Insidious C. 

My clunker chain has been soaking in diesel fuel for several days now. Hoping to make some progress on my clunker this weekend. Much to do.

RiddleOfSteel

My Fuji S12-S LTD will never qualify for clunker status again, BUT it is getting every single component cleaned and polished, with necessary replacements to make it safe and fit me for riding. No shame, but when inevitably selling to someone, I want to set them up well. With good parts, the Fuji (as a frameset) is VERY good. I "lol" at Dia-Compe G standard brake calipers, but with Tektro R200 levers and modern pad holders with Koolstop pads, it stops my 195-200 lb self really well! Naturally all these "good components" ended up on my '79 Trek 510 as I have a long enough seatpost to get my needed saddle height. And I missed that chestnut metallic goodness that is my 510.

Fuji with "the good stuff" and a saddle height well above the seatpost's minimum insert line. For picture purposes only.

Dylansbob 

Hmmm. Over a month and I haven't touched my original entry. I've decided to abandon it in favor of my overpaid $20 Juenet. The Raleigh wasn't going to fit me and I have an 80s Hardrock frameset that group of parts. The Juenet is my size and French. Once I sell off another 2-3 bikes, I'll finally start working on it.

In keeping with my long standing tradition of procrastination, I'm likely to wait until the week of the deadline to tune and ride some miles.

rustystrings61 

After a week of hamster-on-a-wheel laps around the neighborhood I was able to get out for my first real open-road ride since January. I did a final tweak of the rear hub cones to hit that happy smooth without play spot, stuffed a multi-tool, plastic tire irons and a spare tube into the cheap Crivit saddlebag I bought at Lidl for $7.99 a while back and headed out. These were all familiar roads, but there's always something going on -



Old money, new construction

Dixie Drive has been resurfaced into a lovely, smooth piece of perfection. The downside to that was it drew attention to the pronounced hop in the rear rim, and a moment of considering if this would be the rim I successfully cured of such an impediment. But then I rolled on, enjoying the feel of 32 mm tires on smooth pavement. Eventually I reached Hodges, but was a bit wary of taking my usual photo of a propped up bike there. It appears that many of these old shops have actually been rehabbed into dwellings. Hmm.


The scenic Hodges central business district

A moment later I backtracked and took a right onto Ross Road, which is perhaps the nicest piece of Strada Bianca South Carolina has to offer. And here is where I began to realize something - after a lifetime of being a lugged-steel purist, I really liked riding this old Cannondale. It was no-nonsense stable, so stable that it is bar none the best no-hands-handling bike I've ever been on. Even on dirt it felt stable enough to ride no-hands a few times. The puffy tires helped handle road shock, along with the loooong chain stays.


Ross Road

It turned out to be a really fine morning on the bike. The dogs I encountered were all quiet and civilized, the one motorist I encountered was friendly and polite, and it was all in all a lovely time.


Ross Road before hitting Mundy Road

Shortly after I took this picture I hit the section with the really fine, fast descent. I took a deep breath and bombed down the hill, avoiding the brakes and steering for the smoother hardpack sections. The red 'Dale flew along like it was designed for this stuff, and I was able to carry a bunch of momentum from the descent into the inevitable climb up to Flatwood Road. Back on pavement, I found I was riding no-hands again because I could. I felt like I could have changed shirts while riding along, it was that smooth and stately and stable - not like a Raleigh DL-1 where you turn and wait for the bike to catch up with you, just a sense of maintaining course. I thought of Joshua Slocumb and the Spray as I headed for home. I finished out my ride with 15.8 miles for the day, giving me 80.9 km down, 9.1 km to go!
25.4 km today

Andy_K 

My tires were delivered yesterday, so I was finally ready to start building.



Trying to keep this in budget, I wanted to use the tubes it came with. This one may or may not have recently eaten a mouse, but both tubes were holding air, so I think I'm good to go.



I decided to use a new chain and I have no choice but to replace the freewheel and cables, so that left me with only $8.50 in the budget and I still needed bar tape. I could probably find something for that, but I have a few rolls of pre-used tape in the garage. I decided on these delicate flowers.



