ascherer 

it’s all together and the 2x9 is smooth, save for a little chainline rub in the smallest cog. Nothing to fuss over. However, her Panasonic dynamo hub isn’t generating. Lights work fine with another wheel in place so I’m going to have a look at the hub. Have you ever pulled one apart?

bargo68 

Picked up this Fuso 58 frameset from a local-ish co-op down in Palo Alto. Has some nominal wear and it needed some light adjustment in the rear triangle but overall a survivor in nice shape. Got the 6800 Ultegra group for pretty cheap from CL and the bars and stem from my local co-op in San Rafael. Wheelset is Fulcrum 5S with the labels removed which was gotten from a Goodwill also in San Rafael! Seatpost and saddle were in the parts bin. Just taped the bars yesterday, which was our only day without rain in the forecast for about a week.
Awaiting a nice, dry day to put some miles on it and dial it in a bit....

​​​​​​​

georges1

Very nice bike and nice build ​​​​​​​

drewfio

Bianchi SX - Pink! Disassembled, partly cleaned, ready to to be overhauled and rebuilt.

VintageSteelEU

Suntour components?

52telecaster

I never have and those Panasonic's have never failed me. Has to be a broken wire or a short somewhere.

merziac

Wow, great work, no fan at all of the 4 arm crank but H**Y CRAP it sure works with Dave's fantastic paint on this, well played.

bargo68 

Many thanks! I always appreciate your entuhsiastic responses to people's posts, mine included!
I agree about the crankset's aesthetics. That said, I love the way the dark metallic grey brakes blend with the seat stays.

merziac

Tx, huge fan of Dave's and love his paint scheme, need to put the one my size that I finally got together.

Agreed, I am a fan of the dark gray, just not the 4 arm, usually.

This works well for me as it camouflages it and allows it to blend in.

Wish it was gray like yours instead of silver.

El Chaba

With a little time off over the holidays, the timing seemed right to get after a lower priority project that has been waiting for a while. So I had a set of wheels that I built as training/winter use wheels back about 1993-94. They were built with Mavic GP4 rims that were used in a 6/7 speed wheel set and dated from the mid 80s. I thought that they could not be destroyed, but eventually noticed last year that the rear rim had a crack at an eyelet. I decided to build a new set of rougher use wheels using the hubs and some Mavic Open Elite rims for ( gasp) clinchers, which are available in more durable/suitable weight for the intermittent and seasonal use planned for the wheels. The hubs are Campagnolo Veloce and began life as 8 speed compatible and I converted them with a 9 speed freehub sometime around 1996 or so. Even the lower level Campy hubs were really good back then. These hubs used a simpler and cheaper seal system than the higher brow cousins, but I believe that it may be more effective. The spokes are the incredibly consistent and reliable DT butted 14/15 g with brass nipples. When the tires arrive I will mount things up and put them (back) in service. I love building wheels, btw….

capnjonny 

Re the Weinman brakes:

The first thing I do when I remove the brakes from the bike is to drop them in a large container of white vinegar I keep on my work bench. Leave them in there over night then remove and wash in the sink with dawn detergent and a tooth brush or other stiff bristle brush. They will come out sparkling clean and need no polishing unless you want to . This will usually remove the rust from the springs and nuts. If there is still some , use a brass "tooth brush" from Harbor freight to gently scrub them clean. If you are going to completely disassemble them to polish, do one at a time, using the other one as a guide to reassembly. I find that most of the time I can polish them without disassembly on my buffing wheel, making them "good enough" without getting too OCD.

another "trick" is to burnish them with a wire cup brush chucked into my bench drill press. I use this extensively to clean parts and remove rust from things like nuts and bolts, seat posts, stems , and basically anything I am working on. it works great for cleaning the gunk out of threads on skewers, axles, etc.

momoman

Wow! That’s a great looking build!
I bought a repainted 58cm Fuso frameset in April 2020 but haven’t built it up yet. I was going to build it with Suntour Superbe components to keep it an 80’s bike but now you have me seriously reconsidering! I have a set of Fulcrum 5’s with black spokes laying around and a Shimano Ultegra 6700 groupset laying around also!

Which BB did you use?

bargo68 

Thanks! Honestly, if I'd had a Superbe (or DA 7400, or Record, etc) sitting around I would have used it. The Ultegra group popped up on CL and I got it on a lark figuring eventually a frame would turn up for it. I'd always wanted to try a restomod and this seemed the perfect opportunity.
The BB is the external bracket Shimano that came with the group.
Good luck with your Fuso build and pictures when it's completed, please!

drewfio

Yep! Well, a mix of Suntour, Sugino, and Dia Compe, but all with matching Alpha 5000 logos.

Drillium Dude 

In the interests of stretching out a bit more, thus relieving my lower back of some stress (fingers crossed, anyway...), I've been bringing my brake levers higher up on my bars, and slowly replacing my 110-115mm stems with 120mm versions instead.

