shoota 

Be careful with the rear skewer on those new wheels, a lot of the newer style skewers don't have enough clamping force to keep the axle from sliding forward in the dropout when you put the power down. Apologies if you already knew that.

RiddleOfSteel

I am well versed in the disappointment that modern external cam skewers bring to the rear wheel retention party and thankfully have some spare internal cam Shimanos ready to use (even in black).

RiddleOfSteel

As planned, I installed tan wall tires (Vittoria Corsa 25mm that I've had for a bit) to see how it looked on the bike and how it affected the overall color composition. Not looking for something better, just seeing, you know?

My verdict is that it's alright. Not setting my heart aflutter (not that it needed to), but not an outright "no."


Next I thought I'd try black rims with silver spokes and black wall tires. In real life, it's fine, I guess, but with a different component set (IE more silver), it would probably look fine or even great. For this particular composition, it doesn't work as well as black tires and black rims with black spokes. These wheels are Dura-Ace 7403 8-speed hubs laced to Mavic Open Pro black rims with nice DT Swiss spokes. I am going to build a bike around these at some point, and I have candidates in mind, if only I could find them.



Anyway, the (Fulcrum) wheels have been touch-up trued as well as the hubs adjusted. I have also decided on a cable housing color. In this case, it is Jagwire's Ice Grey, which is a hair lighter than the Claris groupset's grey. It also ties into the grey on the frame and fork. Black and Stealth Black were just plain black, the Blue was too electric, and I wanted it to be darker, so Ice Grey will be a nice accent without being distracting. And since cables and housings are expensive now at the LBS level (locally), it's essentially the same price or barely more for the Jagwire stuff, and I get color choice (and ferrules etc). And I'll just say that depending on how good and fun this thing is to ride, I could really "level up" this bike in certain ways, while retaining the Claris groupset...

Mr. 66

I like the black spoke wheel more, I think the sliver spokes take too much attention from the rest of the black components. I think the skinwall tire look has more flash on the black spokes.

RiddleOfSteel

Chipping away at the 420 here, mostly held up due to waiting on cabling to come in. The shift cables came in today, and the Ice Grey looks fantastic. Perfect for what I was going for in breaking up the mass of black. Thankfully, the shift cables need to be run first on these new-era STIs, so they're all done and I'm waiting for Friday's delivery of the brake cable kit.

I was able to find a 11-32T 8-speed cassette to replace the planned-to-use-it 11-28, and this was primarily to give near 1:1 low ratio (same as my 620) on this (sport) tourer. Put the chain on, shorted it 1" (after a little bit), and tuned it. Rear derailleur tuning was pretty much first shot. Front derailleur tuning, with the long arms and different cable routing, took more, but we have it now. I'll have to confirm via road testing (versus awkward hand angle stand testing) the amount of increased lever effort to shift to the big ring. It's definitely more than my 620's Dura-Ace 9000 shifters, as it "should" be due to the 620's better cables, housings, and the Dura-Ace's shifter and derailleur engineering. Sometimes "advancement" is really a step back. And since I never minded Shimano's externally run shift cables, 9-speed Sora (3400 generation, which I've had on a previous bike years ago, and recently was reacquainted with recently) shifted as good as anything, every time. The under-the-bar-tape routing has brought forth stratification. At least the hood/lever bodies are more supportive (especially in non-ideal bar setups). Rear shifting is really nice though.

As pictured, with heavier pedals, the bike is at 24.25 lbs (11 kg), with brake cables, housings, and bar tape to go. That won't add much weight, but what will is non-performance tires of larger diameter. We should be sneaking up to 25 lbs by the end of this. I am looking forward to larger tires visually anchoring the bike's proportion. Tan or black wall, I'm still open to either as I like both on this bike. The 420 continues to look good and I hope to have it on the road as soon as I can cable the brakes up. I will be doing some local bar taping (at the shifters) to gauge comfort and to assess the bike's characteristics, allowing for a full sneak attack into my small two-bike (permanent) fleet.