As a last step before putting it together, I threw the frame in the vice to check the dropout spacing and alignment. For some reason, the original owner had respaced it to 130, but kept the original 5-speed freewheel. The wheels aren't original, so I guess it seemed like a forward-thinking decision when he replaced the rear wheel. It was a bit off to one side, but that was easily corrected. This also gave me a chance to use the Park dropout alignment tool I got for Christmas!



At this point, I know you're wondering if I'm going to post step-by-step pictures of each component being installed. The garage is too messy for that, so I'll have to settle for where it is as of this morning. Almost there!

jdawginsc 

That’s impressive! To save a few cents for the brake hoods, my bar tape looked like that prior to installation...I sort of like it...

and I used the chain...

Do you still have enough for cables?

Andy_K 

The $91.50 total included $10 for cables. I'm able to draw from bulk housing and inner cables, so I don't have to resort to Alibaba.

philpeugeot 

This is my late entry, a shabby 1984 Trek 760. I bought this in anger last year during the whole COVID-19 bike boom. Paid $50 to a guy who lost interest because the seatpost wouldn't go in and he was too lazy (or cheap?) to find a smaller one, plus there were numerous rust spot and cement splatters on the frame. Despite the rust it all seems solid. There are a lot of firsts here for me: first clunker challenge, first 531 frame, first Campagnolo groupset. I'm excited to get this up and running with the remaining $50 I have left.

1984 Trek 760. The 27.2 seatpost won't fit.



Campagnolo bits.

Weird cement splatters on the top tube, also found on the stem as well. Something to worry about later. Also, Campagnolo DT shifters.

I think the cosmetics will be dealt with after the challenge; after all, what's a clunker without a bit of rust and cement? Seatpost will have to go, as will the pedals because they're some cheap brand crap and have tons of play.

Andy_K 

That Trek looks pretty nice. Careful you don't class up this joint too much.

merziac

A 531 Campy clunker, huh.

Andy_K 

Well, it's only Victory, so....

merziac

With Record hubs.

Pretty sure there's at least $49 worth there.

Andy_K 

It was definitely a nice bargain.

darnet

Longer ride on Friday (June 4). Rode from home to Physical Therapy and back. 6.6 miles x 2, included lots of hills, and Mine Falls Park (trail riding) along the way.

As this was my first "long" ride, I prepared by packing a spare tube, a pump, a fresh change of shirt (for PT), and my folding bike tool. Seat post slid down within the first mile. Of all the prep, I didn't think to carry a wrench for the seat-post nut. Old bike doesn't use allen wrench to tighten seat (or handlebar stem quill), it uses a hex wrench. I rode it out to my destination. Later, starting my return ride I saw a plumber outside the building. I asked (him) if he had a crescent wrench. He did, so I re-adjusted and more-tightened the seat clamp. Plumber's truck barely showing in picture.



As an aside, when I made it home, I tried to find a hex wrench or two for these nuts/bolts, and I can't tell for sure whether they're English or metric! Handlebar quill appears to be 13mm, but seat post is somewhere between 13mm and 14mm, and somewhere between 1/2" and 9/16".

Heard various noises while riding, some coming from the bike. There is a 4-or-5 click noise that repeats with the pedal cadence (chain? bottom bracket?) -- I'll wait and see if it ever gets worse. And there are creaks that I assume are from the handlebar stem (loose in fork? loose handlbars?). Bike is a 1973, so it's 48 years young, it too complains when going up hills.

I didn't take close-ups of seat clamp nut or handlebar stem bolt, but instead I'll show a picture of another detail. Old bike (today's theme, I guess) had center-pull brakes. Raleigh used a brazed-on bridge across the rear fork, to run the brake cable through. It should have had a cable stop with threads and a brake adjusting nut piece to fit through the bridge -- but that was missing at the start. Hole is too small for any standard brake adjuster, so in order to adjust brakes, I fashioned my own from a spoke nipple. Threaded the nipple with my tap and die set, and put a simple nut over the threads. Brake cable rests on top of the flat part of the nipple.

jdawginsc 

i thought I did well with Bumblebeena Nishiki....the Trek is pretty darn impressive!

rustystrings61 

In the last couple of years I’ve had two 531-tubed Raleighs that came to me with seat lugs crimped in from too-small seat posts and corrosion. I would suggest running a brake cylinder hone on an electric drill in the seat tube to clean the corrosion out. Take the bottom bracket out first! Once that’s done try a 27.2 post with lots of grease - you might be home free then.

jdawginsc 

Bumblebeena's cables were rusted worse than your chain and housing was frayed, so I decided to splurge for the $11.48 set which didn't include inner shift cables...luckily, the 9.34 for 10 cables from China arrived recently, so something has to give. I still feel fortunate at $13.42 tax included sum.

