Ironfish653

Finally got all the parts together to finish the update on my Softride; Shimano WH-500 wheels, 11-28 9-speed cassette, 5600 105 mechs, FSA 50/39 crank, and a new cockpit, with a 44cm Salsa Cowchipper, 4500 Tiagra shifters, and Salsa stem (not going for a theme, it was on sale)





Original fitment was 3x7 RSX, with 32h Sun rims and a Softride stem, that I never quite got where i liked it.

3speedslow

Lascauxcaveman 

@Ironfish653, HAWT! The aliens have landed!

My latest build, not quite finished, is the 1983 Trek 600 frame gifted to me by @jjames1452. Much beausage on the frame, looks like someone spray bombed it black, then someone else removed most of that black. Chips, scratches, some rust bubbling under the pewter paint; typical Trek vintage symptoms.



So far everything is period correct, but a real hodgepodge: Sachs/Huret shifty bits including retrofriction ratcheting levers, DuoPar Eco derailleurs, right at home with Maillard Helicomatic hubs mounted to echt-Trek Matrix Titan T rims. SR Apex triple crank, SR stem, Sakae Randnner Bars (Edit: swapped in Nitto 115 Olympiade bars; which fit the clamp size better). Shimano Arabesque calipers operated by some old DiaCompe drilled levers.

capnjonny 

Well, we finally moved into our new shop in Mountain view. We had our first official work day Saturday and as you can see by the pictures it is huge. And even with all the new space we still don't have enough room to store donated bikes before we fix them.

Last year we donated ou over 600 bikes and sold a bunch more to finance the operation. With all our new indoor space( we have an entire 2nd floor which we aren't using yet) we hope to expand our program even more , Possibly holding some classes and doing more special corporate work days during the week.

If anyone is in the area you aught to try and stop by and help us out . We have regular work days on the 2nd and 4th saturday every month.

If you are looking for a good reconditioned bike at a good price we always have some for sale . Today someone came by and stole a Miyata 714 for $175. and there are often good vintage bikes . right now we have a Raleigh Grand Sport that is priced at $250 and a Miyata trail Runner that is one of the best mountain bikes I have seen for $250.

Sorry for the crappy photos. That blurry shot of all the bikes in racks - those are bikes waiting to be worked on. Plus we have about 100 bikes still at our old shop that we need to get rid of. If you have a non profit and want a bunch of bikes let me know and we can probably give you 50 or so.

Slightspeed

My Simpkex derailleur has lost spring tension to take up the chain slack. It just flops around, like both springs are not working. I took it apart, and the spring tangs are connected, but I can't figure how to re-wrap it to restore spring function. Its not broken, but without the spring tension, it's pretty useless. It used to work great, but had a little skip when riding in the small rear gear. I'm about to give up, and install a spare VGT-Lux that I have laying around, 🤨

merziac

I had one I think was like that, the spring tangs were popping out of the hole they were supposed to stay in. Couldn't hardly get them to stay in place under tension during reassembly, then they would come out once the cage moved when it was all together. The body and tang hole plates were to worn and sloppy.

2cam16

Wow the new place is looking good! Will have to check it out one of these Saturdays..

Kdogbikes

noglider 

@Lascauxcaveman, I'm pretty sure that hodgepodge was the original Trek spec. Weird, I know. I sold that model back then.

@Slightspeed, you won't regret putting the SunTour derailleur on. Simplex derailleurs are cool but not durable, and it's more trouble than it's worth it to fix yours. You could get another one like it, waiting for a long time and paying a lot, and it won't last as long as a SunTour. I just sold an old SunTour rear derailleur to a forum member, and it made me realize it's been in continuous service for about 35 years, and it is still working as well as new.

Drillium Dude 

I don't have any experience with this specific derailleur, but it appears to me that you simply need to remove the grub screw on the jockey cage, twist the cage back counterclockwise, then re-install the grub screw. This should wind the spring and give you the required tension. You'll need to remove the chain to accomplish this, of course.

Or I'm not reading the issue correctly.

DD

Chombi1 

+1, if the spring is not broken, you just need to wind in some preload as DD suggests.

Slightspeed

Thanks guys. I tried rewinding the spring, like you said. It feels and looks right, but I haven't re-installed it yet. I like the looks of the Simplex, and would like to keep it if I can make it work. I'll save the VGT Luxe for another day. Thanks for the response! And encouragement.

Does anybody know the exact model of this derailleur? All it says is "S.G.D.G" on the back plastic surface. No markings for model no. anywhere else. It's on my '78 PR10.

SurferRosa

SX810?

Simplex derailleurs

capnjonny 

In the middle of painting an Ital Vega Nuovo Record I found out I did the masking wrong on the chrome spats. I had to take all the masking paper off then re do it onl;y this time I had to also mask off all the newly painted tubes.

Masking off chrome bits is a pain . First I had to clean the chrome as best I could, then spray clear on it. Let dry, then mask off just the chrome and paint all the rest of the colored parts,. Then unmask again and clear coat everything. Only when I got to this last step I found that I had masked over a space where it was supposed to be painted. So now I have a 2 inch strip between the end of the chrome and the paint that is still bare.
I have it re masked and the raw strips primed and when that dries I will spray it with color. Being lacquer I hope it will blend well with the other paint. The great thing about lacquer is you can recoat in about 1/2 hour and lay on 3 or 4 coats a day easily .

I still have the final clear coats to do so hopefully it will still look gorgeous when it is finished.

keithdunlop

First bit of parts going on my 1988 Bottecchia build for L'Eroica California in April -- "new" Record headset with press tools borrowed from the SLO Bike Coalition Bike Kitchen.

Giacomo 1 

My Pogliaghi is done

friendofpugs

^^^ oh wow. Bravo, sir.

I cleaned and regreased the headset on my Bianchi Sport SX, swapped derailleurs so I could run a larger freewheel. I just need to tape up the bars and it'll be ready to roll come spring.

Sir_Name 

RiddleOfSteel

Wrenching has been very minor for the last week or several. Maybe an adjustment here and there, but that's it. Kind of weird. Part of it is the desire to not have a mess of an apartment--mental peace instead. The other part is that I have some builds or component swaps that are swirling around in my head and I'm just waiting for a component or two, or just time, to be the catalyst for execution on the build or swap.

Today/tonight I took a bunch of modern Campy parts off of my Guerciotti as I will be selling said parts. I'm of course keeping the frameset. I'm debating what to build it up again with. It won't be Campy--it will likely be Dura-Ace of some polished silver persuasion. It and my '89 Cannondale will battle it out for crit bike/geometry supremacy.

In the middle of winter (or "winter" here in Seattle), selling things is very slow. Selling tall framesets is even slower, and I have a number of them up. So it goes.

roughrider504

I just installed a pair of those Gravelkings and am really excited to try them out!

Sir_Name 

noglider 

@Giacomo 1, that came out well. Now we just need some weather. My wife and I just took a walk for about a mile. It's insane out there, cold and treacherously windy.

janthenat

USAZorro

Kdogbikes, my condolences. Had one of them once. It didn't end in satisfaction.

Math problem - (3 x 9 x 3) - 4 =?

janthenat