JaccoW

I'd say go full banana. Black rims, tanwalls and brown leather bar wrap. Add a blue Chiquita sticker, or better yet, a logo that's a mix of those two:

RiddleOfSteel

Lol, @JaccoW I appreciate it but I think the brown will clash with the dark grey components and overall modern aesthetic. If I had polished silver etc, it'd be more appropriate in my eyes. I'm still mulling over black or blue bar tape, though leaning black for obvious reasons. Who knows. I re-read my brake cable kit's arrival date, and it's next Wednesday, not this Wednesday like I thought/partially read. Bummer. Maybe I'll just cable up something quick for test riding purposes. I have another bike (another Trek! hahaha) that is vying for my affection and attention, and it has already made a good case for itself.

RiddleOfSteel

Bike is fully assembled and complete minus the intended-to-buy-for-it 32mm Pasela tires. 25mm Vittorias will have to do for now. And as such, thanks to my brake cable kit coming early (this morning), I was able to get a test ride in this one dry day among many wet ones over the last several weeks.

So how is it? Claris 8-speed shifting works as good as it looks, which is to say, very well. 11-speed 105/Ultegra/Dura-Ace is real sweet, do not get me wrong, but Claris more than holds its own in regular biking. Very solid, assured shifts. Clean, quite, easy--all of it. The 420's character is resolutely unflappable. Sure steering, a very strong frame (perhaps a little stiff--something that larger tires will tame), not a crazy out-of-saddle rocker, but one of those Hell-and-Back kind of frames that could easily take you the distance, survive anything, not surprise you with anything you don't want, and return you home, ready to do it again. My '74 Paramount had a bit of that feeling. This 420 will be a great bike for someone, but if I were to keep it, I'd likely go straight to building a 650B wheelset because 1) I'm crazy 2) it'd fit, with fenders (done the measurements and calculations) 3) it'd offer all that killer frame solidity, just coupled with a supple 650x42 tire setup (rims would be Velocity A23s) for a really great ride. I'd also swap the crankset to a 105, not for weight, but for Q-factor (thanks, knees!).

One more photo before I get it dressed up in its final form:

RiddleOfSteel

Well I'm going to be real sad when this 420 goes. I was able to pick up some 700x32 Panaracer T-Servs for a good deal--black wall--and they look great on the bike. Super cheery color meets a ton of black, with those tires helping give a rough-and-tumble vibe to the whole bike. I dig it. The tires (folding bead) are also considerably more comfortable than the 25mm Vittorias. And while the bike's willingness to rock back and forth out of the saddle is even less now (than it was with the 25s), it is even more dead-nuts stable. Sure, its 25.6 lbs (11.63 kg) helps keep things rubber side down, but with the 32s, there is an in-sync solidity between frame and componentry in completing the bike. This is simply a great bike to ride. It even, to my preferences, turns markedly better than both my 620 and 720. This is primarily noted with initial turn in at medium to slow speeds--it doesn't "fall" like the 620 or feel a little lighter perhaps like the 720. While the other two tourers sit between 53-56mm of trail, this is at 59mm, which I think plays a part.

So my daydream-level plans for this, which I had kept to mostly myself should the bike be "worthy" (in a sense) via its on-road character, has been 650B with fenders. It has the clearance, it has great on-road characteristics, I have tires for it, and I would be happy to build wheels for it. And like probably I've mentioned elsewhere, the levity of the yellow paint combined with the very low buy-in price just make it really 'accessible' mentally, with a fun and "what do you have to lose?" element very much present. As is, this is just simply, a great bike. Great gear range, proven components, dirt cheap consumables, extremely comfortable STI shifter levers, etc. And as an aside, if one is looking to run STIs on their vintage groupset, say an 8-speed 6400 setup, knowing what I know, I'd run the Claris levers and not think twice. The rest of the 6400 groupset will be lighter (than the Claris components), but the ergonomics (regardless of bar shape or mount location) of these current-era Shimano STI levers is top notch, IMO. Add in the dark grey of the Claris levers being pretty close to 6400's grey, and to me it's a no-brainer.

Kobe 

I like it with the blackwalls, gives it that black and yellow Pittsburgh Steelers feel.

Would 650b be much of an improvement over the current 32's? I could see it only if you want to use fenders but 32's seem plenty big enough.