The Colnago has been slated for this swap for some time now, though I was awaiting just the right bar. I came across a 66 CdM with a salvageable finish, and - more importantly - the old crest logos. My fave bar, hands down.

Ordered some anodizing stripper from Jestco Products, stripped both the bar and the stem I've had waiting around, then did the clean-up act on both. Here's an idea of what the bar originally looked like (Ebay auction photo):



The stem had some similar markings, but I didn't bother with before pics. How about after?







Until I'd inserted the bar/stem/levers combo into the frame, I'd never noticed the stem has a negative rise; about 2 degrees. It makes for a bit different aesthetic at the front end, but it's already growing on me.

I think if I can find a 120mm 3ttt Record stem to replace the 110mm version currently in the Bianchi, my fit issues will be solved for the next 5 years or so - when I'll probably have to do it all again

DD

VintageSteelEU

I'm not too keen on using vinegar (or other acid) on aluminium or chrome. You have to be very careful not to overdo exposure time or you might end up with items looking worse than they did. Lesson learned after cleaning some rusty pulley bolts and leaving them for too long. That's why I switched to just regular dishwashing liquid and warm water. White spirits is great too, but definitely more harmful.
I do use vinegar on regular steel, like bolts that have not been chrome plated etc. Works great. As for cleaning parts, my tools of choice are a toothbrush, brass wire brush and then brass wire bits for the rotary tools (for rust on steel) and abrasive bits for the aluminium parts (from the coarsest 120 grit to the finest 400 grit). I used to go for even finer sandpaper and dry / wet before I got the rotary tool. For example, with heavily scuffed Cinelli handlebar and stem I got a couple of years back with a frame, I went all the way up to 5000. Multiple times. Before spending a lot of time going over those with polishing paste. I still use polishing paste, though minimal amount these days. First time with a standard kitchen sponge, then got 4 pieces of microfibre to wipe the parts clean. Which doesn't quite end with the result similar to the mentioned Cinelli bar and stem (which I could probably use as a shaving mirror), but it's good enough.

I just started cleaning the other one. This will be a bit of a challenge because the mounting bolt seems to be glued or corroded into the rear section of the brake, together with that thick aluminium spacer. We'll see whether soaking it with some penetrating oil and a bit of brute force will do anything. Thankfully, I have spare bolts and one damaged brake as parts donor if need be, so I won't be too fussed if I don't manage to get this bit apart. I'm waiting for the brake hangers anyway, so I should probably have this set of brakes on the bicycle over the next few days. And, found some little used Weinmann brake pads in my parts pile, so going to give these a try, just out of curiosity.

SJX426 

@Drillium Dude - Jeff, excellent results as usual. I have been thinking about striping stems with blemishes (nearly all) and was wondering how they might turn out. Same with bars. I like the old logo and bar too. I think I have one but would need to look for it.

smd4

What? That's the way God intended a roadbike stem to look.

mrv 

New balls and repack.
Getting to build up a wheelset.
Noticed the rear hub label is …. not facing the drive side 🤪🫣😵‍💫🤯
I’ll make them match. Nuts. I wanted the hub labels read from the drive side.

steine13

My last entry on the Rockhopper winter project is already on the previous page.

But with a visit to the hardware store and the campus bike shop, i actually got this show on the road...and I like the way it rides.

I'm now looking for a cheap crank to trash over the winter. Aside from that, the only original parts left are frame, fork, and head set.

VintageSteelEU

Seems to be the case with Shimano hubs for some reason. But I think as long as they are facing the same side, it would be as manufacturer intended. Nice hubs, I like what they've done with the flanges, from the esthetic point of view. Not so much from mechanical point of view and also gunk accumulation potential.

Mr. 66

Paris-Roubaix Mercier, low ender, this is going to be a rocket. I think this will be a good gateway for one entering C&V.

Viva la France 🇫🇷

alexihnen 

My 2nd Fuso.

jamesdak 

Well, it was icy out this morning which kept me home versus driving an hour to chase another possible vintage project. So I put Clannad on the turntable and just sat at the table for about two hours going over the 8 speed Record parts I recently got. The parts are in good shape with not a lot of wear but man did the owner ever clean his drivetrain?! The jockey cage and pulleys were the worse I've ever seen in terms of dried on gunk. Hard to reach spots of the chainring were the same way. Spent a lot of time pulling things apart and cleaning fully. Jockey wheels look brand new now with no real wear on them. Makes me wonder if the previous owner that rode this stuff used grease on his chain or what....

From the condition of the brake pad holder bolts and pretty much every mounting bolt and the like I'd say this was assembled dry in the past. I always lightly grease these areas.

Anyway, just a really relaxing morning working on the stuff. Such a nice feeling when it's all fully cleaned and lubricated and pretty much looking like new. Of course Maire's voice and the beautiful music of Clannad floating through the air helped too.

merziac

Damnit Jim, another Red and Grey one with the red on top!

Very nice, love it.