikemig 

It's around 30 miles from Wabasha to Red Wing which is the start right? I thought the ride was an out and back from Red Cloud? Good to know that hotel availability can be limited that time of year.

georges1

good luck with surgery and have a speedy recovery

non-fixie 

After many months of distractions I finally got around to finishing the build of my latest acquisition, a Gazelle Champion Mondial semi-race.

This is version 1.0, with polder gearing and tires. If I like it enough, version 2.0 will be the Tuscany version, with a wider gear range and slightly wider tires. Lighting will be added at some point as well, as I don't like an empty dynamo mount much.

bikamper

It starts in Red Wing and crosses the Mississippi to run south on WI35 the first day. There are many little side trips along the way south. Some are challenging, even on a derailleur bike. At Nelson, WI, the route crosses the river again into Wabasha for the night. The return to Red Wing the next day, which is closer to 40 miles, is mostly along US 61, again with many little side trips. And some of those side trips are tough. The stop for the 'Brew-up' in Lake City is always a good time. If you think cyclists can spout off about their favorite brand of bikes, wait til you get some devoted 'stovies' together.
www.3speedtour.com

ehcoplex 

Wow, that ‘tour’ looks like it must be a blast!

Schreck83 

Bubble bath for 89 ST400 in preparation for touch-up paint. Bike was missing the RD and i think I know why.

streetsurfer

I re-cabled this '73 Nishiki International. I'd really liked the bare cable housings I found on a Competition of the same year. I found some on ebay with a clear sleeve, so put them on with aero levers cleaning up the look a little. (It had black housing on as found, but I don't know if they were stock.)





...tires are next, and I think I'm doing EVO Dash in black.

JaccoW

Did a test fit of the new wheel for the Gazelle A. Plenty of room when downsizing from a ETRTO 38-635 to a 47-622 with at least 10mm on each side. So maybe even a fat 50 or even 55 might fit in the future.

nick_a

Re-aligned my 83 Super Sport using the Sheldon Brown string-and-lumber method.

AdventureManCO 

Let me know when you're ready to sell the XL Super...it's in my size and I can't wait to see how the best bike you've ever ridden, out of all the high caliber bikes you've ever had, compares to the Super Huffy.

RCMoeur 

Not exactly wrenching either, but huffing solvent fumes prepping and patching a pile o' tubes for local nonprofits.

First, bubble bath time in the bucket to find the pesky holes, and then mark them with crosshairs & circles. I've found this makes it easy to find the spot later and center the patch on the actual hole, especially after the area is prepped.



And then - the secret weapon. This rechargeable dremel makes the most tedious part of the patching task quite easy, and does a great job of creating a smooth area of clean rubber in just a few seconds, mowing down any ridges in the way.


Now apply Teutonic volatile organic chemicals and wait a couple minutes...



Slappeth on and rubbeth down the patch, and on to the next victim.



And then there are the tricksier ones, such as a patch on the big hole that allowed the tube to hold enough air to expose the nearby slow leaking hole just outside the original patch radius. Some precision work with the dremel, more goo & a smaller patch, and it seems to be holding. Need to put it in a tire and put serious pressure in it for the final test, though.



25 tubes, 28 patches, 2 tubes too far gone to fix. Not a bad evening's work.



Still have a few more I need to get to...

retlaw53 

When I work my way through a collection of 10/12 spds I purchased in January, I have two 3 spds in need of attention. One's a Robinhood and the other is a Schwinn something...I think. I will have to check out the 3ST. BTW - love the Ural. I saw them for the first time in 2012 at a dealer in Prescott, AZ and lusted after one ever since.

retlaw53 

I volunteer with a non-profit 3 days/week refurbishing donated bikes for kids, refugees, people in need, etc.. The string-and-lumber method has come in handy many times...along with other Sheldon tips.

bikamper

Thanks. I tell people that they are more fun than you are legally allowed to have. It's also a very handy little hauler. This one is a 2007 with 36,000 miles on the clock. I checked out a 2022 last year and was really impressed. The 22 is a Hyabusa compared to the 07, which would have to work at beating my 1948 DeSoto in the quarter mile. At the end of the day, though, my rig is the way I want it and paid for.

VintageSteelEU

Not the best photo, but there will be more to come when I'm done with the build and take it out for a spin.
Yesterday I decided that this stem definitely doesn't want to come out at this point. Days of soaking in RP-90 (penetrating oil) didn't seem to do much (well, it's probably cleaner inside). The cone is still well stuck in there. Tried banging on the bolt through a piece of wood and rubber, tried a different bolt and gentle hits around the edge of the cone. Won't budge. The other idea, which I might to revisit at some point, was to drill it out from the fork crown side with progresively wider drill bits and just put a new cone. But I don't have drill bits long enough at the moment, so I thought I might as well just assemble the bicycle and ride it as is for now. Perhaps vibrations from the road will help to brake the bond eventually.

