Hello lads, sorry if that post belongs elsewhere, feel free to relocalize it!
This summer I was drooling with envy everytime a road bike was passing me on my commute, and the end-of-summer big investment was for a sea kayak, so I thought of getting an old road bike and trying to make it rideable, either as a SS/geared/touring/cyclocross/name it. So I did stumble upon, at the local flea market this august, a Finelli RC-350 ugly pink road bike for 20 bucks. The frame looks quite ordinary, with a sticker that says Tange PG on the seattube. I assumed it might be Tange Prestige, but I am not convinced of that. It looked pitiful with an old Rocky Mountain saddle tilted at a weird angle, both tires looked like the threads and casing were gone to a better world, rubber rim tape getting caught in the axles, and bar tape hanging loose and all torn up. At a second glance, and before engaging in any buy, I looked beyond the view and found a full Shimano 105 6 speed gruppo with Biopace chainrings, and Shimano 600 rear derailleur, that seem to be in great shape. Friction shifters, quill stem, Nitto B115 bars, Tange sealed headset completed the lot, with Shimano PD-520 pedals with a metal cage. The only thing is the poor wheels: one Okai rim on a no-name sealed hub, the other is an Araya anodized rim on a joytech rear hub... and rusty spokes. So I have decided to make it rideable by:
- Getting a new saddle (luckily I found a decent abandoned one in the park a week after) = 0$
- Putting new rim tape + tubes + bar tape = 20$
- Installing not-so-new Vittoria Rubino tires to finish the season (a donation from a friend) = 0$
It rolls, and not so bad, I'm pretty happy with it! I didn't touch any adjustments, but it will need a big degreasing frenzy for the gears ans chain.
I have some little questions, so feel free to answer!
1- somebody know something about that bike? I guess it to be around late 1980ish to early 1990s.
2- What to do with those wheels? They are rideable, but they will not last long and I fear I will break one spoke soon. I assumed it was a 126mm rear spacing, and if I want to change wheels, I have to either build a new one from scratch with NOS 126mm hub, or try to stretch the rear to fit a new wheel. But I'm not sure that a 6 cogs cassette would fit a new freewheel, so it will need new gears+shifters! My other solution is to polish the spokes with a steel wool so they look better even if they will not act better.
3- The cro-mo fork does not look like the original one: it is a black one, and the rest of the frame is - hum - pinkish. It looks beaten up a little, so I was wondering if I was to get serious about that bike (that fits me quite well at first!), maybe I could change it. Any real advantages? Replace it with carbon (such as the Nashbar one) or stay with steel?
4- Pics to follow soon if requested! I made a pitiful job with the bar tape the other day(I was in a hurry, I shouldn't have....) but at least it looks better now!
Thanks anyone for some output!