I am going to have to switch out my saddle to a cheapo since after recalculation, I need to pare a few dollars to allow for the inevitable failure of something...tube, chain, and to keep the Look pedals since I cannot resurrect the Shimano 600 pedals without expending for toe clips which are pricey, and a dust cap which is hard to find (I could probably cannibalize a set of 105s I have, but...my knees will appreciate the clipless).

The Ross will be easier to keep as is for the most part...

jdawginsc 

I was looking for a brake hone after someone mentioned it (maybe it was you). Any cheap versions you use? I know there are adjustable ones...?

ollo_ollo

Awesome new Clunkers but just like homes my neighborhood, RMV is inflating rapidly! Don

rustystrings61 

I bought mine from Advance Auto for something like $19.95. I may have messed mine up though as the spreading arms got bent when I honed out the Cannondale's seat tube and the tool hung up on itself. Hoping that can re-mount the stone that came loose and straighten it all out again. Good tool, though, kinda like digital calipers in its handiness.

rustystrings61 

Somehow I miscalculated my remaining distance to ride - so I still need another 7.1 km to finish. I wound up cutting the ride short though, as my 12-year-old daughter texted me to remind me I promised her an omelet for breakfast.

It was still a good ride over close-in roads that are only now beginning to fill in with gracious large homes with enough acreage for horses between the older smaller farms and pastures.





This bike is an unexpected treasure.

Andy_K 

My build is now complete!

Final budget:

Initial bike investment: $0
Paint: $7.50 (half a can of primer and a can of color)
Decals: $9
Chain: $9
Tires: $32!! (had to order new ones, but I was able to get free shipping)
Dropout screws: $1
Cable guides: $3
Freehwheel $20 (SunTour Perfect that I got along with shifters and derailleurs from a BF member a few years ago)
Cables $10 (bulk housing and cables, informed guess at proportional cost)

Total: $91.50

As shown below, the bike weighs 26.5 pounds. The rear wheel alone weighs about 5.5 pounds. But it looks really nice, right?















The front brake gave me a bit of a scare during the rebuild. I may have mentioned previously the the upper cable attachment arm was a bit bent. I removed the bolted on cable stop so I could put it in the bench vise to bend the arm back. When I was reattaching the arm, the bolt snapped off. Luckily, I have a similar Dia Compe brake that I use for spare parts. I bought it for about $5 three or four years ago for the chamfered brake pad washers, which matched an old Campy Nuovo Record brake that was missing the washers. This is now the fourth time I've pulled something off that brake to fix or complete another brake. The "GX" bit in the picture above is what was donated this time around.

I feel like there's a legitimate possibility that this might be the nicest Takara in the world right now. I can't wait to get out and ride it. Unfortunately, the forecast calls for rain for the next few days, and I'm leaving next weekend for three weeks in Maryland, so I won't get a lot of time to ride it until July.

jdawginsc 

Looks awesome!

rustystrings61 

[QUOTE=Andy_K;220908


I feel like there's a legitimate possibility that this might be the nicest Takara in the world right now. I can't wait to get out and ride it. Unfortunately, the forecast calls for rain for the next few days, and I'm leaving next weekend for three weeks in Maryland, so I won't get a lot of time to ride it until July.[/QUOTE]

It certainly looks nicer than any Takara I remember ever seeing! Excellent work!

Andy_K 

I know they made a few higher level models, a couple of which have popped up on this forum this week, but I feel like Takara isn't a brand that anyone would take care to maintain in a pristine state or (apart from a challenge like this) restore. That's one of the things I love about this challenge. It gives a bunch of us motivation to show some love to bikes that might otherwise have been neglected, like your Cannondale.