Well, can't ride it quite yet. I've cleaned the frame, but decided against touching it up for now and I'll wait until I can get the perfect paint colour mixed somewhere. I also need to source new decals / stickers at some point, so left the old ones be for now. But I've put all the parts I had ready on the frame. Stem is Superbe (Superbe branded version of Kusuki Medallion), handlebar Kusuki Madallion, brake levers, headset, brakes, crankset, FD, RD are all Suntour Superbe. BB is Superbe spindle with Sugino cups to replace the less then perfect original Superbe ones. Esentially the same thing, but with different branding. Shifters are early Sprint ones, so a bit later than the frame, but they are of the ratcheting variety and I think fit the bike nicely. The original, pure friction ones, will be going on another Superbe equipped bicycle at some point.
Front hub is Superbe, I still need to build a rear one when the spokes arrive, so for now I've put a Tricolor hubbed one as a placeholder. Seatpost is temporary, I just sanded down something I had before I find a correct size one that I like. It looks like the correct size is 26.4mm and the thinnier they are, the less interesting options you have available. San Marco Tuono saddle is too modern for the frame (but I had it available and it will do for now), so I'll have to decide whether I want to buy Concor Supercorsa (which I have no experience with), go with Turbo (which I like and have on another bicycle) or go with a modern version of Regale Evo (which I use almost daily and which I like) to keep the weight similar to Tuono.

There are still things I will have to do before I get to ride the bicycle. Building the rear wheel is one. I also realised yesterday I'm out of inner cables for brakes. Glad I kept some old ones from the past maintenance, so for now I can get the bike road-ready, but ordering some new cables is on the cards. Today I will be digging out Suntour freewheels I have, to check which one will be best and overhaul it if necessary. And then just some adjustments, no doubt. In the near future I will replace the handlebar tape with cotton one and I need new hoods in black or tan / brown. Brake pads seemed to be in a decent condition, so after good cleaning and sanding the compound down a bit I will give them a try, but probably another thing to replace at some point.

I'm still not sure what this bicycle actually is, so that's a puzzle to solve soon, hopefully. Looking at the frame, especially shape of the lugs, it reminds me of early 80's Centurions I've seen photos of, but there are some differences (tubing is Tange Champion 2, so it's not a Semi Pro or Turbo, also brake bridge is straight). As is (plus the chain and with the correct rear wheel), this whould weight below 9.5kg. Not too shabby. Superbe components were not always the lightest available at the time. I think for the next build, which is Columbus SL tubed frame, I might try to shave off some more weight (some parts I have for the build are already significantly lighter than their Superbe equivalent on this one). Well, for now, just this quick snap:

Suntour Superbe Pro bicycle, early 80's

Mr. 66

Raleigh Competition is readied for test voyage. The wheels were swapped out, basically Weinman Concave rims for Mavic Module E, both sets are equipped with GS Campy hubs. A Suntour 13-28 from a 13-24 Regina. The 28 tooth freewheel is not a good match for the GS, I think it could use another link in the chain, and drawn deeper in the dropout. The chain is functional in all gears but could use a link for the big to big. Later today if the sun stays out I will ride.

tcs

Sheldon said to hold a piece of metal (like a house key) kinda to the contacts and spin the wheel. A healthy Dynohub™️ will spark. That's what Sheldon said.

The contact threads on a GH6 are 2BA, a British sparkplug standard, and the axle is 3/8x26, if you want to upgrade to 'toolless quick disconnect'.

JaccoW

That's a great tip! Just ordered some from this webshop. And some NOS grey wire with the connectors from British eBay.
I already have a dynamo headlight laying around I want to use; a B+M IQ-XS
I'll probably paint the lenses yellow with some plastic paint to give it a bit more of an old-school vibe.

In the meantime I've started to clean, derust and clearcoat the frame. It's getting warmer but it's pretty windy around here at the moment.
The first one was the front fender. The difference is pretty stark compared to the rest of the frame, which is looking a bit tired and matte.
Touched up some of the gold striping and added some brass bolts where applicable.

SurferRosa

Didn't wanna do it ...

But I brought this home today from a fellow Craigslister.


.

.


The little 55cm Falcon is wearing me out a bit. Been looking for something in a 57 to replace it. If this $300 Columbus SL Bott doesn't work out, I doubt I'll be out much. Now to overhaul everything...
​​​​​​

xiaoman1 

SR,
I am sure you had to "UNTWIST" your arm after bringing it home.....nice score.
Ben

AdventureManCO 

Just more work putting lipstick on a pig...




A fresh coat of paint on the bottom side of the Huffy. Soon this thing will end, I think...

Positron400

.. that's how i justify putting 250€ wheels (and the time spent putting them together) on a, let's be honest, low tier frame

AdventureManCO 

If we're having fun, right? Keeps us off the streets. Or, in the case of the Huffy, sometimes makes you want to go to the streets