Mr. 66

I was pushing for Yellow rims, but the RoS wasn't game.

lonesomesteve

To throw some fuel on your 650b daydreams, I wanted to share my 650b converted '90 Trek 420, in a slightly smaller size and a much less yellow colorway. I believe the frame is pretty much the same as what you have in terms of tube set and geometry (size differences aside). I made quite a few modifications including a different fork, numerous braze-ons, dimpled chainstays, etc. The final result is my an incredibly capable randonneuse/tourer/commuter/grocery hauler that I've used on countless gravel road tours and shorter adventures. I love this bike.

In rando mode

On a few dirt road tours

RiddleOfSteel

I dig the blackwalls, too. Looks right.

As to tire size differences, I would say firstly it depends on where you ride, and by that I mean what kinds of roads you ride. If I'm on country roads or suburban roads where there is less/little stop-and-go (signs or lights) and the roads aren't regularly torn up or modified, then 32s are just fine, and their improvement over 25s is palpable. Since I ride in the city with plenty of cut up pavement, heaves in slabs, cracks and potholes, that changes things for me. (700 x ) 32s do well enough, and I often wondered just how much better 42s would be (in the past). Step 0 for me was going from a 43.5cm chainstay bike (Paramount P15) to the 47cm chainstay 620--same wheels, tires, components. That was a revelation. Stepping to 42s was another order of magnitude better. The margin for error greatly increases when, after diligently looking out for road hazards 99.999% of the ride, you miss that one stealthy "Oh shoot!" menace that threatens to decimate your 25s (certainly) or 32s (potentially), but the 42s just handle it even if all you could do to prepare was just lift yourself up out of the saddle a hair.

mstateglfr 

Thats a really creative build. Looks well put together too.
What is the front bag and rack?

RiddleOfSteel

Man, that looks great! The geometry for 1989 and 1990 420s is the same (per catalogs). I personally don't mind running tires closer to frame tubes, which is I think why you dimpled your stays (unless you went to running 47s) and I look at a 2-3mm gap and go, "It's fine."

If I was to do this 420 fully "my way", I'd change the crankset to a 105/Ultegra/Dura-Ace unit almost entirely because of those cranks carrying a 146mm q-factor. With that crankset would very likely come the rest of the matching groupset. Modern STI shifters with their complement of derailleurs. An Innicycle headset for sure. Interestingly, given how the bike is with 32s, going carbon on the seatpost and handlebars, like I have with my 620 (much to its benefit), is something I don't feel is necessary (for extra comfort). I'd also employ upgraded cables (and likely "Pro" level Jagwire housing) due to the internal Shimano shift cable routing, but that is not an absolute must. They sure are nice with Dura-Ace 9000 shifters though.

All of that would of course make this not a $200, or even $600 bike (it's already one now); it'd be more. But that is the way of things like this. We do the research so others don't have to, right? Right...

lonesomesteve

Thanks! The bag is a standard Berthoud handlebar bag, and it sits on a rack that I built myself based on a classic Rene Herse design.

lonesomesteve

Yeah, I suspect I'm a little more cautious about frame clearances than you are. I'm only running 42mm tires, but I like having enough room to accommodate some mud or a slightly out-of-true wheel on occasion.

It's best not to think about the slippery slope of cost in these sorts of projects. I bought my 420 for $100, but I've spent several times that amount on this build, and that's even with a lot of it being inexpensive but functional vintage parts I had lying around. Still, I can think of worse things to throw your money at.

RiddleOfSteel

That makes sense. I bought my 420 for half of what you did, and as all of us have seen, it needed everything plus a ton of paint work. $100 if it was in nicer shape, for sure. Even then, another good chunk of money to run modern components, and I did well on them, price-wise. I know the cost of my 620 build, and I didn't worry too much about that as I had sold so much leading up to it and I had a precise vision that involved parts I had lying around--nice parts, but ones I've had for years--until the idea of DA 9000 got into my head. That's when it got a lot more expensive. Thankfully the money spent on it has been absolutely worth it, no internal propaganda needed on my part to make myself feel good/better about it. The 420 would be the cheery-in-winter sidekick that'd be a ton cheaper, fendered, all while exploring the 650B world. Little bit of fun (ok a good bit) and a little bit of R&D.