AdventureManCO 

The Bob Cook Eisentraut won an award, likely for its provenance, as did the patina'd white Eddy Merckx that was parked next to the Huffy. There were some good projects and riders tucked in the other museum pieces.

AdventureManCO 

Haha, I had to laugh at your response, because you are spot on! I was working the shift levers after cleaning everything up, and that FD one was super crunchy! I was like 'wait, I just cleaned you!' but then I started listening more closely, and it was coming from the cable guide. No doubt there is muck in there. I'm going to pull the cable and get a pipe cleaner in there. I don't know if there is enough room for a liner, but I'd definitely use one if one will fit. I might also make use of a tiny rubber end so that water can't get easily down there. I was also thinking it might not be a bad idea to grind an opening at the bottom of the tube loop so that if water can get in, it can get out too.

Next up will be looking for some proper red anodized Bullseye pulleys, as these new ones look good, but man they took the brunt of the ride resterday. Ano shot, bearings definitely grindy.

CroMo Mike 

Surely this isn't the end. Thanks for involving us all in your adventure.

AdventureManCO 

Not at all, but now I'm going to be taking a little time away from the bike and working on the wife's projects for a change

jdawginsc 

As much as I enjoyed the pictures of the true classics abounding on tables in and out doors, yours brought the biggest smile.

pastorbobnlnh 

Cheers from GA on a job well done 👍👍!!!

I'm always amazed at the few rides I've participated in similar to this one, that the bikes often appear as if they are ever ridden on a regular basis. I guess since I'm not all that anal about original specifications, I'm surprised by riders who need to present their bikes as if they were just extracted from a time machine. I'm more about "making the bike my own," which is why Legrandepagnolo and this thread is so personally appealing.

I do hope the saddle bag is able to live to see another day. Cleaning with a mild soap and water should not hurt it. Rub Proofide on it after it is dry. I'd be interested to see pictures after the cleaning.

RB1-luvr

I didn't cry when I saw the pictures of Huffente completed. You cried.

Hondo6

Smart man.

pace551 

This project is amazing! I'm one of the Randonee / Eddy Rando event organizers, and I'm super thankful you brought the bike out to the event under such punishing conditions. I had no awareness of this thread prior - everyone on the ride just kept mentioning 'The Huffy Guy' with a sense of awe and wonder. It was a great addition to the weekend and I'm glad you entered it into the show. The photo of Mark Nobilette inspecting the Huffente decals should be framed and hung in your bike cave!

There are some really strong guys I've ridden with for years that couldn't finish out the Saturday gravel ride, so don't beat yourself up. I think there were probably 10 or 12 of us out of the 30-something starters that made it to the finish under our own power.

Nice work!
- James

AdventureManCO 

James,

Thank you!!! Your comment means so much to me, I sincerely appreciate it. You guys all did an amazing job with being handed a monumental challenge for this year's event. The weather could have wreaked absolute havoc, but people showed up, and y'all persevered. I think utilizing a park awning/shelter was probably one of the smartest decision ever for what the weather tried to throw at us. Next year, I'll actually be able to train instead of building the dumbest bike ever, and should be in better shape to finish whatever gets going. I will also absolutely bring the Huffy again, unless I have a more outrageous project. While I wish I could have toughed out the entire thing, I learned an extremely valuable lesson: bring a poncho. The hard lessons always are a win in the end. I'll never feel bad for learning something. The difference between wet and dry would likely be a gamechanger. And other than the vintage gearing of the bike, the Huffente did not hold me back at all - it was all the 'motor' haha.

I'd love to bring the bike on some other Creekside Steel Cycling events and get-togethers. I came to the Tweed Ride and that was great fun. I still need to work on my endurance, but I can get there.

I had no idea that was Mark checking out the bike! That is awesome haha! I love it! I have more plans for the bike, but the fact that I'm not under a crazy deadline means we'll actually have some time to do it well and not need counseling every other day!

Seeing a real Confente decal helped me to see where mine was just a little off (I mean, minus the whole 'HUF' at the start of it) so eventually I may go back to World Cycle Decals and get a more accurate set. They did a bang up job on the first one, so it would probably be nothing for them to fine tune it.

Thanks for humoring me and the bike. I had an absolute blast!

Eric F 

Is Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 more or less outrageous than Campy SR?

OldForerunner

More than Campy SR but less than Campy SR EPS.

AdventureManCO 

I'm going to have to think of something for that silly Paramount frameset I have in the basement.

I think a Singer/Sora build would be quite fun, and raise the 'offended' stakes quite a bit...but saying it out loud, nobody would then sell me a Singer hahah

smd4

What are you doing with all the parts you took off the Huffy?

AdventureManCO 

Wish them well in their new life as scaffolding pipe

RiddleOfSteel

I did Athena EPS on my former '74 Paramount. Worked well! Minus the battery life due to it sitting on a shelf for years, uncharged. I briefly put Ultegra 6770 Di2. that also worked well, but didn't have the Campy look or flare--this is ok because I love the look of Di2 shifters as well as the way it works, so it got to go on my former '87 Schwinn Prologue, which looked epic with it.

velomateo

What great thread this has been…so far.
AdventureManCO thanks for all the great photos from the concourse. So many beautiful rides, and that Trek 957 is WOW… so sweet.

cudak888 

Wow. An epic story with an epic story within it, with epic pictures to end the first chapter of this gleefully fantastic festival of the Huffyxceptional. Are you sure you aren't the rebirth of Odysseus and this is the new Odyssey?

