Mad Honk 

This is for jdawginsc since he doesn't think I ever work on my own bikes. Today was adding a few bits like the bars and FD on the Trek that is waiting for me to ride. I changed out a front wheel (airline in red paint) for a nice Bontrager front wheel to make a better match for the group. A few pics:

Trek 1.2 with new front wheel and bars that I finally have gotten close to right. Double Neubaums tape on each side for the build up and correct match.

I saved these adjusters from about nine months ago and now know where they were supposed to go.

FD is an Ultegra with a special band to get the clearance for the rear wheel. The down tube was 34.9 and difficult to find a band for.

This is the LX that I thought would work, but it had clearance problems for the rear tire so it is now in the box of spare parts.

RB1-luvr

I've been wrenching on this for a few weeks whenever I could escape to the garage for a few minutes, "I'll take out that trash honey...", and I just finished it tonight. I'm giddy. I found it on Fb Marketplace for $120. It appeared to be barely ridden. It was just filthy from hanging in a garage for decades. I tore it down to the frame and waxed it. Everything else got serviced. New seat, NOS Modolo stem. New cables and housings. New brake pads. Chain was stiff but came back to life after soaking in kerosene for a few days.

I put a blinky on it and rode it around the neighborhood a bit. It rides better than expected. The 28c tires at 60 psi feel great. I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow so I can do a 20-30 mile ride on it.

daverup 

I've just finished rebuilding my wife's 94 Crosscut as a gravel bike.

Kabuki12

Well,

Finally looking “normal”
I got the decals for the wheels I found on that donor bike. I bought them with Mondia in mind. It came with a set of 27” x 1 1/4” Wienman wheels, see post 5476. As I said in that post a few days ago, I had planned on doing some things to the bike that just weren’t right. I found some matching Mafac levers and the Cane Creek hoods fit pretty good. I wrapped the bars with fresh tape as the old tape got chewed up a bit from my crash in2017. I got some tires that were on clearance on Bike Tires Direct 700 x 25c tan sidewall. While I had the bike on the stand I did a bit of cleaning and some saddle treatment for the 50 year old Brooks that is original to the bike .

Mafac levers with Cane Creek hoods and fresh tape

New decals on the rims
All in all a good day that started with a nice ride on the ItalVega!

DQRider 

I have a bike I call Celeste, for obvious reasons. It is a 1980s Bianchi Sport SX, and it was made in Japan (I think? Maybe Taiwan? @Bianchigirll?)

Here she is on our last ride together, down to Stillwater, MN:



She's a good ride, but there were a couple of things I wanted to change. Then, I acquired a 1986 Bianchi Squadra frameset and drivetrain. This bike was made in Italy:



It's a lighter frame, a touch racier in its geometry, and it has that all important "Made in Italy" sticker on the bottom of the seat tube. So I'm going to decommission Celeste, and swap components over to... what shall I name her?

Years ago I had a 1984 Fiat 124 Spider. Stationed in So. California in the 1980s, we had a LOT of fun together. Canyon roads, the Pacific Coast Highway, even the entire length of the Baja coast on the Libre Road. She had a lot of cool details, like gauges that said "Olio", and "Benzina", and wiring by some famous Italian pasta chef. I named that car Sophia.

I don't have her anymore, but I need another Sophia in my life. I spread the rear triangle this morning, checked the frame alignment, mounted the wheelset to check fit, and removed everything I'm not going to use.

Later this evening, I plan to begin pulling stuff off of Celeste and transferring it over. Rather than the upside-down SOMA Oxford handlebar, I'll be using a SOMA Mustache II 3-Speed bar, wrapped in black cork tape, and if I can find them in my stash, reverse brake levers. This will correct the too-far rearward riding position, letting me stretch out a tad more. She will get the 1x9-speed Deore drivetrain from Celeste, because that was perfect for the type of riding I do. Saddle will be a Brooks Professional, haven't decided whether to use the brown or the black one yet. I'll see how they look. I'm hoping to complete it by Saturday morning, so I can take it out on a shakedown cruise and photo shoot. If I do, you'll see it here first.
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SurferRosa

Squaw?

How will you handle the bb thread/size difference?

DQRider 

Since the existing crankset is square-taper Shimano 105, I'm assuming they will swap straight across, no problem. If not, I'll probably just run a single 9-speed chainring on the existing crank.
(edit) You'll notice, the "single" crank from Celeste has a chainguard ring mounted in place of the big ring - so it's a double as well.
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SJX426 

@DQRider - I think the question is related to the BB shell size, 68, English/Japanese, vs 70, Italian.