I can't add anything that could possibly elevate what's already been said, but you've got a standing ovation over here, and a genuine hope that this madness continues to 2,000 posts and beyond.

P.S.: The dropout on your Paramount is going to be a piece of cake, but I have a feeling it's going to take five months, 1,500 posts, and copious bottom bracket pictures. At least, I hope so.

-Kurt

AdventureManCO 

One post for each molecule of acetylene that leaves the torch

Thanks for your support Kurt, and your presence provided the comic relief to the parody (wait, is that a thing?) that channeled what I’m sure everyone was thinking but not everyone was saying, and in the best of fun.

Not taking a hiatus per se, since I will need to remove the cranks, pull the bb (yay more bb shots!!) and clean out the seat tube of dirt, sand and grime. Same for the cable guide and the jockey wheels.

In the bike’s future, I’m seeing:

- ‘H’ pantos on some cut-down dropouts
- brazing on a seatpost binder
- brazing on a top-routed cable guide to the bb shell
- lighter saddle?
- all ti hardware
- ti bottom bracket
- weight relieving the adapter cups
- hi-E hubs?
- drillium on the brake levers
- adapting the SR Extra Super Light stem?

Im not opposed to changing out the leather bar wrap and saddle (for something lighter and matching) but the hoods will stay.

Tires were a little under 300g, maybe there are lighter options as well. Lots of research to do before starvation diet phase.

OR what I could do…is keep this one as is, and ALL Super Record…including adapting a Super Record Seatpost…

Then Just get a Huffy Santa Fe and load it up with the craziest, lightest weight stuff for the ultimate weight weenie boat anchor build. The Sante Fe Super Corsa Superlight…

Yes…that is in my future. Unfortunately

EDIT: I know where one is…

smd4

I found it kind of easy, and not terribly expensive, to replace nearly all of my bolts (pinch bolts; brake shoe and pivot bolts; jockey wheel bolts; derailleur mounting bolts; pedal toe clip and cage bolts) with titanium counterparts. In the case of instances where stress wasn't high, like water bottle bolts, I went even lighter with aluminum.

dddd

The aluminum nuts found securing Weinmann brake shoes and caliper parts can be a cheap source of weight-savings, and don't seem to impose any durability issues.

You might knock off 160 grams using a good heat-treated racing handlebar like the Prima 199 or 220, but the clamp diameter will be 25.8mm.
Modolo briefly offered a lightweight road bar with 25.4mm clamp as I recall.

pastorbobnlnh 

Not Santa Fe. MUST BE A HUFFY AERO WIND!!!! And everything gets replaced to Dura Ace AX.

dddd

23-inch frame and you've described my "grail" bike perfectly!

AdventureManCO 

Funny you should mention that. I was just looking at Aero Winds this evening. Really I'd be fine with either, although I'd be a little curious which one would have the heavier frame. I prefer the dropout style of the Aero Wind, looks a little more heavy duty, at least the style that came on the larger size of Aero Winds (for the 27" wheels), with the actual brazing vs the spot welding.

The Santa Fe (and maybe the Aero Wind as well?) came in 24", 26", and 27" wheels. Cool thing that I figured out...the 24s and the 26s at least have the sizing written on the forks underneath the art motif.

Also, I'm very curious about the differences between the frame sizings. Is a 24" or a 26" frame size lighter? Would you have any luck w/ a 700c wheel reaching the brakes properly on a frame made for a 24" wheel?

I've got a 26" wheel size frame Huffy out in the garage, and what we found is that I think you could get by with a longer reach set of brakes. The main issue is the BB height. I really should do some comparison between the Huffente frame and this 26"er, to see just how much difference we are talking about. If going with a 24" or 26" wheeled frame would be best, that would be good to know now.

I'm a creature of opportunity, and whether an Aerowind or a Santa Fe rolled around first, I'd take either. Oh heck I'll probably end up with both. The great thing with those bikes is that they both really evoke a sense of nostalgia for a lot of people. The Le Grande didn't have that as much, even though it is sort of in the era, but both the Santa Fe or Aerowind...there's just this emotion attached to them, something I can exploit


I've made up my mind.


We are going to keep the Le Grandepagnolo the Le Grandepagnolo, and not try to replace any Campy on it. We'll even try to build that seatpost for it (just need the 25mm donor). We'll take the hard knocks learned, the battles won and lost, the experience we've gained, and put it towards a new project. We are older, wiser, and dumber than ever - we will seek out a new Huffy. And while I have no desire to begin building another bike right now, I'm very satisfied that we now have a locked on trajectory, a direction with which to orient ourselves (right off a cliff), which means Phase One of Huffy Project 2.0 (the search) can now commence for the right donor. If I can find one before the end of the year, that will be the goal. That's 6 months. The only real hard line I've set is that the graphics/decals need to be in excellent shape. I'm not too worried about the paint overall, since we will be doing some torching, but the nicer it is, the less touch up I'll need to do, and that's always appreciated. I lucked out with the Huffente and found an exact paint match, with paint I already had. Not sure we'll get that lucky again, but one can hope.

I'm really excited about the prospect, but I'm also not, because I know what it means! It's a complicated emotion

I've already got an insane goal, but I'm just going to keep things to myself for the time being. Time will reveal all.

nlerner

I think the next project should be building up the Confente with original parts from the Huffy.