Kai Winters

Recently converted a BMC road bike from Ultegra 11 speed mech/hydro brakes to Ultegra 11 speed Di2/mech brakes.
The process was a pain in the arse because the customer supplied us with the kit and some key parts were incorrect and required some last minute purchases to make it work for a weekend ride.
Wrong shifters...Di2 shifters with mechanical braking...replaced mechanical shifting with hydro brakes...customer didn't realize their mistake until too late and couldn't return the shifters as they were purchased from Britain and the return cost and wait were too much.
Short wires...didn't measure the lengths correctly leaving several key wires too short...fortunately we had some in stock and in one case had to use a second wire connector to make it work.
Didn't have the correct calipers...supplied us with Ultegra hydro calipers, very nice looking, but they won't work with mechanical brake shifters so he had to order calipers online with next day shipping...another unexpected and needless expense if we would have done the ordering.
Other than that the build went well. No unexpected problems...actually no problems at all. The Di2 system worked perfectly and required minimal adjusting. The brakes are great. He went with TRP Spyre Carbon mech calipers on our advice...I'm running these on my Aethos and the shop owner was also using them on his bike. They are fairly light, set up and adjust very easily and have a nice feel and modulation. Not like hydros but very nice for mech disk brakes.
Test rode the bike and it was perfect...the customer was very happy ! In the end that is all that matters.

DQRider 

I hope I'm not being dense here... I'm afraid I don't see why the BB shell size matters if I'm not changing the BB. Especially if I keep the same crank and just change the rings. What am I missing?
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SurferRosa

Sorry. When you wrote, "it will get the 1x9-speed Deore drivetrain from Celeste," I thought you were trying to move everything over.

VintageSteelEU

Should be fine, the only possible problem you might encounter is the chainline being different on both bottom brackets (unless the one on Sophie has spindle 2mm longer than the one on Celeste). But that's not much of a problem, especially with a single chainring and no front derailleur.

Bianchigirll 

I’m wondering how he’ll handle the bigger frame.

You should check VeloBase and Sheldon Brown’s website, that older style Gipimme likely uses a much wider spindle than that shimano needs. I’m not sure what the BCD is on it but if it’s the old 144 Campanutella pattern you might have trouble finding an inexpensive chain wheel the size you want

I think those ‘88 Sport SX models were Taiwan.

DQRider 

... Or I could just go back out there and see how she works? The drivetrain swap went smoothly, no issues with fit, chainline, or threads. But thanks for all the help, everyone! Tomorrow I'll tackle cables and rigging, handlebar/controls, and mount the black Brooks Professional saddle - definitely looks better than the brown. Shakedown ride and photos tomorrow evening, weather permitting. Looking forward to it like a kid at Christmas!
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SurferRosa

Your mention of threads makes me think that you did swap out the BB.?.

DQRider 

Nah, I was just addressing concerns expressed in this dialogue. Why would I swap out the BB when it fits and spins nice and smooth? I love the level of geekery on BF most days, but sometimes it gets a bit thick. I just employ a bit of Marine Corps Logic® on the first go:



...and if that fails, then I go back and read the instructions.

And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is why I don't own anything too precious. Campagnolo is way too nice for me!

(edit) It is now 2:14a.m., and I can't sleep. So I'm running an alternate scene from "Apocalypse Now" on the theater screen inside my head.

"He began to dabble in fancy roadbikes, without being initiated into the Lycra Legions of the Velominati. After that, his ideas... his methods, became unsound. Unsound."
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jdawginsc 

Haha. @Mad Honk with the aluminum frame and brifters! Welcome to the dark side!

Bianchigirll 

because if the taper on the GipMe BB spindle is different than the Shimano it might come loose on a ride but…

Swampthing 

This is my new toy.
Mostly made from a Frame and parts purchased here, salvaged, or purchased so long ago I forgot where, for different builds/ bikes.
it needs some more work, but is comfortable and

fun to ride.

Bianchigirll 

I like it! I’ve decided I want an old long wheelbase ATB/MTB for my IGH wheels.

sloar 

Time to send the frame to the powder coater. Still need to clean all the parts and glue the tires on. So far it’s a 20lbs bike.

SJX426 

For those not folloiwing my thread on this bike, 1971 Bianchi build - Bike Forums, here is the update for today. Reversed spindle so the ring doesn't rub, added cable guide, shifters and seat bolt.
71BianchiMorning20221028 on Flickr

DQRider 

Is that the "I speak jive!" scene? Ouch! Well played...

FWIW, the 105 drivetrain on this bike isn't stock. It came with 600, according to what I can glean from various unofficial sources on the web. The work done to assemble this bike was pro quality - two clues: all threads greased, and not overtorqued. The BB feels brand new. The BB spindle taper looks identical between the SX and this bike. Conclusion: BB has already been swapped. The dealer sticker on the downtube is "Kenwood Cyclery", who were very well regarded as a top-notch shop back in the `80s-`90s. I'm betting they did this work.

But I definitely got your message, my queen. Please excuse my impertinence?
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SurferRosa

Well, some folks you can talk to openly about everything involving bikes, and some folks ... not.

Mad Honk 

Sloar,
I use Pro Kote Indy for the PC work. It is off 82nd St. behind the Chicago pipe distributor. Call Dawn and ask her about what they do and the finished job costs. And they do the accessories also like bottle cages and racks in the same colors. Smiles, MH